Staffing resources identified as top barrier to IT, according to new HIMSS report

Feb. 25, 2012

HIMSS12 CONFERENCE, LAS VEGAS (February 21, 2012) – For the first time in years, information technology (IT) leaders at healthcare organizations did not identify a lack of financial support for IT as an obstacle to implementation; instead, concerns about staffing resources was cited as the key barrier to IT.  According to the 23rd Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey, released today, one-quarter of respondents said adequate staffing resources within their organizations is the top barrier to IT implementation and approximately two-thirds of respondents said their IT staff will increase in the next year.  Leading areas in which survey respondents require staff are in the areas of clinical decision support, network and architecture support and clinical informatics professionals.

The Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey reports the opinions of more than 300 technology professionals from healthcare providers across the U.S. regarding the use of IT in their organizations.  The study was released byHIMSS, the cause-based non-profit organization devoted to transforming healthcare through the best use of IT, and in-line with a leadership event taking place at HIMSS12, the organization’s Annual Conference and leading healthcare IT industry event.

As healthcare organizations move toward meeting their information technology priorities, key areas of focus as reported by the survey’s technology leaders are: achieving meaningful use and ICD-10; participating in health information exchanges (HIEs); addressing security concerns; and IT governance.   Highlights of the survey results include:

Nearly 90 percent of respondents expect to complete their ICD-10 conversion by the October 1, 2013 deadline. Two-thirds of respondents also reported that implementing ICD-10 was the top area of focus for financial IT systems at their organization.

More than one-quarter of respondents have already attested to meaningful use. One-quarter of respondents also said that achieving meaningful use is the key business objective at their organization.

Almost half of respondents reported that their organization participates in a HIE. However, 22 percent of respondents said there is an HIE in their area in which they are not participating at this time.

Security continues to be a top concern for healthcare IT professionals. Approximately one-quarter of respondents indicated their organization has experienced a security breach in the past year.

IT is being successfully integrated into healthcare providers’ overarching business strategy. Half of respondents reported that the IT plan is part of the overall organizational strategic plan.

The majority of respondents believe IT can improve patient care. Three-quarters indicated that IT can impact patient care by improving clinical/quality outcomes, reducing medical errors or helping to standardize care by allowing for the use of evidence-based medicine.

“In recent years, the federal government has spearheaded several initiatives that require hospitals and healthcare organizations to invest in IT in order to improve the quality of care for patients, and create cost efficiencies.  As a result, healthcare is feeling the impact of these initiatives, as nearly three quarters of the healthcare IT professionals surveyed said these were the business issues that would drive healthcare forward,” said Jennifer Horowitz, director of research, HIMSS Analytics.  “It was interesting to see that staffing resources was cited by the majority of professionals as a key barrier to achieving IT implementation; given the issue has traditionally been a financial resources one.  We expect that as organizations continue to invest in IT and hire to fill these positions, IT will become even more ingrained within the healthcare setting.”

If you’re interested in purchasing the full report please visitwww.himssanalytics.org.

Sponsored Recommendations

Elevating Clinical Performance and Financial Outcomes with Virtual Care Management

Transform healthcare delivery with Virtual Care Management (VCM) solutions, enabling proactive, continuous patient engagement to close care gaps, improve outcomes, and boost operational...

Examining AI Adoption + ROI in Healthcare Payments

Maximize healthcare payments with AI - today + tomorrow

Addressing Revenue Leakage in Hospitals

Learn how ReadySet Surgical helps hospitals stop the loss of earned money because of billing inefficiencies, processing and coding of surgical instruments. And helps reduce surgical...

Care Access Made Easy: A Guide to Digital Self Service

Embracing digital transformation in healthcare is crucial, and there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Consider adopting a crawl, walk, run approach to digital projects, enabling...