Technology adoption: Bar coding technology, high-speed networks and Intranets were the top technologies that survey respondents intend to implement in the next two years.

Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs): Approximately one-quarter of respondents reported that their organization participates in a RHIO.
IT budgets: Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported that their IT operating budget will increase in the next year. Many respondents attribute this to an overall growth in the number of systems and technologies.


IT governance: There appears to be a strong level of integration between IT strategies and overall organizational strategies. Additionally, more than 80 percent of CIOs reported that they sit on their organization's executive team.
IT staffing: Nearly two-thirds of respondents indicate that the number of IT full-time employees (FTEs) in their organization will increase in the next 12 months. The change however, will be modest. Just over one-third of respondents indicated that their staff would increase by less than 10 percent. The greatest demand for staffing is predicted to be in the area of clinical informatics.
Vendor satisfaction: In general, respondents were satisfied with the overall IT products/services they receive from suppliers, application vendors and consulting firms-60 percent of respondents indicated that they were satisfied.
"HIMSS continues to track and respond to the pertinent issues related to the adoption of health IT," said HIMSS CEO/President H. Stephen Lieber, CAE. "It is not surprising, but still encouraging, that the survey results reinforce quality in patient care and a reduction in medical errors as vital to the improvement of healthcare delivery."

Data collection for the survey took place from December 20, 2006 to March 1, 2007, resulting in 360 useable responses representing 306 unique healthcare organizations and almost 700 hospitals throughout the United States. Visit http://www.himss.org/ASP/researchHome.asp on the HIMSS Web site to read the complete 18th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey report.

Data from a complementary survey, focusing on the perspectives of healthcare organization CEOs, will be available on the HIMSS Web site this summer.

About HIMSS
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, and other locations across the United States and Europe, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members and over 300 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives designed to promote information and management systems' contributions to ensuring quality patient care. Visit www.himss.org for more information.

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