Survey: $100 million not enough for healthcare IT
CHICAGO – A majority of healthcare IT professionals don't think President Bush will put his money where his mouth is when it comes to computerization of health records.
The latest Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Vantage Point survey, released today, shows that while the industry believes government funding can accelerate IT utilization, the $100 million Bush has allocated in the proposed 2005 budget "is not sufficient" to achieve that goal. All told, 82 percent of the 246 respondents surveyed said the amount budgeted would either improve utilization of healthcare information technology. However, only 22 percent felt that the money budgeted would significantly impact utilization rates. The remaining 60 percent said the $100 million wouldn't be enough to achieve the president's stated goal, while another 14 percent said the proposal would have "little difference in the implementation rate of technology." The survey also details where the industry believes money should be spent. Forty-two percent said that grants to subsidize the purchase of technology would be the most effective way to spend federal dollars. Another 36 percent said the money should be used to develop standards. HIMSS Vantage Point survey respondents also weighed in on healthcare IT plans from Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). Just over 60 percent of them said the best way to improve patient care would be to invest in information technology infrastructure to share medical information. Thirty-two percent said the best way to save money through IT investment is in automated record keeping.The full results of the HIMSS Vantage Point survey on "Federal Support for Technology in Healthcare" can be found at www.himss.org.
