CHICAGO - Improving quality of care and patient (customer) satisfaction have remained at the hub of the evolving healthcare delivery system...and according to the 360 healthcare IT professionals who responded to the 18th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey...they are also the top business issues impacting healthcare in the next two years. Results of the survey were released today, April 10, during a webinar presentation for media.

"As the survey results demonstrate, improving quality and patient safety continue to be primary health industry goals," said HIMSS Board Chair George (Buddy) Hickman.

"Our survey respondents reinforce the view that health information technology adoption is foundational to achievement of such quality, patient safety and necessary clinical process improvements."
The survey's patient-centric focus is further demonstrated by participant responses regarding their current/future top IT priorities and the healthcare IT applications organizations will focus on in the future.

* Organizations' top IT priorities: Implementing technology to reduce medical errors/promote patient safety was identified most frequently as both the current priority and as the top priority in the next two years.
* Business issues impacting healthcare in the next two years: Quality of care and patient satisfaction were identified as the top business issues that respondents indicated will impact healthcare in the course of the next two years.
* Future healthcare applications: Nine of the top 10 healthcare applications identified as being important for the future were clinical systems. Topping the list were electronic medical records (EMRs), computerized practitioner order entry (CPOE), and clinical information systems.

Other key survey results include:
Financial support: Financial support for IT continues to be an issue for healthcare IT executives. Twenty percent of respondents cited lack of adequate financial support as the most significant barrier to successfully implementing IT at their organization.

Security concerns: Healthcare IT professionals identified an internal breach of security as their primary concern regarding the security of data at their organization. When asked if they had experienced a security breach, 18 percent of respondents indicated that their organization has experienced a security breach in the past six months. Respondents were most likely to identify that they would adopt multiple measures to facilitate data security at their organization in the next two years.

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