By: Eric Egnet, CIO
Over the past few months, I’ve been talking with Hospital CIOs about HITECH. I wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth rather than from all the politicians, firms, and agencies who have been hyping it to no end. In my discussions, a clear pattern has begun to take shape. Hospital CIO’s fall into three different camps when it comes to their HITECH efforts and concerns. I’ll detail the three types of campers over the next three days…
Camp Not Concerned or the “NCs”
These guys aren’t going to camp yet, so they aren’t too worried about the implications of changing their routine.
The Hospital CIOs in this camp have read a few articles on HITECH but have not had any meetings or discussions internally on the topic. They feel that things need to shake out before they take any serious action. With the number of projects already on their plate, HITECH is not something NCs plan to lose any sleep over. They are aware of the $44k incentive for their physicians, and how they will need to demonstrate “meaningful use” by 2011, but these campers are not worried about it. In the future the NCs plan on becoming better informed and educated on HITECH, but they are going to wait until there are definitive answers and definitions.
These CIOs feel good and are confident about their existing IT infrastructure and their current HIS systems, both on the inpatient and ambulatory side. There are no plans to switch HIS vendors and they are confident they will be able to close any gaps identified once a thorough analysis is performed. If an ambulatory solution is needed, NCs will select one of the major vendors, after some proper due diligence, and then either manage the project in-house or outsource it. In fact, they may even opt to have the system “hosted.”
Hospital CIOs in this camp are also confident that they have enough or can hire enough full-time IT staff to commit to these projects and they certainly don’t need a third-party firm to come in and provide them with a HITECH assessment. Funding will not be problem, as working capital has been promised, and will be provided by the Hospital Board to address HITECH initiatives that are required.
Are you concerned yet, or are you still feeling safe at home?