Despite government funding, healthcare organizations are struggling to obtain the Health IT staff needed to automate their processes.

The federal government is funding several initiatives to help healthcare organizations invest in IT.  For instance, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is providing funding for implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) through the The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. 

But according to

HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Leadership Survey, money is not enough.  Twenty-five percent of respondents said that inadequate staffing resources is the main barrier to IT implementation. Additionally, two-thirds say their IT staff will increase in the next year.

Sounds like this is an area that is in major need of Health IT recruiters!  In fact, we have been hearing from recruiters that we work with that Health IT is a very hot area right now for both contract and direct job orders, so much so that some recruiters are even switching niches to take advantge of this need.  If you are considering switching niches, this may be an area to consider!

Debbie Fledderjohann is the President of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.