With all of the collaborative efforts between the healthcare and technology sectors in recent months--both the GE-Intel collaboration and the IBM-Premier effort come to mind--is it any wonder that IT companies are loving healthcare this year? In the most recent quarterly survey of IT business confidence, executives' scores jumped seven points, to an all-time high of 60, according to Illinois-based research firm CompTIA.

Perhaps more important: That should rise another five points in the first two quarters of this year, survey takers say. For hospital CIOs, the survey shows a bright future for healthcare product development, with 43 percent of respondents saying they plan technology-related investments, more than 10 points higher than the previous quarter. The survey results also could mean more good news in terms of technology adoption, particularly in relation to Meaningful Use; National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Dr. David Blumenthal recently announced that at present, more than 80 percent of hospitals and roughly 40 percent of physicians intend to take advantage of federal incentive payments for adoption and meaningful use of certified EHR technology

Some of the areas that respondents say they'll work on in 2011:

• More mobile and wireless development. Systems for smartphones, wireless devices are top-of-mind for IT firms.
• Better conferencing products. In a move that could boost telemedicine and telehealth, respondents say they're building on virtual telephony, multi-person video chat, mobile video conferencing and other online methods allowing users to participate in face-to-face communication.
• Greater focus on data management. Hospital electronic health record managers rejoice! With the explosion of data available online, vendors will laser in on products to manage, protect and slice-and-dice that data into "actionable business insights," CompTIA officials say.
• Connectivity takes top billing. Social media connections, plus the availability of mobile devices away from work, will push the industry to build products that allow workers to shift from work to play mode "anytime, anywhere," officials add. This can be crucial in the healthcare environment, where mingling personal data or activities with patient tasks can have legal implications.

One dark spot for hospital IT directors: One-third of IT companies say they'll be hiring in the next six months, putting an even greater strain on an already limited IT applicant pool.

To learn more:
- read this CompTIA press release
- check out this Healthcare IT News piece

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