Health IT: Show Me The Money
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Health IT professionals saw their average salaries grow by just over four percent in 2013
An October study found, “Growth in the health information technology (health IT) workforce will be necessary for the widespread adoption of electronic health records called for by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” With this practical application of supply and demand, along with new Meaningful Use requirements, ICD-10 implementation, and an ever-changing technology scene, it’s no surprise HIT professionals are in line to get raises this year.
Now, not only are organizations looking to increase the size of IT staffs - the same study shows 85 percent of healthcare organizations hired an IT professional in 2012 - but they are willing to compensate them handsomely as well.
The HIMSS 2013 Compensation Survey asked IT professionals, “Are you being paid what you are worth?” To find out, “Invitations were sent to the entire U.S. HIMSS membership, as well as other HIT professionals for whom HIMSS had an e-mail address. Announcements about this survey were also included in HIMSS’ electronic newsletters and on social media websites. Individuals who received the invitation were encouraged to share it with their colleagues. A total of 1,160 responses were received.”
The results show the average salary of healthcare IT professionals is $113,269. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they had received a salary increase in the last year with the average increase being 4.16 percent. Nearly half reported receiving a bonus in the last year averaging between three and four percent of the total annual salary.
The average salaries by position are:
- $189,435 for executive management
- $161,255 for senior management
- $137,566 for associate staff
- $109,478 for department heads
- $97,928 for management
- $86,536 for staff
The highest paid regions for health IT professionals were the Mid-Atlantic ($127,549) and Pacific ($122,683), followed by East North Central and New England (just over $113,000 each). Men out earned women by just over $30,000 and, somewhat surprisingly, those with less than one year of experience out earned those with 20 or more years of experience by $2,600.
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