Becker's Hospital Review

59 Health Information Technology A ccording to the 2013 HIMSS Analytics Database, the average hospi- tal's IT department employs an average of 39 full-time equivalents. However, many organizations cited the need for additional employ- ees to best handle this year's many IT projects and initiatives, according to the 25th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey. It's not just healthcare that is seeing an increasing demand for qualified IT workers. Across industries, demand (and hiring) is up for professionals with some of the most in-demand skills — and salaries are rising accordingly. "Salary Survey 2014," conducted by ComputerWorld, reveals the IT positions with the largest average salaries and the positions that are seeing the biggest salary bumps. Staff-level salaries • Highest total compensation: Business analyst ($127,900), database ar- chitect ($122,333) • Largest increase over 2013: Network engineer ($87,727; 4.1 percent in- crease), web developer ($72,275; 3.8 percent increase) Mid-level salaries • Highest total compensation: Data warehouse manager ($135,584), product manager ($126,936) • Largest increase over 2013: Network manager ($79,719; 3.5 percent in- crease), data warehouse manager ($135,584; 3.3 percent increase) Senior-level salaries • Highest total compensation: CIO ($176,291), CTO ($170,963) • Largest increase over 2013: Internet technology architect/strategist ($149,326; 5.3 percent increase), chief security officer ($140,454; 5 per- cent increase) Survey results are based on responses from 3,500 IT professionals. n E pic Systems is a large, privately held health IT company best known for its electronic health record system. Here are 10 things to know about Epic. 1. Some of the nation's largest and most presti- gious hospitals and health systems use Epic's EHR system, including Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, UCLA Health in Los Angeles, Arlington-based Texas Health Resourc- es, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mount Sinai Health System in New York City and Duke University Health System in Raleigh, N.C. In total, Epic has 297 customers, and 70 percent of HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 hospitals use the Epic- Care inpatient EHR system. 2. In February, CVS Caremark's retail clinic chain, MinuteClinic, announced it will switch from its proprietary EHR system to Epic. When the transi- tion is complete, about 51 percent of Americans will have an Epic record. 3. Epic was founded in 1979 by computer scientist Judy Faulkner, who coded the original Epic soft- ware. Ms. Faulkner remains Epic's leader, current- ly serving as CEO. Forbes estimates her net worth at $3 billion and put her at No. 243 on the maga- zine's annual list of the richest people in America. 4. Epic EHR systems are some of the most expen- sive on the market. Duke University Health Sys- tem reportedly paid $700 million for its Epic sys- tem; Kaiser Permanente, $4 billion. Additionally, a Peer60 survey found Epic EHRs come with higher upgrade costs — Epic users spent an additional sum between 40 and 49 percent of the system's initial costs in major and minor upgrades, while Cerner users spent between 30 and 35 percent and Allscripts users spent between 20 and 22 percent. 5. In the past year, several providers, including Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centerand HealthEast Care System in St. Paul, Minn., have pointed to the cost of their Epic EHR implementations as a cause of their credit challenges. 6. All Epic EHR systems and applications are de- veloped, implemented and supported in-house. Epic garners positive user reviews, and was ranked the No. 1 Overall Software Suite for 2013 by KLAS Research. 7. Epic is the only major EHR vendor that is not a member of CommonWell Health Alliance, an industry coalition aimed at increasing interoper- ability between EHR platforms. Calling the group an attempt to increase the vendors' market shares, Epic instead partnered with Kaiser Permanente, Walgreens, Surescripts and other organizations to form Carequality, which aims to increase data exchange between hospitals, physicians, payers, retail clinics and other healthcare stakeholders. 8. In 2005, Epic moved its headquarters from Madison, Wis., to nearby Verona, Wis. The cur- rent 950-acre campus is designed to foster cre- ativity and promote casual interactions among its near-7,000 employees through features like a climbing wall and a functional tree house retreat. Every year, thousands of health IT professionals descend on the Verona campus for Epic's Users' Group Meeting. 9. Because many smaller healthcare organizations may not have the resources to implement Epic, many Epic clients have begun offering their ver- sion of the EHR to local providers. In February, Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy became the first accredited provider of the Epic Connect Program. It will provide consulting services and hosting on its Epic HER in a software-as-a-service model. 10. Epic is known for spending little money on sales and marketing efforts. According to Forbes, the company has about one-quarter the sales staff of competitor Cerner, and customers gener- ally reach out to Epic rather than the other way around. n 12 IT Positions With the Largest, Fastest-Growing Salaries By Helen Gregg 10 Things to Know About Epic By Helen Gregg SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Becker's Hospital Review CIO Report E-Weekly To subscribe to the FREE E-Weekly, visit www.BeckersHospitalReview. com and click on the "E-Weekly" tab or call (800) 417-2035

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