Information leaders focus on HIPAA compliance.

Upgrading IT security to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and building systems to reduce medical errors are currently the main priorities of healthcare information professionals, according to a recent industry study.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's 13th Annual Leadership Survey indicates that 60 percent of IT leaders consider upgrading security for HIPAA compliance to be their top priority in 2002. The survey polled more than 350 IT leaders in U.S. healthcare organizations, 84 percent of those surveyed were CIOs.

Clinical information systems, which can assist in reducing medical errors, were cited by 74 percent of healthcare IT leaders as the most important application for their organizations during the next two years. Enterprise resource planning applications were cited by 58 percent of respondents as important to their organizations in the next two years. Both of the statistics indicate an increase of at least 10 percent in these healthcare areas since last year's study. Of decreasing importance is recruitment and retention of staff, which was listed as most important by 13 percent of those surveyed, down from last year's 26 percent.

Other key findings of the survey:

* Wireless, hand-held devices, data security, and voice recognition will be high-priority technologies for the next two years.

* Interest in XML and ASP technologies is expected to decline in the next two years, while use of voice recognition technology is expected to double.

* Survey response data indicates an increase in outsourcing of various IT functions over last year. Currently, two-thirds of respondents' facilities outsource some IT functions.

Enacted in 1996, HIPAA imposes limits on the extent to which some group health plans can exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions. Healthcare organizations are required to consolidate patient records to comply with HIPAA coverage. U.S. legislators are currently looking into delaying the deadline by which all healthcare organizations must implement HIPAA standards, extending it by one year to October 16, 2003.

There is an opportunity for records and information managers, not just IT professionals, to ensure that organizations are HIPAA compliant, notes Grant Beauchamp, a consulting manager in HIPAA consulting services with Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services. "HIPAA is not only a technology issue; it's a policy, procedure, and culture change," Beauchamp says. Key issues include "audit trails, security of firewalls, social engineering, and training, which is the leverage tool where things will happen."

For more information about the survey, visit www.himss.org. Additional information about HIPAA legislation is available at www.hipaadvisory.com/ news/2001/hr1975.htm.