Health Care CIO Salaries Show Little Change in 2012

Health care CIOs have had their hands full in implementing federal mandates under federal reform, but their salaries budged little during the past year, according to a survey by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

In the poll of 264 health care CIOs, almost half reported receiving either no increase or less than a 3 percent raise.

Those with a title of just CIO earned an average salary of $199,890 in 2012; those also with vice president in their title averaged $206,788, and those with the title senior or executive vice president and CIO averaged $310,326.

In comparison, a salary survey by Janco Associates put CIO compensation at large enterprises across industries at $182,210 (up 6.04 percent in the past year) and $165,820 (an increase of 1.6 percent) in mid-sized enterprises.

The CHIME report breaks out CIO salaries in various ways, including by employer:

• Multi-hospital system — $254,054
• Academic medical center — $243,229
• Hospital/clinic model — $187,410
• Community hospital — $178,786
• Critical access hospital (25 or fewer beds) — $125,573

By educational level:

• MD — $306,000
• PhD — $230,714
• Master’s degree — $213,705
• Bachelor’s degree — $194,473
• Technical/associates/community college certificate — $175,250
• High school diploma — $140,675

And by region. CIOs in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana earned the least, an average of $186,429, while those on the West Coast had the highest base compensation — $232,181. The report notes that a majority of CIOs report that bonuses and other compensation can greatly boost their total compensation beyond base salary.

The reporting structure in the organization also affects salary. Forty-four percent of respondents (the largest group) said they reported to the CEO. That group’s average salary was $217,170. The next largest group (21 percent) said they reported to the CFO, and they reported an average base salary of $175,263.