News Feature | March 20, 2015

Are You Investing In IT This Year?

Katie Wike

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

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The majority of healthcare organizations are planning to make significant IT investments in 2015.

The latest report from peer60 predicts healthcare organizations will be making large IT investments in the coming year, especially in light of the looming ICD-10 deadline. According to the report, 2015 Healthcare Tech Purchasing, nearly 60 percent of providers will make an investment in ICD-10 technology this year.

iHealth Beat reports other investments include:

  • 50 percent – population health management
  • 47 percent – patient engagement tools
  • 32 percent – revenue cycle management tools
  • 26 percent will purchase an enterprise analytics suite
  • 25 percent will invest in electronic health record systems
  • 24 percent will make investments in data security

According to Fierce Health IT, hospital CIOs report they would be investing in data analytics this year (60 percent), but cybersecurity is also a priority (60 percent).

“Healthcare technology is advancing rapidly,” peer60 CEO Jeremy Bikman said in a press release. “This report shows exactly where billions are going to be spent by American hospitals in 2015 to comply with government mandates and to better compete in this rapidly changing marketplace.”

Larger hospitals are more likely to invest in care coordination, since they have EHRs already in place, EHR Intelligence reports. The report found every hospital with more than 1,000 beds was planning a major IT investment this year.

Twenty-five percent of healthcare organizations that currently have data analytics tools indicate the intent to replace and update those systems with more advanced features. Additionally, 40 percent were not sure if they would update their data analytics tools.

“Billions are going to be spent in 2015 on medical technology,” notes the report. “The good news for everyone in the industry is that the market is not settled. Many hospitals are unsure how they are going to spend in 2015, which leaves an opening for vendors that are struggling to regain footing.”