The 25th Annual 2014 HIMSS Leadership Survey examines topics crucial to healthcare leaders including IT priorities, issues driving and challenging technology adoption and IT security. One finding from this year’s survey concerns the perceived impact financial resources are having on IT implementations. A majority of the survey participants (65 percent) reported IT budget increases, which is likely a contributing factor to the transition to a paperless environment. However, a lack of adequate financial resources tops the list of barriers to successful IT implementation. This is a shift from the past two years when the primary IT challenge was insufficient and untrained staffing resources.

Medtronic Inc. announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance, CE marking and the global launch of its Reveal Linq Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) System. Medtronic calls it the smallest implantable cardiac monitoring device available for patients.

Healthcare expenditure has been increasing throughout the last decade, and is beginning to become unmanageable. The American Heart Association has estimated that, in 2010, spending on cardiovascular disease (CVD) reached $273 billion dollars; a figure expected to rise with an increasing burden of disease. High healthcare expenditure is rooted in inefficient healthcare systems. Both physician’s and nurse’s time is taken up with administrative tasks and analysis of patient data through multiple appointments with patients over the course of their treatment, reducing the time they have available for valuable patient care.