Despite having a heaping portion of priorities, CIOs are cleaning their plates, according to the December healthsystemCIO.com SnapSurvey, which found that the vast majority accomplished their major goals for 2014. What’s even more encouraging is that all respondents believe their organization is better off than it was a year ago.
Hitting the mark, however, hasn’t been easy for CIOs, who cited competing priorities as the top hurdle. “The list is still too long,” said one respondent.
Other challenges included lack of budget/resources, vendor management, physician adoption, and “the complexity of the challenges” in reaching their objectives. “We didn’t have budget to bring in contract resources to help, so we had to work with what we had,” added another CIO.
Looking ahead to 2015, although CIOs face numerous priorities, Meaningful Use still reigns supreme, as 80 percent are heavily focused on meeting federal mandates. EHR implementation/optimization, data security, population health, and data analytics are also high on many to-do lists.
On a personal note, some respondents hope to make work-life balance a higher priority in the New Year, while others are looking even further ahead by laying the groundwork for retirement.
(SnapSurveys are answered by the healthsystemCIO.com CIO Advisory Panel. To go directly to a full-size version of any individual chart, click on that chart.)
1. Did your organization accomplish the major goals that were established for 2014? (In the comment section below, please write in your top goal and whether it was realized)
Absolutely
Yes, for the most part
- Development of a strategic plan.
- For the most part; however, the ever-changing climate in DC has caused me to have a case of adult ADD.
- Connecting our community with a private HIE and patient portal. Still a work in progress.
- Meeting Stage 2 Meaningful Use by Oct 1. We met the goal in terms of system build, but are still struggling with compliance on the ToC measure.
- Preparing for Stage 2 MU.
- The goal I was most personally responsible for was successful participation in the Meaningful Use program — hospitals and providers (we are responsible for 6 hospital and 800 provider attestations, 1 hospital for Stage 2 and 500 providers for Stage 2). We successfully attested for all hospitals — Medicare and Medicaid, and 98 percent of our providers, leading the nation in Stage 2 attestation.
- MU Stage 2.
- Meeting Meaningful Use — it was accomplished.
No
2. What was the biggest barrier to meeting your goals?
Lack of budget/resources
- This was more on the vendor side as it is a concierge type system offering
Too many competing priorities
- Having to meet 2014 MU requirements by July 1, 2014 and Stage 2 scarcely 3 months later almost killed us. We didn’t have budget to bring in contract resources to help so had to work with what we had.
- The list is still too long
- Lots of priorities and they change often.
Having to contend with M&A
Other
- Complexity of the challenges.
- ONC/CMS are apparently utterly naive regarding the transitions of care Meaningful Use objective. There is scant infrastructure and little trading partner engagement around this requirement. I could go on but you get the drift.
- Vendor issues & physician adoption.
3. From a patient safety standpoint and as a result of IT, do you believe your organization is better off now than it was last year?
Yes
- I would like to believe so, we’ve worked on many different patient safety items and incorporate patient safety into the new programs.
- More alerts are available and caregivers are becoming more reliant on IT.
No
I’m not sure
4. Of the options below, which three will your organization focus on most in 2015?
Meeting federal mandates (MU, ICD-10)
- Really all of the above and then some — managing growth, dealing with federal mandates and state budget issues, care transformation to add just a few.
Data security
EHR implementation/optimization
ACO/population health
Data analytics/BI
HIE
Patient engagement
Other
- All of this is important.
5. What is your biggest personal goal for 2015 (i.e., take vacation time, actively seek a new position)?
- Work less.
- Position myself for retirement, if possible.
- Finding a replacement so I can retire at year end.
- Actively seek a new position.
- Begin law school.
- Improve personal engagement with physicians.
- Retirement. Pursue personal goals and some consulting.
- A better work/life balance.
- Take my vacation time.
- Relax a bit more, possibly look for a new position.
- Work-life balance.
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