Survey says...

There have been several surveys published this week (CSC, CHIME/NAHIT/AHA Solutions) about the impact of the economy on healthcare IT. The findings are not good news with many of the respondents indicating they will delay or defer IT purchases, delay or lengthen IT projects, layoff staff, not fill open positions, and potentially cut services. Reading the survey details as well as recent articles, there are opportunities too. Some see this as an opportunity to retool to put them in a better position longer term. This is in line with a recent WSJ interview Sunoco’s CIO, Peter Whatnell, in which he quoted the cliché (that I agree with) “Never waste a good crisis.” IT is in a position to help organizations get through the tough times in two ways – investigate and implement non-traditional ways to offer IT products and services at reduced costs, and work closely with the business and care delivery side to help them cut costs and improve efficiency using IT.