55% of Healthcare Organizations Indicate Staffing as a Top Hurdle in Successful ICD-10 Implementations, Finds TEKsystems
Aug 9, 2011 | HANOVER, MD | For media inquiries, please contact us at media@TEKsystems.com.
HANOVER, MD – August 09, 2011 – TEKsystems, the nation’s leading services, today announced findings from its 2011 ICD-10 survey, which was conducted to gain an understanding of the healthcare industry’s readiness, transition strategies and progress toward ICD-10 implementation. Survey results show that 55% of respondents indicate that one of the biggest challenges they face is finding and hiring the right people with the skills needed to ensure a successful ICD-10 transition.
With the October 2013 deadline looming, the need for specific healthcare-related skills and competencies grows in terms of scope and urgency. Survey respondents overwhelmingly rank ICD-10 Project Managers, Data Architects, Software Developers and ICD-10 Coding Specialists as the most difficult to find ICD-10 related skills.
“It is vital for healthcare organizations to proactively strategize on how they will acquire the IT professionals they need now and in the future,” says Allen Kriete, TEKsystems Executive Director, Healthcare. “Many organizations focus on the overall operations and information security plan; however their workforce plan is often not as detailed as it should be and it becomes a second thought. Without the right people in place to execute, ICD-10 implementations can drain an organization. Timelines are extended, budgets exceeded and current staff becomes overwhelmed.”
Approximately 80% of respondents indicate co-sourced and staff augmentation models are the preferred methods of working with partners across all stages of ICD-10 transition. Further, smaller and medium size companies rely on staffing and services partners to assist in the sourcing, screening and placing of IT professionals that are a cultural fit and have the specific skills needed.
“It is critical to find the right partner to assist with this transition and to engage them early in the process,” says Kriete. “Each phase of the initiative requires different kinds of skills and competencies. Forty-two percent of our respondents chose staff augmentation and managed staffing models as their options of choice because they allow companies quick access to necessary skills, in the local markets, without assuming permanent costs or sacrificing control of project direction and oversight. Further, organizations are able to ramp up or down, as work ebbs and flows, and institutional knowledge can remain in house by utilizing a contingent-to-permanent model.”
Survey respondents say that when they use a vendor to conduct the Impact Assessment, they are more likely to choose that same vendor for the other stages of the implementation. However, very few respondents say they would relinquish total control to a single vendor.
“While clients seek a provider to supply guidance and expertise, it is important for them to remain closely tied into each phase of their ICD-10 transition,” notes Kriete. “Deep involvement allows organizations to stay focused on ICD-10 priorities and ensure that transition programs don’t become overblown and convoluted through a vendor’s ‘up sell, cross sell’ tactics. An ICD-10 program can support transformations, but success involves getting to the finish line on time and in compliance. We find that the best approach is one that is direct, minimizes internal disruption and does not lose sight of the end goal by blurring the focus.”
TEKsystems partnered with a third-party market research firm to survey nearly 600 healthcare leaders. The online survey was completed by IT and business decision makers during May 2011. Healthcare providers represented 67% of the respondent pool, while the other 33% was comprised of healthcare payers. Responses were evenly split between the organizations’ IT and business functions. Companies of all sizes were represented, with 30% of responses coming from organizations that gross $500 million or more in annual revenue.
Learn about how TEKsystems can support your ICD-10 implementation and view the Race to the ICD-10 Finish Line infographic depicting the survey results.
About TEKsystems
People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At TEKsystems, an Allegis Group company, we understand people. Every year we deploy more than 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to help our clients achieve their business goals–while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions and IT services to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go, the way they want to get there.