The past couple years have been tough on everyone.  Unemployment is over 10%, the economy has been weakened, many businesses have failed, and the job market has been bleak.  One bright spot in the economy, however, is the amount of opportunity that exists in the Healthcare industry, specifically in healthcare information technology (HIT). 

This is an exciting time to be in HIT.  Billions of stimulus dollars will be invested in healthcare over the next several years, and through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act there will be significant investment in HIT.  This investment is expected to improve the quality of care and reduce the cost of doing so, primarily through the use of an Electronic Medical Record (EMR).  As a result, as many as 50,000 new HIT jobs, depending on whose estimates you believe, will be created over the next five years. 

Thousands of new jobs will be available for people to implement EMR solutions, train doctors/nurses on how to use them, integrate the EMR to existing information systems, as well as provide customization of the system to meet the needs of each organization.  The demand for RN’s and other clinical professionals with expert knowledge of hospital operations will be crucial to the successful implementation of EMR solutions.  Because of this demand, there will be plenty of opportunities for non-HIT, most notably physicians, nurses, and traditional IT resources, to transition into this area. 
While EMR solutions may be what you hear about most, there is significant opportunity for other HIT projects.  Security, Digital Imaging, and CPOE (among others) will be hot areas over the next several years as well. 

As we near the end of 2009, it’s exciting to think about the opportunity that lies ahead.  We are in an industry that is rapidly changing, and Santa Rosa Consulting has positioned itself to be a leading provider of these services to our clients.

Matt Welsch
Associate Partner
Santa Rosa Consulting