CIOs say error prevention is top priority

Investing in technologies which can cut medication errors is a top priority, according to a group of CIOs convened by HIMSS last week. The panelists, who were participating in a CIO roundtable staged as a pre-show event for the big HIMSS conference later this month, said that technologies which help with med reconciliation and administration are high priorities. One participant, CIO William Spooner of San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare, said his health system is also looking at ways to gather data from its clinical information system to conduct retrospective reviews of medication errors and determine how they might have been prevented.

One other issue that seems to be high on the CIOs' list of concerns is setting up the infrastructure to support quality incentive programs. For one thing, they're working to tie revenue cycle management systems more closely with clinical information systems, since reimbursement will be tied to clinical performance in the near future. They're also staffing up to put people in place who can capture data for pay-for-performance reporting.

To find out more of what the panel had to say:
- read this Health Data Management piece

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