Preventing patient data breaches is cited as the number one priority for healthcare IT decision makers, but work remains for complying with security regulations, according to a national survey that examines IT trends in healthcare.


The 2010 Healthcare IT Survey, a poll of 600 decision-makers across hospitals in the U.S. and Canada, was conducted via Zoomerang, an online survey services provider, for Lexington, Mass.-based Imprivata, which develops enterprise authentication and access management solutions.


According to the survey, 80 percent of respondents say securing patient information from unauthorized access and data breaches is a top priority, and 76 percent claim breach of confidential information or unauthorized access to clinical applications as their greatest security concerns – so much so that 97 percent say that HIPAA and HITECH Act regulations are driving their organization's purchasing decisions. Seventy-four percent, meanwhile, say their organization will spend more on security in 2010 than it did in 2009.