Many hospitals are considering delaying or scaling back their IT projects because of economic pressures, according to the annual Most Wired Survey conducted by Hospitals & Health Networks, the American Hospital Association's journal, Healthcare IT News reports.
The survey found that hospital officials are trying to find a balance between continuing to invest in IT and being aware of their limited budgets.
Alden Solovy, executive editor of Hospitals & Health Networks, said, "The economic slowdown is forcing hospitals to look closely at IT spending," adding, "Most Wired hospitals are doing their best to stay the course."
Sunny Sanyal, president of McKesson Provider Technologies, said, "Hospitals clearly recognize that in spite of smaller budgets they still need to invest in IT and position themselves for the future." However, he added, "We're seeing hospitals reprioritize. For example, instead of continuing with plans to build a new data center extension, a hospital now may choose to redirect funds to other technologies."
Small Gains Made
Despite budget constraints, the survey still found an overall increase in the use of provider order entry of medications and electronic bedside matching at the time medications are administered.
Thirty-eight percent of hospitals and health systems surveyed have effectively implemented such IT systems at both ends of the medication administration process, up from 23% of hospitals and health systems in 2008 (Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 7/7).