As healthcare becomes increasingly advanced, there is a growing demand for high-tech solutions. Kaiser Permanente has participated in the evolution by opening a new healthcare technology center in Greenwood Village, Co.
Nearly 350 employees work at the center now, with an expected 700 IT employees to come on board by 2015, according to an announcement.
"This new IT location is a center of excellence where best in class employees use technology to ensure the delivery of high-quality, affordable healthcare to Kaiser Permanente members living in Colorado and across the country," Phil Fasano, executive vice president and chief information officer for Kaiser said in the announcement.
"Kaiser Permanente's continued expansion plans in Colorado, including the opening of the IT center and new medical offices, directly benefit the communities we serve," said Donna Lynne, Dr.P.H., president of Kaiser Permanente Colorado, adding it will offer "a sustained boost to Colorado's economy."
A HIMSS Analytics survey published last month found that healthcare IT remains a hot job market. Of 224 healthcare executives polled, more than 85 percent reported hiring at least one IT employee in 2012, while none reported layoffs; 31 percent respondents, however, said that they had to put an IT project on hold because of staff shortages.
Overall, hiring in the healthcare industry is helping to significantly fuel the nation's economic recovery, according to a report published in June by the Brookings Institute.
Bonnie Siegel, a healthcare IT recruiter with Witt/Kieffer, recently listed a plethora of new health IT positions that have cropped up as a result of initiatives such as Meaningful Use and ICD-10.
Beyond chief information officer title, "organizations are adding words like knowledge, innovation or transformation to position titles," Siegel said.
To learn more:
- read the announcement
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