Survey shows the 'Nets are on leaders' minds
Survey shows the Nets are on leaders’ minds
Preliminary HIMSS data released
If you’re looking for what’s hot on the technology end of health information management, look to intranets. The annual leadership poll conducted at the Health Information Management Systems Society conference in February shows a headlong rush into intranets.
In all, eight out of 10 respondents expressed some commitment to developing an intranet. That included 20% who have already developed one, 29% who have one in a trial or pilot stage, and 36% who say they plan to build one.
Intranets operate similar to the Internet but offer the advantage of greater privacy and control. They allow for more worry-free transmission of critical data.
Majority say they use Internet
Interest in the Internet also was evident, with 87% of respondents saying they use it. The top uses included e-mail, clinical research, and consumer education.
Those surveyed also picked the Internet as a futuristic technology, especially for Web-based applications. Using the Internet to access medical records was selected as a top future possibility by about 40% of applicants, followed by remote diagnostics for at-home patients (18%), and complete patient records on smartcards, also 18%.
Final results of the survey will not be available until later this spring. Other preliminary results released include:
• Twenty-eight percent identified upgrading their technology infrastructures as their top priority, and 24% said integrating systems in multivendor environments was the top priority.
• Most said a focus on clinical applications was their primary focus in the coming year. This included 20% identifying clinical data repositories, 19% electronic medical records, and 16% implementing new clinical systems.
• When asked what business imperatives are driving computerization, 57% said health care organizations are trying to gain a competitive advantage, and 56% said cost control in purchasing decisions is crucial.
• Twenty-five percent said physician officers are most in need of technological upgrades, and 19% identified administration and finance departments.
• When asked about their top frustrations, 22% said lack of a strategic information systems plan, 19% said problems finding and keeping a good technical staff, 15% said lack of funding, and 12% said keeping pace with technological changes.
• When queried about factors most important to achieve adoption of industrywide standards, 31% said a common vocabulary, especially for clinical procedures.
• Fifty-three percent said their institutions are using some form of "telehealthcare," with the top areas being radiology, cardiology, and internal medicine.
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