Healthcare IT Trends: Look Into the CHIME CIO Survey Findings

Application Rationalization, Cybersecurity, and EHR Optimization Now Share the #1 Priority Spot

For the first time, CIOs reported a three‑way tie between application rationalization, cybersecurity, and EHR implementation/ optimization as their top 2026 priorities. These initiatives signal a collective push toward simplifying technology ecosystems, securing the enterprise, and modernizing the clinical core simultaneously.

Implications: Health systems must carefully coordinate sequencing, staffing, and funding since all three priorities require sustained effort and cross‑functional involvement. This shift also signals that CIOs are restructuring foundational systems to prepare for automation, AI, and long‑term operational efficiency.

Workforce Stability Masks Severe Skill Shortages in Cybersecurity and Infrastructure

Turnover remains low, but specialized talent, especially cybersecurity skills, continues to be extremely difficult to hire. As a result, CIOs are depending more on contractors, internal reassignments, and managed services to execute mission‑critical work.

Implications: Long‑term skill scarcity will force organizations to rebalance internal roles toward strategic functions while shifting specialized and operational tasks to external partners. Managed services and fractional staffing models will become central to sustaining cybersecurity readiness, project momentum, and infrastructure support.

Growing Dependence on Managed Services and External Partnerships to Fill Capability Gaps

CIOs are increasingly embracing managed services as a core operating model. With persistent cybersecurity and infrastructure skill shortages, leaders are turning to partners who can provide 24/7 coverage, specialized expertise, and operational stability.

Implications: Healthcare organizations will rely more heavily on trusted partners to maintain service levels, address specialized security and infrastructure needs, and keep modernization projects on track despite internal staffing limits. This shift positions firms like CereCore, who offer managed IT services, cybersecurity readiness, fractional leadership, and EHR optimization, as essential extensions of IT departments seeking sustainable, scalable support.

Part 1: Unveiled: You'll Need to Know These Innovative Strategies Healthcare CIOs are Using

Part 2: CIOs Reveal Insider Initiatives: Transforming Budget Woes into New Victories

Part 3: Comparing Technology Initiatives: How Small and Large Hospitals Strategize

Part 1: CIOs Rank Top Healthcare IT Priorities and Pressures for 2024 (Part 1)

Part 2: CIOs on Facing 2024 Challenges: Hire Contractors and Invest in Automation (Part 2)

Part 1: 2023 CHIME CIO Survey Results Are In (Part 1)