Data from: Characteristics of the healthcare information technology workforce in the HITECH era: underestimated in size, still growing, and adapting to advanced uses

Objective: There is little readily available data about the size and
characteristics of the healthcare information technology workforce. We
sought to update a previous description of the size, growth, and
characteristics of this workforce based on the Healthcare Information
Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics® Database, a resource that
includes hospital size, number of beds, amount of staffing, and an
eight-stage model of electronic health record adoption (Electronic Medical
Record Adoption Model, EMRAM℠). Materials and Methods: We updated an
analysis done using a 2007 snapshot of the HIMSS Analytics Database with a
comparable snapshot from 2014 in order to estimate the size of the current
workforce and project future needs. For the 2014 data, we applied the same
weighted average analysis used in 2007 to obtain a ratio of information
technology (IT) hospital full-time equivalent (FTE) to staffed beds,
extrapolate the results to all US hospitals, and project the workforce
needs as hospitals achieve higher EMRAM stages. Results: Our estimated
size of the healthcare information technology workforce in the US in 2014
was 161 160, which was 8.0% larger than the estimate based on the 2007
data. Based on the new data, we project a potential need for an additional
19 852 and 153 114 FTE, if all hospitals were to achieve EMRAM Stages 6
and 7, respectively. The distribution of FTE across job function category
varies by EMRAM stage. Discussion and Conclusions: Although these data are
limited, especially for EMRAM Stage 7, there is likely need for
substantial workforce growth as hospitals increase their adoption of
advanced healthcare information technology. Further research with data
better focused on workforce characteristics will provide a better picture
of staffing requirements.