The Top 10 Health IT Trends For 2015: Complete Survey Results
To identify the top technology trends, Health IT Outcomes asked each of the survey respondents to rank a series of technology initiatives in line with their implementation plans for 2015. For each initiative, respondents were asked to clarify whether the initiative was a “Top Priority,” a “Priority,” “Important,” “Somewhat Important,” or “Not Important At This Time.” Each response was then weighted. For example, all “Top Priority” responses were given a rating of one (1), while “Not Important At This Time” responses were given a rating of five (5). An average of the total ratings was then calculated for each IT initiative. The lower the cumulative rating, the higher the priority the technology project was to our survey respondents. This rating system was used to determine the top 10 health IT trends for 2015. A list of how all technology initiatives scored in our survey is presented below. In an instance of a tie in the average score, the percentage of “Top Priority” votes determined the higher trend number.
| Trend # |
Health IT Initiative | Top Priority |
Priority | Important | Somewhat Important |
Not Important At This Time |
2015 Score |
2014 Score |
Change |
| 1 | EHR Meaningful Use |
47.43% | 27.43% | 9.14% | 2.86% | 13.14% | 2.07 | 1.98 | 0.09 |
| 2 | PHI Security | 45.71% | 21.14% | 18.29% | 9.71% | 5.14% | 2.07 | 2.08 | -0.01 |
| 3 | ICD-10 Compliance | 38.37% | 33.72% | 16.86% | 4.65% | 6.40% | 2.07 | 1.98 | 0.09 |
| 4 | Patient Portals/ Patient Engagement |
29.31% | 32.76% | 22.99% | 6.32% | 8.62% | 2.32 | 2.38 | -0.06 |
| 5 | e-Prescribing | 26.63% | 37.28% | 18.93% | 4.73% | 12.43% | 2.39 | 2.67 | -0.28 |
| 6 | Secure/Unified Messaging |
26.63% | 34.91% | 18.34% | 11.24% | 8.88% | 2.41 | N/A | N/A |
| 7 | Meaningful Use Audits | 27.17% | 32.37% | 19.08% | 10.40% | 10.98% | 2.46 | 2.67 | -0.21 |
| 8 | Clinical Decision Support (CDS)/ Evidence-Based Order Sets |
22.73% | 35.23% | 23.30% | 10.23% | 8.52% | 2.47 | 2.58 | -0.11 |
| 9 | Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) |
27.43% | 27.43% | 23.43% | 10.86% | 10.86% | 2.50 | N/A | N/A |
| 10 | HIE | 22.09% | 36.05% | 21.51% | 9.30% | 11.05% | 2.51 | 2.56 | -0.05 |
| 11 | Revenue Cycle Management |
24.86% | 31.21% | 23.12% | 8.67% | 12.14% | 2.52 | 2.52 | 0.00 |
| 12 | Electronic Medication Administration |
26.32% | 30.99% | 22.22% | 2.92% | 17.54% | 2.54 | 2.55 | -0.01 |
| 13 | Wireless Networking (WAN/WLAN/WiFi/3G, 4G cellular) |
21.39% | 30.64% | 28.90% | 10.40% | 8.67% | 2.54 | 2.63 | -0.09 |
| 14 | BI/Analytics/ Dashboards |
23.30% | 30.11% | 23.86% | 12.50% | 10.23% | 2.56 | 2.59 | -0.03 |
| 15 | Credentialing/ Authentication |
21.26% | 28.16% | 30.46% | 10.34% | 9.77% | 2.59 | N/A | N/A |
| 16 | IP Networking | 16.37% | 30.41% | 28.07% | 11.70% | 13.45% | 2.65 | 2.87 | -0.22 |
| 17 | Population Health Management |
19.65% | 24.86% | 29.48% | 16.18% | 9.83% | 2.72 | 2.79 | -0.07 |
| 18 | Disaster Recovery/ Business Continuity |
18.97% | 24.71% | 32.18% | 13.22% | 10.92% | 2.72 | 2.69 | 0.03 |
| 19 | Claims/Payment Automation |
17.34% | 32.37% | 22.54% | 15.03% | 12.72% | 2.73 | 2.71 | 0.02 |
| 20 | Document Imaging/ Management |
12.00% | 33.71% | 28.57% | 16.00% | 9.71% | 2.78 | 2.72 | 0.06 |
| 21 | Telehealth/Telemedicine/ Remote Patient Monitoring |
17.92% | 26.01% | 25.43% | 17.92% | 12.72% | 2.82 | 3.01 | -0.19 |
| 22 | ACO Preparedness | 14.29% | 33.33% | 23.21% | 13.69% | 15.48% | 2.83 | 2.89 | -0.06 |
| 23 | Mobile/Tablet Computing | 14.94% | 18.97% | 36.78% | 18.97% | 10.34% | 2.91 | 2.80 | 0.11 |
| 24 | Computer-Assisted Coding (CAC) |
13.87% | 29.48% | 23.70% | 16.18% | 16.76% | 2.92 | N/A | N/A |
| 25 | PHR Adoption | 12.94% | 28.24% | 28.82% | 13.53% | 16.47% | 2.92 | 3.00 | -0.08 |
| 26 | eForms/Workflow Automation |
10.23% | 29.55% | 30.11% | 18.18% | 11.93% | 2.92 | 2.80 | 0.12 |
| 27 | Mobile Device Management |
15.12% | 20.93% | 29.07% | 20.35% | 14.53% | 2.98 | 2.90 | 0.08 |
| 28 | SNOMED CT Solutions | 8.77% | 24.56% | 30.41% | 20.47% | 15.79% | 3.10 | 3.17 | -0.07 |
| 29 | Mobile Health Apps | 12.79% | 16.28% | 29.07% | 30.23% | 11.63% | 3.12 | 3.08 | 0.04 |
| 30 | RAC Support | 10.92% | 20.69% | 31.61% | 16.67% | 20.11% | 3.14 | 3.21 | -0.07 |
| 31 | Storage/Application Virtualization |
6.63% | 23.49% | 31.93% | 25.30% | 12.65% | 3.14 | 2.98 | 0.16 |
| 32 | Smartphones | 11.05% | 17.44% | 34.88% | 19.19% | 17.44% | 3.15 | 3.03 | 0.12 |
| 33 | Cloud Computing | 12.14% | 13.87% | 34.10% | 21.97% | 17.92% | 3.20 | 3.17 | 0.03 |
| 34 | Medical Imaging/ Vendor Neutral Archives |
8.14% | 18.60% | 34.30% | 18.60% | 20.35% | 3.24 | 3.14 | 0.10 |
| 35 | Call Systems | 7.10% | 19.53% | 34.32% | 18.93% | 20.12% | 3.25 | 3.05 | 0.20 |
| 36 | Print Management | 5.71% | 21.14% | 32.57% | 23.43% | 17.14% | 3.25 | 3.18 | 0.07 |
| 37 | Speech Recognition/ Natural Language Processing/Understanding |
8.57% | 20.00% | 29.71% | 20.57% | 21.14% | 3.26 | 3.23 | 0.03 |
| 38 | Asset Tracking (RTLS/RFID/Barcoding) |
9.83% | 15.03% | 32.95% | 23.12% | 19.08% | 3.27 | 3.31 | -0.04 |
| 39 | Automated Patient Flow | 7.65% | 19.41% | 31.76% | 18.82% | 22.35% | 3.29 | 3.10 | 0.19 |
| 40 | Biometrics | 9.09% | 18.75% | 26.70% | 22.73% | 22.73% | 3.31 | 3.26 | 0.05 |
| 41 | BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Management |
8.62% | 17.24% | 25.29% | 25.29% | 23.56% | 3.38 | 3.35 | 0.03 |
| 42 | Automated Staff Scheduling/ Workforce Optimization |
4.02% | 20.69% | 29.89% | 21.84% | 23.56% | 3.40 | 3.25 | 0.15 |
| 43 | Social Media | 6.43% | 12.28% | 35.09% | 23.39% | 22.81% | 3.44 | 3.33 | 0.11 |
| 44 | Gamification | 2.30% | 7.47% | 28.16% | 24.14% | 37.93% | 3.88 | N/A | N/A |