Results of CMIO Compensation Survey 2012

Chief Medical Information Officers (CMIOs) are playing increasingly key roles in their healthcare organizations with EMR projects and the move toward ACOs and most expect to receive a raise and a bonus this year, according to the CMIO Compensation Survey 2012 published in the February issue of CMIO.

CMIO Snapshot

• Male (87%)
• 41-45 years old (25%)
• Works in Southern U.S. (30%)
• Employed by a Multi-Hospital Organization/IDN (44%)
• Reports to CIO (35%) or CMO (28%)
• Physician (70%); Specialty: Family Practice (23%)
• In current position for 1-3 years (42%)
• Spends 90%-100% performing CMIO duties (24%)

CMIO Compensation

• Average Annual Salary: $200,000-250,000 (22%)
• Most CMIOs expect to receive a raise this year (66%)
• Most CMIOs expect to receive a financial bonus this year (53%)

The number of CMIOs on the high end of the salary scale remained about the same as last year's survey, with about 17 percent earning salaries of $300,000 to more than $400,000. In 2012, most CMIO respondents earn salaries in the $200,000 to $300,000 range (43 percent). Only 14 percent earn an annual salary of $100,000 for CMIO duties. This is the third year that CMIO, the leading publication for CMIOs and clinical IT leaders, has conducted the CMIO Annual Compensation Survey.

Salaries will be on the rise again this year, with two-thirds of CMIO respondents expecting a raise in 2012. Similar optimism is seen with financial bonuses, with more than half of CMIOs expecting to get a bonus in 2012—and 27 percent are hopeful it will be larger than last year. These numbers suggest that CMIOs are demonstrating value to institutions and therefore, they anticipate financial recognition.

In terms of background, most CMIO respondents are licensed physicians, although nearly a quarter are not currently practicing medicine. Most work for a multi-hospital organization/IDN (44 percent) in a mid-size facility of 200 to 500 beds (37 percent), with another large percentage harkening from large facilities with more than 1,000 beds (23 percent).

A few things surprised the editors of CMIO. Whether job stress due to the demands of playing leader and peacemaker with demanding physician IT adoption or the U.S. economic crisis are to blame, some CMIOs are less pleased with their wages than last year: 26 percent report being somewhat or very dissatisfied with their salary. Of the group saying they were dissatisfied, about 41 percent say they'd like to change positions this year.

"In addition to managing teams of people to ensure a safe implementation of systems, some CMIOs are now being held accountable for the fiscal responsibility of attaining the meaningful use dollars that organizations are counting on to contribute to their bottom line," says Maureen Gaffney, RN, MHS, CMIO and senior vice president of patient care services at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., and a CMIO editorial board member. "This is new ground for CMIOs. In addition, an evolution is occurring in the roles of the CMIO and CIO. The CMIO is now the visionary and driving the strategic plan. Having a clinician coordinating the efforts changes the CIO functionality dramatically."