Identifying and categorizing competencies of senior IT managers in the healthcare sector of Iran

This article is written to identify the importance and necessity of meritocracy and pay attention to the role of human resources competencies in the field of information technology in healthcare sector. This research has been done with qualitative and quantitative approach and in this research has tried to use some internationally famous models on the competencies of human resources in the field of information technology, While scrutinizing the importance of meritocracy in the field of information technology in healthcare sector,Identify key indicators of competence of senior IT managers by interviewing experts.This study for the first time developed a competency model for senior managers of information technology in the Iranian health care sector. Previous models have either ignored this domain, or are not applicable to the health sector due to its generality and outdatedness and lack of attention to specific organizational cultures and many of the criteria of competence remain hidden. The research method in this article is mixed (qualitative and quantitative) and descriptive-exploratory. The research method is also used to identify key competencies of managers using open and semi-structured interviews. Thus, by interviewing 16 experts, 42 competency indices were identified for senior IT managers in the field of health care. Then the competencies were summarized and categorized using exploratory factor analysis. These 6 groups of competencies are: (managerial, individual, health and workplace, information technology, information technology in healthcare sector, legal and political). A review of the competencies of senior IT manager revealed that most of these indicators relate to the high management knowledge and ability in the field of information technology. It is also important for senior managers to have complete knowledge of the health care sector under their control in terms of costs, revenues, budgets, staff, middle and operational managers, policies, strategies and IT rules. A review of the competencies of senior IT managers in the health sector reveals that knowledge of information systems has been emphasized to the extent of concepts, theoretical knowledge and generalities. And it definitely doesn't require high technical proficiency. Technical control, installation and configuration of the systems is the responsibility of the lower level managers.