Healthcare IT Update

But a new survey also indicates their direct reports aren’t downloading the message.

Getting electronic medical records systems off the ground in their hospitals is the most pressing concern for chief information officers, according to a recently reported survey, but that priority is not making its way down the totem pole to the managers and directors in their IT departments.

While the goal of the survey, which was commissioned by HP and conducted by NewGrowth Consulting, was broad – to discover hospital IT leaders’ priorities and plans regarding use of computers – the results have important implications for the adoption of EMR. The survey covered 178 respondents, which included 36 CIOs and 142 IT directors and managers at hospitals with 200 or more beds.

Among the hospital CIOs surveyed, 58% said EMR systems will be the most important IT project at their hospital for the next two years. Computerized physician…