Hospital IT leaders say they're short-staffed, worried about retention

Slightly more than two-thirds (67%) of hospital information technology leaders in a recent survey say their departments are short-staffed, while nearly three out of four (74%) say they need more staff or clinical software implementations and support, according to the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

The 15-page report (PDF) by the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based association for healthcare CIOs said it received 163 members' responses to the online survey made available in July.

According to the survey, 59% of IT executives responding indicated their staff shortages either would definitely or possibly affect their organization's chances of qualifying for federal IT funding under the EHR incentive payment programs. That figure is down from 70% of respondents who asked that question in a similar membership survey in 2010, according to CHIME.

Also in the latest survey, 85% percent of respondents indicated they had IT staff retention worries, up from 76% in the 2010 survey.

"Even with two years of focused attention on implementing electronic health records at the nation's hospitals, in response to federal incentives, it's clear that staffing is a significant concern for IT executives," CHIME board member Randy McCleese said in a news release.

"Staff needs aren't likely to abate over the next couple years as CIOs continue to push to achieve meaningful-use targets and switch to ICD-10-compliant applications," said McCleese, who serves as vice president of information systems and CIO at 123-bed St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead, Ky.