Measuring ROI in Healthcare EHR/EMR Implementations

Analyzing and measuring ROI in healthcare facilities is challenging and complex. From planning to implementing an EHR/EMR solution, it is important to establish a framework for considering ROI. Over the years, HIMSS has identified three different forms of tangible healthcare IT ROI: financial, clinical, and organizational.[1] These factors offer a framework for considering both soft and hard ROI measurements.

Soft ROI isn’t always easy to quantify and doesn’t always include hard statistical data, but this doesn’t reduce the value of soft ROI. Actually soft-return factors can play a key role in improving the health facility over the long-term.[2] The clinical data alone that comes through EHR/EMR can play an important role in transforming the process of an organization.

Hard ROI includes quantifiable measurements of the impact of EHR/EMR implementations that can demonstrate financial and/or process improvements for the organization. With hard and soft ROI in mind, an organization can consider the impact on the financial, clinical and organizational aspects of a healthcare facility.

Here are some questions demonstrate how this framework can be applied in the organization:

Financial
1. How has the implementation brought reduced costs by decreasing administration, clinical staffing, and resource requirements? (Value)
2. How has the implementation enhanced revenue by improving speed of billing, charge captures and increasing patient volume by reducing processing times. (Gain)

Clinical
3. How has the data provided through the EHR/EMR system impacted the patient care? Consider improvements in communication between facility and patient, improvements in decision-making, adherence to clinical protocols, and quality of patient outcomes

Organizational
4. In what ways has the EHR/EMR brought an overall transformation to the organization? Consider patient wait times, reduction in errors, reduced risk mitigation, improved perception among patients and staff, and of course, regulatory compliance

While these questions aren’t comprehensive, they offer a way to begin approaching the larger process of demonstrating the multi-layered impact of an EHR/EMR implementation.

1 See the “EHR and the Return on Investment” white paper, 11/6/03, www.himss.org/content/files/ehr-roi.pdf
2 See “The ROI of EMREHR: Productivity Soars, Hospitals Save Time and, Yes, Money,” 2006, www.himss.org/content/files/davies/Davies_WP_ROI.pdf

Read more at Intergracon Blog