The preliminary results of a Gartner Group survey of the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems' members revealed that most chief medical information officers have passed the tipping point for the adoption of IT systems in acute care settings, despite the low usage of electronic health records in ambulatory settings, according to Violet Shaffer, a research vice president, Modern Healthcare reports.
The results of the survey, based at the time on 47 AMDIS members, found that CMIOs have moved from selecting and adopting clinical IT systems to an era of leveraging clinical data to reduce variance in clinical processes and quality, as well as incorporating new medicines, techniques and research-based ideas to improve care, Shaffer said.
William Bria, AMDIS chair, said CMIOs are a new breed of physician leaders because they are experts in both medicine and clinical computer systems, although they do not want to choose between the two fields.
The preliminary results of the survey also found that:
- 76% of CMIOs said they see patients part time;
- 75% think they should devote at least 20% of their time to patient care; and
- 56% report to their chief information officer, although 45% said they should report to their CEO or COO.
David Milov, a pediatric gastroenterologist and chief of clinical information systems for the Nemours health care network, said CMIOs are "moving from the tactical role on advising and implementing (IT) systems to a strategic role on how system optimization supports the overall organizational strategy" (Conn,
Modern Healthcare, 8/6).