Many more HIT pros needed as EMRs roll out

With increased technology at hospitals, some going from none to an full fledged EMR/EHR system, the cost of health care IT will increase at most hospitals...BD

A new study backed by AHIMA suggests the HIT workforce will need to expand dramatically in coming years to meet demand. The study, which drew on data from the HIMSS Analytics Database, found that while there are about 108,390 HIT professionals available in the U.S. today, providers will need an additional 40,784 to support widespread EMR adoption, or about 40 percent. That's largely because when hospitals move from having no EMR in place to feature-rich EMRs, they move from an average of about 0.082 IT staffers per bed to about 0.2 IT staffers per bed. The study also notes that of those studied, the largest number of hospitals (538) were at Stage 3 of HIMSS Analytics Database's eight-stage EMR adoption model. Hospitals aren't considered to have advanced HIT infrastructure until they reach Stage 4.