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From the: The 21st Annual 2010 HIMSS Leadership Survey

The HIMSS Leadership Survey has become the most widely referenced healthcare information technology (IT) survey. The results, which provide an indicator for current and future use of healthcare technology, are widely quoted in the media and well recognized throughout the healthcare IT industry. Issues addressed on a yearly basis include IT priorities, implementation barriers, budgeting and staffing.

This portion of the survey offers the perspective of Chief Information Officers.

Executive Summary
When asked to identify the single information technology (IT) priority at this time, 42 percent of respondents indicated that meeting meaningful use criteria, according to the 398 healthcare IT professionals who participated in the 21st Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey. Indeed, more than half of healthcare IT professionals (59 percent) noted that they were going to make additional investments to position themselves to qualify for incentives. Another quarter (22 percent) indicated that they were going to identify gaps in their systems, but will wait to make investments.

By taking these steps, nearly half of respondents working for hospitals (47 percent) anticipated that they would be able to meet meaningful use requirements by FY2011. Because the final meaningful use criteria were not established when data collection for this survey began, three broad categories of meaningful use were established for this research.

1) The eligible hospital demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that during such period the hospital is using certified EHR technology in a meaningful manner;

2) The eligible hospital demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that during such period such certified EHR technology is connected in a manner that provides, in accordance with law and standards applicable to the exchange of information, for the electronic exchange of health information to improve the quality of health care, such as promoting care coordination; and

3) The eligible hospital submits information for such period, in a form and manner specified by the Secretary, on such clinical quality measures and such other measures as selected by the Secretary Another 32 percent believed their organization would be eligible by FY2012. The biggest barrier to achieving measurable outcomes at this time was identified as a lack of adequate staffing resources (37 percent).

Respondents also noted that the biggest barrier to achieving meaningful use would be a lack of staffing resources. Organizations hope to overcome this need by hiring new IT staff. Two-thirds of healthcare IT professionals indicated that they anticipated an increase in the number of IT staff at their organization in the next 12 months. Particular areas of staffing needs include clinical application support and process/workflow design.

Other key survey results include:

Financial support: One-quarter of respondents (24 percent) indicated that lack of adequate financial resources/lack of budget is the most significant barrier to successfully implementing IT in their organization.

IT budgets: Nearly three quarters of respondents reported that they expected their IT operating budget to increase in 2010. This is consistent with the data reported in the 2008 survey, after showing a dip in last year’s research (55 percent). Achieving meaningful use and an overall growth in the number of systems and technologies are spurring this increased spending.

IT staffing: Three-quarters of respondents reported that IT staffing levels would increase in the next 12 months, compared to42 percent of respondents reporting this to be the case in 2009.

Electronic Medical Records1: Nearly half of respondents noted that they have a fully operational EMR in at least one facility at their organization. One-third of respondents (35 percent) noted that ensuring the organization has a fully electronic medical record in place will be the primary clinical focus of IT at their organization.

Impact of IT on Patient Care: Respondents strongly believe that IT can have a positive impact on healthcare delivery. Slightly more than one-third of respondents indicated IT could improve clinical and quality outcomes. One-quarter of respondents indicated that IT can reduce medical errors/improve patient safety.

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.

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.

IT governance: Nearly all respondents (87 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): More than 40 percent of respondents reported that their organization participates in an HIE. Three percent of respondents said they participated in an HIE in the past, but this initiative failed.

CIO Responsibilities: Nearly all of the senior IT executives surveyed reported that they are responsible for at least one IT area outside of the IT department. Most frequently identified was telecommunications, which was identified by 84 percent of respondents.

1 For the purposes of this research, an EMR has been defined as electronically originated and maintained clinical health information for patients, derived from multiple clinical application sources, about an individual’s episode of healthcare at a care delivery organization. It contains all clinical orders and documentation related to a patient’s treatment in electronic format. An EMR is also supported by clinical decision support systems and replaced the paper medical record as the primary source of patient information.

The full report is available here:  21st Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey.

Reprinted on Longwoods.com with permission

This entry was posted on Friday, May 7th, 2010 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Longwoods Online.