Executive Summary
When asked to identify the single information technology (IT) priority at this time, half of respondents indicated that their organization would focus on clinical systems, according to the 304 healthcare IT professionals who participated in the 20th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey. Within the clinical environment, respondents were most likely to report that their organization would focus either on ensuring that their organization has an electronic medical record (EMR) or installing a computerized provider order entry system (CPOE). Respondents are addressing these priorities with caution. More than half of respondents, who completed this survey before the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law on February 17, 2009, indicated that financial considerations such as the demand for capital and finding new revenue sources would be the business issue that was likely to impact their organization over the next two years. In addition, while one-quarter of respondents noted that improving patient safety/quality of care was a key business objective at their organization, slightly more than one-quarter noted that the key business objective at their organization was to sustain financial viability.
Other key survey results include:
Financial support: Financial support for IT continues to be a barrier for healthcare IT professionals. Twenty-eight (28) percent of respondents noted that lack of adequate resources/lack of budget continues to be identified most frequently as the most significant barrier to a successfully implementing IT.
IT budgets: Half of respondents indicated that their 2009 IT budget would increase relative to their 2008 budget. This is a decline from the three-quarters of respondents who reported this to be the case in last year’s survey. Three-quarters of respondents cited the current economic environment as the reason for a decline in their IT operating budget.
IT staffing: Approximately 42 percent of respondents indicated that their staffing levels would increase in the next 12 months. This is down from the two-thirds of respondents predicted that the number of FTEs in the IT departments would increase in the 2008 survey. Most of those reporting an increase state the increase will be small—less than a ten percent increase. The most critical staffing need is in the area of clinical application support.
Impact of IT on Patient Care: Respondents strongly believe that IT can have a positive impact on healthcare delivery, with 38 percent of respondents suggesting that IT will reduce medical errors. Another quarter noted that IT will improve clinical/quality outcomes.
Security concerns: Healthcare IT professionals identified an internal breach of security as their primary concern regarding the security of data at their organization. One-quarter of respondents indicated that their organization has experienced a security breach in the past year. The respondents identified single-sign on as the technology that will be most widely adopted at their organizations in the next two years.
IT governance: Nearly all respondents (84 percent) reported a strong level of integration between their organizations’ strategic plan and the IT strategic plan. Nearly three-quarters (70 percent) of senior IT executives reported that the sit on the executive committee at their organization.
Health Information Exchanges (HIEs): Nearly one-third of respondents reported that their organization participates in an HIE. Nine percent of respondents reported that there is an HIE in their area that they are not participating in.
Role of Clinicians: Clinicians play an active role in multiple facets of IT at their organization, from system evaluations to acting as project champions to developing policies and procedures related to clinical information systems.
