HIT Salaries Increase Unevenly in 2013

Health care information technology is a growing field that’s paying well — professionals with less than a year in their position are earning, on average, more than $100,000, according to a survey from HIMSS.

More than two-thirds of HIT professionals reported a salary increase in 2013 with just less than half reporting that they received a bonus, according to survey results.

The 2013 HIMSS Compensation Survey of more than 1,000 HIT professionals found that 71.6% respondents received a salary increase, and among them the average increase was 4.1%. In 2013 the average salary of the HIT respondents was $113,269.

Broken down the survey responses found a gender bias — not only did men report a higher average salary, but their increase was greater. While female HIT professionals earned $99,523 on average in 2013 and reported a salary increase of 3.71%, the average salary for their male counterparts was $130,800 with a salary increase of 4.75% on average.

Average salary for HIT professionals also varied greatly by region (below).

Of those who received a bonus, nearly a quarter (23.7%) reported the bonus was more than 10% of their salary. However, the median bonus for all respondents was 3% to 4% of annual salary.

Respondents working for smaller organizations actually reported larger salary increases. The survey also found that two-thirds receive a salary increase once a year. For instance, while ambulatory/physician offices with fewer than 10 physicians reported the lowest average salary ($79,482), they reported the largest pay increase (8%) over the previous year.

Also, the survey results found that professionals working at organizations with net revenue under $5 million actually made a larger average salary ($106,216) than those working at organizations with net revenue between $5 million and $9 million ($89,450).

Furthermore, the survey found that earning potential peaks with those who have been in their position for 10 to 19 years as professionals who have been in their position for 20 years actually earned less.