1997 HIMSS/Hewlett-Packard leadership survey results. Survey results highlight infrastructure--the building block approach to IT strategy.

"Infrastructure" is the buzzword that emerged from the 1997 HIMSS/Hewlett-Packard Leadership Survey. Of the 1,220 survey respondents, 37 percent identified upgrading infrastructure as the most significant IT projects their organizations undertook over the last year. "In the past, organizations were not deliberately against building infrastructure; they just did not know what it takes," says researcher and survey analyst John Pollock, Princeton, N.J. "It is evident now they are looking more at the framework." Increasing pressure to achieve a competitive advantage has led to a real interest in integrating healthcare delivery systems, he explains.