Survey: Technology Could Improve Health Care Staffing

iHealthBeat
May 19, 2003

Excerpts from this article:

Technology could mitigate the workforce shortages in the health care industry, according to a survey released today by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Fifty-two percent of respondents said that technology would have a "great deal" of impact on staffing shortages, and another 42% said it would have "some" impact.

Thirty percent of respondents said the health care industry can best utilize technology by directing resources to IT and support staff to improve staffing.

Nearly 60% of respondents also said that patient safety would be the biggest benefit of technology.

Asked which technology would maximize the amount of time clinical staff spends on patient care, 51% cited electronic medical records. Point-of-care technology, mobile communication and bar coding were the next most popular responses, the survey found.