1 Catalysts for change CIOs share their health IT priorities and plans for the transformative times ahead Market Research Brief
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Catalysts for changeCIOs share their health IT priorities and plans for the transformative times ahead
Market Research Brief
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The role of the CIO is changing. As technology becomes a dominant driver in healthcare—from patient care and population health to quality measurement and artificial intelligence (AI)—CIOs are increasingly called upon to own the roles of both change agent and IT implementer.
Today, CIOs roll out tools and devices for clinicians to use across care settings, while concurrently driving strategy and innovation alongside senior leaders in the boardroom, a duality that requires a balancing act against a backdrop of industry disruption.
To gauge the priorities of leading healthcare CIOs (how they allocate scarce resources, and how disrupters such as AI will affect patient care and the road map ahead), CHIME member CIOs were surveyed.
We explore seven overarching themes that are capturing the minds of leading healthcare CIOs today:
1. Cybersecurity and malware prevention is the top priority in 2018.
2. Optimizing IT systems for greater value is a close second.
3. Once the EHR is optimized, CIOs plan to use it as a platform for future innovation.
4. Clinician burnout is spreading, but four solutions—EHR optimization, speech recognition, mobility, and image and data sharing—can help.
5. AI is on CIOs’ radars.
6. Value derived from AI will shift away from technology and toward clinical areas and workflows.
7. CIOs believe that virtual assistants will help address clinical decision making and lead to more accurate diagnoses, as well as improve and automate in-workflow tasks.
Healthcare drivers and disrupters
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1Cybersecurity and malware prevention is #1 concern in 2018.
By an overwhelming majority, CHIME CIOs ranked cybersecurity and malware as their top concern in 2018.
With the sheer volume and complexity of cybersecurity incidents in 2017, CIOs are more focused than ever on protecting sensitive data and preventing disruption to patient care. Increasingly, maintaining data confidentiality across borders—along with disaster recovery and business continuity—are heightened concerns.
Cyber security/malware
Optimizing IT systems for greater value
Data analytics and management
Finding /retaining qualified IT talent
Patient engagement platforms
n=78(0=not very important, 10=very important)
Results show weighted averages
0 2 4 6 8 10
CHIME CIO top five concerns for 2018
9.2
8.58.1
7.5
7.0
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2IT system optimization is high on the priority list.
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While it’s no surprise that the majority of CIOs surveyed rate cybersecurity/malware as their top priority, optimizing IT systems to maximize the return on investment and usability for providers is a close second.
More than half of CHIME CIOs surveyed (54%) rank optimization of the EHR and other IT systems as their secondary priorities.
Furthermore, CIOs cite EHR optimization services as a powerful approach to countering provider burnout.
n=78Results collected: 1/1/18 - 1/31/18
Rated as 9 or 10 in importance on a scale of 0 to 10
Top CHIME CIO 2018 priorities
Cyber security/malware
Optimizing IT systems for greater value
Finding /retaining qualified IT talent
Data analytics and management
Patient engagement platforms
Government regulations
Cloud computing
Digital health initiatives
Artificial intelligence, machine learning
Industry consolidation
Other
74.35%
53.84%
39.74%
37.66%
30.77%
29.48%
23.07%
20.78%
9.21%
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3Once the EHR is optimized, CIOs plan to use it as a platform for future innovation.
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More than four out of five CIOs (81%) are interested in using the EHR as a platform for future innovation, including AI and other technologies.
n=42
CIO interest in using the EHR as a platform for future innovation for technologies such as artificial intelligence
81%
7%
12%
Yes No Unsure
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4Clinician burnout is an issue, but four approaches can solve it.
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n=78(0=not very important, 10=very important)
Results show weighted averages
n=78(0=not very important, 10=very important)
Results show weighted averages
Regulatory requirements
Too many bureaucratic tasks
Too many hours spent at work
Increasing computerization of practice
Too many patient appointments per day
Manual data capture and reporting
Too many patients with complex issues
Inability to keep up with current research
Difficult colleagues or staff
Other
0 2 4 6 8 10
8.1
7.56.7
6.4
5.7
5.3
5.1
4.5
4.0
1.1
Effectiveness of approaches countering physician burnout
EHR optimization
Speech recognition (AI, CAPD*)
Mobility (smartphones, tablets)
Image and data sharing
0 2 4 6 8 10
7.0
6.5
6.4
6.1
* Computer-assisted physician documentation
EHR-driven regulatory requirements, an increase in administrative tasks, and too much time spent at work are the top factors leading to provider burnout.
And despite technology contributing to burnout, CIOs cite four approaches as effective in countering this problem: 1) EHR optimization, 2) speech recognition, 3) mobility, and 4) image and data sharing.
Burnout, however, is not limited to physicians. One CIO noted, “Nurses burn out more quickly than providers and support staff,” suggesting the need for a focus on general staff burnout to help unearth better solutions.
Factors leading to physician burnout
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5AI is on the radar.
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100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%Yes No Unsure
CIO interest in adopting or increasing the role of artificial intelligence
Organizational plans for artificial intelligence
5% 5%
90%
n=42
My organization is using artificial
intelligence today
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
n=78
My organization intends to
deploy artificial intelligence in
2018
My organization intends to
deploy artificial intelligence by
2020
My organization intends to
deploy artificial intelligence by
2023
My organization has no definitive
timeline to deploy artificial
intelligence
18%
9%
31%
6%
36%
Nearly all CIOs (90%) expressed an interest in adopting or increasing the role of AI in their organizations but differed in the organizational planning and time frame for implementation.
Nearly two-thirds of CIOs surveyed (64%) either use AI today or plan to deploy AI within five years.
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6Value derived from AI will shift away from technology and toward clinical areas and workflows.
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CIOs perceive the most value from AI in the area of EHR optimization through speech recognition.
Their focus, however, is expected to shift away from technology and operational functionality toward clinical areas and workflow, such as population healthcare, chronic disease management, virtual assistants, and image and data sharing.
CIO perceptions of value artificial intelligence will bring to healthcare organizations
CIO interest in increasing artificial intelligence in clinical areas
Population healthcare
Chronic disease
Virtual assistants
Image and data sharing
0 2 4 6 8 10
0 2 4 6 8 10
7.5
7.4
6.2
5.6
5.5
EHR optimization through speech recognition
Clinical decision support
Radiology/imaging/detection
Financial areas
Operational areas such as billing and scheduling
n=42 (0=little value, 10=significant value)
Results show weighted averages
n=42(0=little interest, 10=significant interest)
Results show weighted averages
7.0
6.6
6.5
6.3
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7CIOs believe virtual assistants will lead to more accurate diagnoses and improved provider workflow.
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Areas of medicine and caregiving in which CIOs believe artificial intelligence will have greatest impact in
guiding physicians in decision support
More accurate diagnosis
Population health/precision medicine
Treatment protocols/disease intervention
Earlier diagnosis
Clinical documentation
Imaging
0 2 4 6 8 10
8.2
8.0
8.0
7.9
7.6
6.7
n=42(0=little impact, 10=significant impact)
Results show weighted averages
As physicians look to improve the accuracy and timeliness of their diagnoses while achieving population health and precision medicine and identifying treatment protocols, CIOs believe AI will have the greatest impact in guiding physicians’ decision making.
More than two-thirds of CIOs (69%) would consider virtual assistant technology with artificial intelligence capabilities to help providers with their daily workflow.
Chart search and information retrieval, as well as EHR navigation and task management, rank among the top areas of greatest utility for virtual assistants in providing physician support.
CIO perceptions of how well virtual assistants will support physicians
n=42(0=little physician support, 10=significant physician support)
Results show weighted averages
Chart search and information retrieval
EHR navigation and task management
CPOE, including medications, radiology, lab
Patient experience
Administrative tasks
Scheduling
Patient summaries
Provider communication
0 2 4 6 8 10
7.4
7.2
6.9
6.8
6.6
6.5
6.0
6.0
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This year is pivotal for healthcare. New disrupters, market entrants, changes to business, care delivery and payment models are driving CIOs to adopt the most innovative yet proven technology for maximum efficiency and the highest levels of patient care. Nuance is committed to advancing these priorities in partnership with CIOs, as we believe conversational AI technologies and tools are vital to optimizing clinician workflow and lowering the barriers to success.
Research methodologyInformation included in this paper is based on two online surveys sent to more than 2,500 CHIME member CIOs at integrated healthcare systems, large hospitals, and outpatient medical practices, between January 1 and February 28, 2018.
About Nuance HealthcareNuance provides intelligent systems that support a more natural and insightful approach to clinical documentation, freeing clinicians to spend more time caring for patients. Nuance healthcare solutions capture, improve, and communicate more than 300 million patient stories each year, helping more than 500,000 clinicians in 10,000 global healthcare organizations drive meaningful clinical and financial outcomes. Nuance’s award-winning clinical speech recognition, medical transcription, EHR optimization services, virtual assistants, CDI, coding, quality, and medical imaging solutions provide a more complete and accurate view of patient care.
About Nuance Communications, Inc.Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of voice and language solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications, and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications.
For more information, please visit nuance.com/healthcare or email [email protected].
Conclusion
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© 2018 Nuance Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Nuance and the Nuance logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. HC_4225 MAY 2018