12th Annual Health IT Industry Outlook Report
Identifying health IT leadership trends impacting 2025 buying decisions
Stoltenberg Consulting, a Med Tech Solutions company surveyed healthcare CIOs — all members of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) — through an exclusive access virtual survey. Participants represented a comprehensive spectrum of U.S. hospital facilities, including multi-hospital health systems, community hospitals, academic medical centers and ambulatory surgical facilities. This year’s report features special segments on addressing organizational pain points with AI, as well as eliciting greater value from IT help desk programs.
Although post-pandemic financial pressures subsist, hospitals and health systems have experienced moderate margin stabilization over the last year — allowing CIOs to minimally increase IT spending. While eager to consider investing in advancing technology solutions, health IT leaders remain cognizant of the continued operational, financial, and support challenges associated with new initiatives.
Workforce concerns perpetuate health IT operational burden
For the fifth straight year, talent strain remains a leading operational burden for health IT leaders. Once again, healthcare CIOs largely consider “retaining and budgeting for qualified IT resources” as the greatest (39%) operational challenge related to IT.
The New Era of Healthcare Staffing—2025 Workforce Trends
Emerging Healthcare Workforce Trends
This Hallmark survey methodology ensured that results represented a cross-section of U.S. hospitals. Responses came from over 1,200 healthcare leaders from diverse institutions. Because of the depth and breadth of responses, they are confident these results offer insights applicable to any U.S. healthcare organization facing clinical staffing shortages.
Healthcare organizations are facing escalating labor costs, clinician burnout, and severe staffing shortages. Traditional staffing models are no longer adequate to meet the demands of today’s flexible and autonomous workforce.
The survey findings highlight the urgent need for flexible staffing models. 98% of healthcare leaders report increased demand for gig-style work, while 89% feel pressured to cut staffing expenses. Additionally, 95% are concerned that staffing shortages may impact patient care quality.