CHICAGO – With hospitals "raising the bar" to meet meaningful use requirements, new positions are being created within IT departments that have a focus on quality and data, says one consultant.

"We are busier than we have ever been," says Robin Singleton, who serves as executive vice president and practice leader for the national healthcare practice of DHR International, an executive search firm based in Chicago.

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Singleton says the reason for this is threefold. First, faced with reform mandates that require some heavy lifting on their part, some in C-suite positions who are nearing retirement anyway have decided to do so early, she says, leaving holes that need to be filled.

Second, during the slump in the economy, there were also "some deep cuts" made, but now Singleton says IT positions are starting to see some "back filling."

Third, new positions, such as that of clinical informatics officer, created in response to hospitals requiring more accountable data to show where they stand on quality mean there are ample opportunities for employment, says Singleton.

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The clinical informatics officer must hold an MD, she says, and the role's focus is to make sure the hospital is meeting the required data benchmarks to ensure maximum federal reimbursement.

"Just like in every other industry, in healthcare it's how you are going to deliver care faster, cheaper, better,"  says Singleton. That will require providers to "continue to act like real businesses" and demonstrate with data the kind of numbers that will get them paid at the highest rate. She says her firm is seeing a 15-20 percent increase in newly-created positions for clinical informatics officers alone. 

Most hospital systems, due to lack of capital, have only gotten "part of the way there with their EMR systems," says Singleton. But with government incentives, they are now seeking to finish the job, which often requires getting the physician practice systems up to speed and talking with the hospital system.

This has created a high demand for IT specialists that "have an understanding of physician practice systems and how to integrate them into the hospital system." She adds that there has been a 10-15 percent increase in this role from what her firm has seen in the last couple years.

[See also: Healthcare IT jobs grow by leaps and bounds.]

"Salaries are holding steady to where they have been," says Singleton, but she expects this to change in the next six to eight months. "There aren't going to be enough of these people to go around. As demand outstrips supply, it will cost [hospitals] more."

To meet that demand, hospitals will have to start providing more training and coursework and "tapping those folks who have natural leadership in medical informatics" earlier, she says.

Singleton's advice for those pursuing an IT degree? Minor in healthcare.

"It will make them truly attractive to hospitals," she says, and without it, getting a job in the healthcare industry will be "tough."