Report: Providers will likely stick to core health IT purchases
Healthcare professionals and providers will purchase new IT products and systems in core areas such as PCs, printers, phone systems and networking equipment, with some consumer electronics devices mixed in, according to new research from CompTIA.
The Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based CompTIA said its Second Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities study also revealed that healthcare providers are generally satisfied with the IT they now use in their practices, but they’re also interested in better reliability, improved performance and lower costs for future purchases.
Healthcare providers rely on core IT products to care for patients and to manage their practices, with desktop and laptop PCs, printers, phone systems and networking equipment the norm at the vast majority of practices.
Much attention in the healthcare IT market has focused on opportunities to expand the use of EMR and EHR systems. According to CompTIA, 34 percent of healthcare providers report using a comprehensive EMR system, while 16 percent say they’re using a partial system. The remaining segments are either evaluating their options (29 percent) or have not yet started the process (20 percent).
Among healthcare practices with an EMR/EHR implementation, satisfaction rates are generally high, although there is room for improvement. Doctors want systems that are faster, easier to use, provide better interoperability and cost less.
The desire for mobility and ease of use is another factor that’s driving many IT investment decisions. Roughly one in four doctors and dentists say they plan to purchase a tablet PC for their practice during the next 12 months, putting this product near the top of their shopping lists.
Even some of the basics of business - web sites, email and text communications - offer opportunities for IT developers. The CompTIA report revealed that relatively few doctors take advantage of email or text messaging to communicate with patients, such as reminders about upcoming appointments. But many want to move in this direction and generally further leverage communication tools and information platforms.
About one-half of healthcare practices will increase their IT expenditures in the next 12 months, with the remaining portion either holding budgets flat or reducing IT spending. Group practices are most likely to increase spending, while solo practices are relatively more likely to keep IT spending levels flat.
Overall, one in three healthcare practices expects to increase IT spending by more than 5 percent over the next year, the study found.
The Second Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities study was fielded in two separate web-based surveys: One survey targeted 370 U.S. IT firms, about 40 percent of which do business in the healthcare sector; the other included 300 U.S. healthcare providers, including doctors, dentists, nurses, physician assistants and office managers.
The Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based CompTIA said its Second Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities study also revealed that healthcare providers are generally satisfied with the IT they now use in their practices, but they’re also interested in better reliability, improved performance and lower costs for future purchases.
Healthcare providers rely on core IT products to care for patients and to manage their practices, with desktop and laptop PCs, printers, phone systems and networking equipment the norm at the vast majority of practices.
Much attention in the healthcare IT market has focused on opportunities to expand the use of EMR and EHR systems. According to CompTIA, 34 percent of healthcare providers report using a comprehensive EMR system, while 16 percent say they’re using a partial system. The remaining segments are either evaluating their options (29 percent) or have not yet started the process (20 percent).
Among healthcare practices with an EMR/EHR implementation, satisfaction rates are generally high, although there is room for improvement. Doctors want systems that are faster, easier to use, provide better interoperability and cost less.
The desire for mobility and ease of use is another factor that’s driving many IT investment decisions. Roughly one in four doctors and dentists say they plan to purchase a tablet PC for their practice during the next 12 months, putting this product near the top of their shopping lists.
Even some of the basics of business - web sites, email and text communications - offer opportunities for IT developers. The CompTIA report revealed that relatively few doctors take advantage of email or text messaging to communicate with patients, such as reminders about upcoming appointments. But many want to move in this direction and generally further leverage communication tools and information platforms.
About one-half of healthcare practices will increase their IT expenditures in the next 12 months, with the remaining portion either holding budgets flat or reducing IT spending. Group practices are most likely to increase spending, while solo practices are relatively more likely to keep IT spending levels flat.
Overall, one in three healthcare practices expects to increase IT spending by more than 5 percent over the next year, the study found.
The Second Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities study was fielded in two separate web-based surveys: One survey targeted 370 U.S. IT firms, about 40 percent of which do business in the healthcare sector; the other included 300 U.S. healthcare providers, including doctors, dentists, nurses, physician assistants and office managers.