Thirty-three percent of healthcare IT executives cited data analytics as the biggest topic in 2016 while 32 percent said population health is, according to the fourth annual Health IT Industry Outlook Survey conducted by Stoltenberg Consulting.

“Healthcare providers are flooded with piles and piles of EHR data each day,” said Sheri Stoltenberg, CEO of Stoltenberg Consulting. “It has now become imperative to learn to sift through the large quantities of complex information to leverage data insights through data analytics for improved clinical care and compliance and operational effectiveness.”

[Also: Big data: Bold promise or hardest part of population health, precision medicine?]

The healthcare information technology consulting firm surveyed CIOs, CMIOs, IT directors and consultants at HIMSS16 earlier this month.

While data analytics was identified as the top subject, 37 percent of respondents said their organizations' data analytics programs are well underway but lack resources to complete requested initiatives, the survey found.

Thirty-two percent of survey respondents said correlating data from diverse and dissimilar sources is the biggest hurdle to fully rolling out data analytics and while 37 percent said their programs are well underway, 36 percent of the healthcare executives in the survey indicated that their data analytics programs are young and require further development.

“Data cannot support decision making or provoke cultural change if it’s out of date,” Stoltenberg said. “Harmonizing data across the enterprise is essential for giving providers and administrators a meaningful view of a healthcare organization’s performance.”

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: bill.siwicki@himssmedia.com 

Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn