Surgeons Desire Cutting Edge IT
By
John Pulley
What hospital IT leaders most want for their operating room IT systems is better scheduling, better integration and access to electronic records, SIS says.
A new survey of hospital IT executives finds that health IT will be critical to hospitals trying to optimize use of their operating rooms, the “financial engine” of any hospital, according to one executive.
Nearly eight out of 10 of those surveyed agreed that health IT is “a strategic driver of success in the operating room,” according to results of a survey commissioned by Atlanta-based Surgical Information Systems, a health IT vendor. Close to six in 10 say health IT is very important to doctor and nurse recruiting efforts, and four in 10 say it is “somewhat important” to recruiting efforts.
But what hospital IT leaders most want for their operating room IT systems is better scheduling, better integration and access to electronic records, SIS says in a news release.
The survey also found that 76 percent of 142 respondents favored OR-specific IT solutions, saying OR scheduling is inherently different from scheduling other hospital services. Surgical-suite IT, however, must integrate easily with electronic health records and hospital information systems, said Ed Daihl, chief executive officer of SIS.
The survey was conducted by the Penn Shoen Berland market research firm.