Becker's Hospital Review

59 RCM LEADER Rebecca Ashe. Director of Finance Education and Quality Assurance for Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, Fla.): At Moffitt, return on investment for technology goes beyond cost savings alone. It reflects how effectively technology enables better patient outcomes, improves efficiency for our care teams, and supports our mission to prevent and cure cancer. Strong technology ROI demonstrates measurable value such as time saved, reduced risk, improved access or better decision-making while also creating sustainable margin that can be reinvested in research, innovation and patient care. Ultimately, technology ROI is about impact: using resources wisely to advance both operational excellence and our mission. Mark Townsend, MD. Chief Clinical Digital Ventures Officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati): Defining ROI for technology is tough, to be clear; my one-word answer is "profitability." Defining ROI leverages cost accounting, which leverages allocations, which can end up being an elegant narrative of sorts; to that end, I advocate strongly for defining ROI as "profitability" as measured by unit-level operating margin trended over time. Aer a technology is implemented, success is defined by improved unit-level margin through either 1) revenue enhancement, or 2) through cost containment. at creates a corollary for "profitability": We must measure "adoption" at the inception of every project. If we push out technology that isn't pulled in quickly by our teams as something that they "can't live without," then we have failed, and there is no point trying to measure the ROI. Richard Beatty. Executive Vice President for Ninala Medical Center (Tacoma Park, Md.): ROI for technology goes beyond cost savings — it's about measurable impact across the entire organization. From operations and clinical teams to patient financial services, technology must deliver tangible value at every level. For us, that means faster revenue cycle performance, reduced denials and improved patient access. True ROI is realized when technology empowers every member of the medical staff to do more with less while maintaining quality. If it doesn't move those needles across the board, it's not worth the investment. Namrata Saha. Program Manager for Northwestern Medicine (Chicago): ROI for technology in healthcare requires a thorough analysis of the cost versus the return. When determining overall cost, it's best to include licensing, implantation, change management and opportunity costs (time and resources diverted). When calculating the return, there are numerous metrics including time savings, ongoing support costs, dollars saved, more accurate documentation, reduced readmission rates, better user experience, time diverted to higher value work, novel analytical insights and many more. It's important to compile a number of quantitative and qualitative metrics along with long term trends and predictions to determine the real impact of the technology. It's a combination of numbers and storytelling to show the true value. Joshua Rivera. Pathology Business Operations Director for Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, Fla.): From the perspective of my role within pathology and the laboratory, when evaluating ROI for technology in pathology, I focus on measurable gains in diagnostic quality, workflow efficiency and operational scalability. For clinical AI, ROI is demonstrated when algorithms enhance diagnostic accuracy, reduce variability and accelerate turnaround times in ways that directly improve patient care. On the operational side, automation of business and laboratory processes creates ROI through reduced manual workload, fewer errors and more predictable resource utilization, which allows for a higher productivity labor rate. Ultimately, the strongest ROI occurs when technology not only reduces cost but also elevates clinical performance and enables clinicians to spend more time on complex, value-adding decisions. Praneeth Chebrolu. Director of Clinical Research for OSF HealthCare (Peoria, Ill.): e real return of Investment of technology is the human capacity it unlocks. When routine work is automated, organizations gain the ability to redeploy talent towards the work that creates the greatest impact like improving patient outcomes, accelerating discovery and strategic decision making. Dirk Steinert, MD. Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Ambulatory Care for edaCare (Appleton, Wis.): Defining the return on investment for technology is best accomplished utilizing a comprehensive approach that goes beyond traditional financial metrics. Ideally, an effective understanding of technology ROI should encompass three key areas: Financial value Technology in health care should help improve efficiency, accuracy and scalability in care delivery while also demonstrating reduced costs and generating measurable financial benefit. Clinical and operational well-being A complete assessment of the ROI for technology should highlight its impact on the well-being of the team members that utilize it. at means illuminating its effect on reducing cognitive load, minimizing administrative burdens, simplifying documentation, strengthening team communication and supporting safer, higher-quality and more efficient patient care. Quality, safety and patient experience A comprehensive ROI for technology should include improvements in care outcomes, reliability, safety and the overall patient experience. In healthcare, technology ROI is about creating an environment where people can do their best work, patients receive better care and the system becomes more sustainable over time. n "I define direct ROI in technology by how much capacity it gives back to us. Since technology can either reduce or replace human intervention, it is important to measure the human component, and not just the dollars." - Atek Pandya

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