In a recent article written for Forbes, founder and CEO of iPatient, Dan Munro, shares that he spoke to a hospital CIO who was thinking of investing in iPads for his hospital staff. He asked his team for an ROI analysis and discovered that each iPad would pay for itself in nine days.
The question, Munro says, is whether better healthcare provides sufficient ROI for the deployment of new technology. If iPads improve staff effectiveness and create a better experience for patients, isn't that a good enough reason to make the investment? Do we have to know how much money we'll recoup?
Munro cites the example of Kodak and Instagram. As customers, we wanted Instagram because it was, well, more awesome. It was digital, cloud-based, social and fabulously sepia. The ROI didn't matter because Instagram made life better. Kodak dissolved, and Instagram joined the Facebook family.
With healthcare, we aren't doing such a good job of saying, "Hey, I want that." Instead, we're asking, "Is it worth the investment?"
Munro argues that perhaps government money is the enemy of solution deployment. He points out that the market currently has 400 EMR providers peddling virtually the same product. Many have their hands in the $26 billion federally funded till provided by the HITECH Act when competition should have killed many of them long ago.
In other words, instead of looking at safety and outcomes, says Munro, we're waiting for profit incentives to line up around the business model. On many occasions, solutions that make people's lives better result in cost savings long term, and we learn how much money we've saved after solutions have already been deployed.
For example, Oregon Health and Science University health economist John McConnell tells the story of an elderly lady with congestive heart failure who owns a $200 air conditioner. Hypothetically, if the temperature becomes elevated in her apartment, it could strain her cardiovascular system. She would be picked up by an ambulance at a cost of $40,000 to $50,000 covered by Medicare. However, Medicare would not pay for the $200 air conditioner.
Isn't better health the ultimate goal of a better healthcare system? If not, do we truly get our money's worth?
Edited by
Frances Litvak
