Defining return on investment for healthcare technology has never been more consequential — or more contested. As health systems face mounting financial pressure, workforce strain and the rapid proliferation of AI-driven tools, the question of what truly constitutes a return on a technology investment has grown more complex than a simple cost-benefit calculation. The old metrics — uptime, deployment speed, license cost — no longer tell the full story.
Across the industry, a new framework is emerging, one that measures ROI not just in dollars saved or revenue gained but in time restored to clinicians, cognitive burden lifted, outcomes improved, and trust strengthened between technology and the people who use it. From community hospitals to academic medical centers, health system leaders are redefining what it means for technology to deliver value. Becker’s asked 50 healthcare leaders how they define ROI for a technology they invest in.
The leaders featured here are speaking at Becker’s 11th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Conference, set for Sept. 14-17 at the Hilton Chicago.
If you would like to join the event as a speaker, please contact Scott King at sking@beckershealthcare.com.
As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is connecting with healthcare leaders who will speak at the event to get their perspectives on key issues in the industry.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
QUESTION: How do you define ROI for technology?
Deb Anderson. Chief Information Officer for Endeavor Health (Evanston, Ill.): To me, technology ROI is measured by the enterprise value it creates. At Endeavor Health, that value is realized by enabling the organization to operate more efficiently and at scale across four dimensions: reducing risk, improving the experience of clinicians and patients, strengthening financial performance, and advancing our mission of delivering world-class cCare in the communities we call home.
Joe Diver. Vice President and CIO of Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing (Brockton, Mass.): Technology ROI is a bit like judging a good piece of infrastructure: You don’t notice it much when it’s working well, but life gets noticeably better because it’s there. While the financial return matters, many CIOs also look at the quieter benefits: smoother operations, reduced risk and new capabilities that make future work easier. Some value shows up in budgets, while other value shows up in fewer headaches for staff, better service for the organization and the consumers served. Taken together, technology ROI is simply the story of whether the investment made the organization run a little smarter, a little safer and a little more ready for what comes next.
Uday Madasu. CIO of Covenant Health (Knoxville, Tenn.): For our organization, technology ROI represents the measurable enterprise value generated from a technology investment relative to its full lifecycle cost. This value extends beyond direct financial return to include clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience, workforce productivity and revenue performance. Some investments — like cybersecurity or patient safety technologies — deliver value through risk reduction and regulatory protection. AI-enabled technologies may reduce readmissions, improve coding accuracy or decrease provider documentation burden. For those investments, ROI could be evaluated using balanced metrics such as cost per case, length of stay, HCAHPS scores and denial reduction. We measure technology ROI as enterprise value realization rather than purely financial payback.
Renald Rooney. Director of Data Analytics for Compass Health Center (Northbrook, Ill.): ROI for technology has shifted in the last 10 years. It’s no longer enough to measure uptime and system reliability, the return is in adoption and human gain. A tool that’s flawlessly built but sits unused has zero ROI; a tool that reshapes how a care team makes decisions or gives a clinician back 30 minutes a day is transformational.
In my consulting days, we used to joke about promising “100% Uptime” SLAs. Engineers would waste no time pushing back: “That’s not possible!” The point was that users would be so happy with the technology and the efficiency gains, they wouldn’t even notice the SLA was missed. That never ended up in the go-to-market strategy obviously, but the mindset was right.
Susan Goodson. Senior Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer of Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital (Chicago): ROI for technology in healthcare must include a clear financial assessment. Given the margins health systems operate under, disciplined financial analysis is table stakes. Beyond that, I look for impact in three areas: better outcomes for patients, a better experience for clinicians and staff, and stronger operational performance. The key is being clear about the problem you are trying to solve and defining success before implementation so technology advances the organization strategically rather than simply automating a process that was not working well to begin with.
Bob Berbeco. CIO of Mahaska Health (Oskaloosa, Iowa): I define ROI for technology as proven, measurable change in front-line behavior and outcomes, weighed against the full cost to implement and sustain. The leading indicator I watch is time-per-unit improvement from current to future state, as it confirms the workflow actually changed rather than a solution simply being deployed. From there, I quantify value into two buckets: “blue dollars” (time saved, rework avoided and capacity created) and “green dollars” (hard savings or incremental revenue). Both buckets roll into a simple scorecard showing hours returned, blue-dollar value, green-dollar savings, and an ROI view against the initiative cost. The goal is to have this framework in place before we buy or build anything. This means defining the business need and setting KPIs that serve as the scoreboard through rollout, training, and continual optimization.
Adoption and sustained use are critical gates that unlock ROI. A solution that gets deployed but not used delivers no ROI.
Scott MacLean. Senior Vice President and CIO of MedStar Health (Columbia, Md.): Assessing the value of health IT investments has long been challenging for healthcare leaders because the return is inherently multidimensional.
First, there must be a tangible financial ROI: improvements in efficiency, cost reduction or revenue performance. Second, there is an increasingly important clinical quality ROI, particularly as value-based payment models expand and begin to reward better outcomes, safety and care coordination.
A third dimension is the intangible return from technology investments: improved patient experience, better access to information, and reductions in clinician administrative burden and burnout. While these benefits are harder to quantify, they are essential to the long-term sustainability of healthcare delivery.
The speed at which these benefits are realized also matters. Accelerating implementation and organizational change allows health systems to capture value sooner, strengthening the case for enterprisewide transformation rather than incremental progress.
Doug King. Senior Vice President and CIO of Northwestern Medicine (Chicago): Investing in technology at Northwestern Medicine is closely aligned with our core value domains. Our objective is to ensure that technology investments and solutions deliver measurable value in one or more of the following areas:
- Revenue capture: Generating new revenue streams or securing existing opportunities.
- Risk mitigation: Proactively avoiding risks or reducing current risk exposures.
- Efficiency/cost savings: Preventing unnecessary costs and utilizing resources with greater efficiency.
- Improved clinical outcomes: Advancing the quality of care, enhancing education and training, and optimizing treatment planning.
- Patient/provider experience: Creating positive impacts on the experiences of patients, providers and employees.
Brian Lancaster. Senior Vice President and CIO of Children’s Mercy (Kansas City, Mo.): ROI for technology means the benefits outweigh the costs, but in healthcare it is more complex. Thirty years ago, ROI came from moving from paper to computer systems to improve access, accuracy and efficiency. Ten years ago ROI focused on replacing inferior systems with more integrated and reliable platforms. Today ROI is driven by enabling new models of care such as virtual care, data driven decision making, and automation that changes how care is delivered. Defining ROI now requires technology leaders to work closely with clinical and operational leaders to understand how technology reshapes workflows, roles, and outcomes.
George “Buddy” Hickman. Chief Digital and Information Officer for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Buffalo, N.Y.): My definition of ROI for technology begins with a partnering sponsor who is willing to work through the discipline of writing the business case that clearly defines objectives, scope, key requirements, timelines and resourcing. The benefits side of ROI may be derived from efficiencies, though as one CEO taught me years ago, “One has to be effective before being efficient.” In addition to labor and other cost savings, a good ROI speaks to experience, patient safety, patient outcomes, and clinical quality improvements, and for Roswell Park, new cancer research discoveries.
Omer F. Awan. Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Fred Hutch (Seattle): Technology ROI is the measurable improvement in our ability to advance Fred Hutch’s mission —accelerating research, improving patient outcomes, increasing operational efficiency and reducing risk – relative to the total cost of the technology investment.
Rajiv Pramanik, MD. Chief Information Officer and Chief Health Informatics Officer for Contra Costa Health (Martinez, Calif.): The definition of ROI in the context of HR.1 is crucial, and how it’s quantified largely depends on the specific operational sector being supported by technology. Ultimately, operational executives determine the metrics for ROI. For technology-focused initiatives, ROI can encompass factors such as risk reduction, increased efficiency, and enhanced long-term flexibility.
David Spence. Director of IT/HIM for Mile Bluff Medical Center (Mauston, Wis.): In my organization, I define ROI for technology in healthcare as the measurable value created through five core outcomes: burden elimination, risk mitigation, workflow optimization, revenue growth and improved staff retention. Together, these elements contribute to higher patient satisfaction, organizational stability, and a more engaged and fulfilled workforce.
Achieving ROI in healthcare is rarely linear. These five components often intersect, and an initiative that strengthens one area may inadvertently create challenges in another. For this reason, it is essential to approach technology adoption with a deliberate, well structured strategic plan that incorporates measurable objectives and clear evaluation criteria. Thoughtful planning, continuous monitoring and comprehensive analysis are critical to realizing meaningful and sustainable ROI in healthcare technology.
Karl Hightower. Vice President and Chief Data and Analytics Officer for Stanford (Calif.) Health: I also try to reframe the conversation away from ROI alone and toward value. While financial return is important, value has a broader and deeper meaning — especially in healthcare. Value includes trust in the data, connection between clinicians and patients, and confidence among teams that technology supports, rather than disrupts, the practice of medicine.
Within this framework, value shows up when technology strengthens relationships, improves transparency and reinforces clinical judgment — not just when it produces a clear financial metric. In healthcare, trust and human connection are foundational, and those elements should not be discounted simply because they’re harder to quantify. When technology enhances those dimensions alongside operational and financial outcomes, it delivers meaningful, lasting value.
Chaitanya Vempati. Associate Vice President of AI and Analytics for Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston): In healthcare, I believe ROI for technology must be measured through a multi-dimensional framework that goes beyond traditional financial metrics. We’ve identified four distinct categories of AI investments, each requiring different measurement approaches: table stakes AI (measured through employee satisfaction and retention), AI-enhanced workflows (focused on efficiency and quality improvements), new AI-imagined workflows (directly impacting clinical outcomes like mortality and length of stay) and exploratory AI (valued for innovation pipeline development).
The key insight is that not all technology investments can or should be measured the same way. Healthcare organizations that succeed will adopt portfolio-based approaches to ROI measurement, recognizing that different technologies serve different strategic purposes and require tailored metrics to demonstrate their true value to the organization and patients we serve.
Sandhya Chandrasekhar. Associate Vice President of Enterprise Analytics and Data Engineering for Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston): The greatest value or ROI technology delivers is when all the right pieces come together. Imagine buying the best car and hiring a driver because you want to go to a rodeo, but no one knows where the rodeo is or when it’s happening. The car alone creates no value. Technology works the same way. Business and operational leaders must first define the real problem and the outcomes that matter, and then technology, workflows and trusted data and analytics come together to support and measure the solution. That’s how I think about the ROI for technology, when business, operations, technology and data and analytics align to solve real problems and drive measurable results.
Hetal Rupani. Senior Director of Business Intelligence and Analytics for Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore): When we talk about ROI in healthcare AI, it’s easy to focus on the sophistication or perfection of the model. But real ROI isn’t about the model — it’s about what actually changes in practice.
It shows up when patients get faster access to the care they need, when clinicians spend less time documenting and less time working after hours, when coding accuracy improves and denials decrease, and when teams can identify no-shows or same-day cancellations early enough to offer those slots to other patients and optimize capacity.
It also appears when insights lead to better operational decisions — from staffing to bed management to clinics and OR utilization.
If AI doesn’t improve how care is delivered or how work gets done, the value remains theoretical. True ROI happens when AI changes workflows and outcomes — not just the technology.
Edward Peterson. Vice President of IT for Mount Sinai Health System (New York City): We define ROI for technology, when the total cost of ownership to that technology in question is beneficial to efficiency, reliability, revenue, customer satisfaction, cost and efforts to implement and support.
Eric Snyder. Executive Director of Technology and Innovation for University of Rochester Medical Center-Wilmot Cancer Institute (Rochester, N.Y.): ROI in technology is not just about financial savings, but in healthcare, the real ROI is whether technology enables better decisions, faster and with greater confidence. When clinicians, researchers and leaders can access things like trusted data in real time, the entire system becomes more proactive instead of reactive. That shift toward better decisions and better outcomes is where technology truly pays off.
Corey Jacobson. Senior Vice President of Technology Innovation AI and Operations for SSM Health (St. Louis): At SSM Health, technology ROI is evaluated as a holistic metric that seamlessly blends financial and operational performance with our durable mission to deliver exceptional care. We believe that a truly comprehensive return is not only measured by revenue growth, cost savings or efficiency gains, but more importantly, by the lasting and positive effects on patient outcomes, the empowerment of our care teams, and the overall well-being of the communities we serve.
In my role as a leader in technology and AI, I focus on leveraging innovation, particularly in AI and automation, to generate timely and accurate insights, improve the quality of decisions, reduce organizational risk, and foster trust throughout our system. Each investment is carefully assessed to ensure it provides immediate benefit or relief, maintains our commitment to AI solutions that are both responsibly used and closely aligned with our mission.
George Bailey. Director of CyberTAP, Technical Assistance Program for Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.): For me, ROI in technology comes down to whether it actually makes life easier for the people who use it. A shiny new tool doesn’t impress me unless it removes friction, saves time or frees up brain space for more meaningful work. I also think the “return” isn’t always a number on a spreadsheet — sometimes it’s the confidence that your team can move faster or experiment more boldly. If a piece of tech consistently gives you that feeling, the ROI is already there.
Dawn Anderson. IT Customer Success Director for Bryan Health (Lincoln, Neb.): As the Director of Bryan Health’s Epic Community Connect, I primarily measure ROI by doing everything possible to keep referrals and specialty care within the Bryan Health network, reducing patient leakage to other competing systems. Bryan Health is intentional about leveraging technology through shared infrastructure. Another key ROI driver is improved care coordination across rural Nebraska clinics, where shared patient records reduce duplicate testing and enable faster clinical decision making. Bryan Health also evaluates ROI through data and population health analytics, using integrated data from connected clinics to manage value-based care and quality programs across the region. Finally, technology ROI includes regional interoperability and access expansion, allowing Bryan Health to exchange large volumes of patient records and coordinate care across hundreds of partners and rural providers.
Tomi Kolade, MD. Assistant Chief Medical Information Officer for UTHealth (Houston): I define ROI for technology in healthcare as more than financial return. It is the measurable restoration of time, trust, and clinical capacity. A technology delivers true ROI when it reduces friction, lightens cognitive load, improves outcomes, and helps clinicians and care teams operate at their highest level.
In a field as human and complex as healthcare, the best technology is not the one that simply adds capability, but the one that removes burden at scale.
If innovation does not make care better, work easier, and decisions smarter, it may be interesting, but it is not ROI.
Conrad Gleber, MD. Associate Chief Medical Information Officer for University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center: ROI for technology in healthcare must go beyond a simple cost-benefit calculation. At its core, any technology investment needs to return value to the organization, whether through cost savings, increased efficiency, or new revenue. A tool that reduces administrative burden in one department may look modest on a spreadsheet, yet if it frees clinicians to focus on patient care or positions the organization as an employer that invests in its workforce, the downstream returns are substantial.
Equally important is recognizing that no technology delivers ROI if it isn’t adopted. The most sophisticated tool on the market generates zero return sitting unused or underutilized. Realizing value requires that the people closest to the work embrace and integrate the technology into their workflows. Organizations that treat implementation as an afterthought will consistently underperform on their technology investments, regardless of how sound the underlying solution is.
Salim Saiyed, MD. Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas): Defining ROI for healthcare technology requires looking at a holistic view from an organizational perspective. As CMIOs, we must ask not only whether a tool saves dollars, but whether it advances or improves patient outcomes, saves time, reduces cognitive burden or improves access. In academic health systems, ROI also includes workforce sustainability, learner experience, and the ability to scale innovation responsibly. The most valuable technologies are those that align clinical value, operational efficiency and human impact—because in healthcare, return on investment is ultimately return on care.
T.Y. Alvin Liu, MD. Endowed Professor of AI Oversight Team and Inaugural Director, James P. Gills Jr., MD, and Heather Gills Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center for Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore): I conceptualize and categorize ROI in three different buckets:
- Clinical
- Operational
- Financial
A positive clinical ROI typically means better clinical outcomes for our patients. A positive operational ROI typically means improved efficiency. A positive financial ROI is self-explanatory. A critical aspect of ROI consideration is agreement from day one on: who is going to measure the ROI and how is the ROI measured over what time frame. In my experience, successful AI implementation and scaling usually requires a demonstration of positive ROI in at least two of the three buckets.
Bryan Traughber, MD. Innovation Chair for Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.): I define true ROI by the technology that actually disappears into the workflow. If a solution doesn’t actively decrease the cognitive load on our providers, it isn’t an innovation — it’s technical debt. The most significant return an organization can realize is the reclamation of its providers’ time and focus; without that, financial gains on paper are often offset by the long-term costs of burnout and system inefficiency.
Shruti Cruz. Director for Northwestern Medicine (Chicago): While we have a strong process in place for tracking hard ROI on technology investments, we tend to think of ROI as something we can point to on a financial statement. What we’re seeing now is that many new technologies don’t fit that model; but they do ease burnout, make decisions happen faster, and reduce risk. If we want to understand and track their value, we have to be able to measure these “softer” impacts as well.
Camila Altman. Director for Northwestern Medicine (Chicago): ROI for technology is that there is measurable business or clinical outcome one wishes to achieve.
Sam Afirmar, MD. Chief Medical Officer and Chief Information Officer for The Brooklyn Hospital Center (New York City): ROI, for me, carries a deliberately broad meaning. If an adopted technology improves quality, process, patient experience, employee satisfaction, or financial performance over a given time horizon, I consider that a good ROI. And if something shows genuine potential, I’ll pursue a trial just to find out what it would take to get it over the acceptable threshold. Experimenting is important because the small details can make a big difference.
A precise definition is elusive, because every case is different. Having a standard evaluation framework to evaluate ROI is important. Over time you develop a sense for it. When you see the details and understand the context, you feel it. Listen to the evidence and your gut.
Ed Lee, MD. Director of Informatics and Chair, Clinical Education for California Northstate University College of Medicine (Elk Grove, Calif.): ROI for healthcare technology can’t just be about cost savings. For those of us on the front lines, the real test is whether it improves patient outcomes, reduces cognitive and administrative burden for clinicians, and helps the system run more smoothly. If a tool doesn’t give clinicians meaningful time back or tangibly improve care delivery, the financial ROI usually disappoints. The solutions that win are the ones that remove friction from care, not add another layer of work.
Tony Sillemon, PsyD. Director of Community Health for Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Sutter Health (Berkeley, Calif.): In healthcare, ROI for technology has to go beyond financial return. I tend to look at whether the technology actually improves the way care is delivered—does it help clinicians work more efficiently, reduce administrative burden, and ultimately improve the patient experience? The most successful investments are the ones that support better outcomes while also helping health systems operate more sustainably. If the technology makes care easier to deliver and better for patients, that’s where the real return is.
Gerrit von Wenckstern. Marketing Director for University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston): In healthcare marketing, measuring ROI is inherently complex because success isn’t defined solely by revenue or conversions. Healthcare organizations have missions tied to improving the health and well-being of the communities they serve, which means marketing investments should also be evaluated on how they expand access to care, connect patients with needed services, and support better health outcomes. While financial metrics and operational efficiency still matter, they only tell part of the story. At the end of the day, technology and marketing tools should be judged not just by what they generate financially, but by how effectively they help improve the health of the community.
Artimisha Curl. Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for El Camino Health (Mountain View, Calif.): My approach is always grounded in creating meaningful value for the organization while strengthening a culture where people can thrive and perform at their highest potential. The most effective strategies are both thoughtful and practical. They are designed to strengthen organizational culture, address real operational challenges, and position the organization for long term success. This includes looking at the entire ecosystem of the organization, people, processes, and leadership behaviors, to ensure that the systems we build truly reflect the values we want to see lived across the organization.
In my experience, organizations move forward most effectively when innovation and equity are embedded into how decisions are made. When leaders take an intentional approach to removing barriers, expanding opportunity, and investing in their people, the impact extends far beyond culture. It strengthens leadership capability, improves engagement, and ultimately drives better outcomes for the organization and the communities it serves.
Andrew Wang, PhD. Population Health Director for Lawndale Christian Health Center (Chicago): ROI for technology can be measured by its ability to develop and enhance patient and clinic team engagement, reduce and not increase process inefficiency, and ensure staff have the tools to successfully accomplish their work. It must also improve the bottomline without jeopardizing the financial wellbeing of the organization. Technology ultimately does not replace the compassion or warmth of patient care but instead creates a safer and better environment for healthcare staff to engage in patient care.
Richard Zane, MD. Chief Medical and Innovation Officer for UCHealth (Aurora, Colo.): Lives saved.
Rasa Kazlauskaite, MD. Medical Director of Endocrinology for Cook County Health (Chicago): Many benefits of health technology are indirect and long-term. The priorities include patient outcomes, quality care and cost avoidance (preventing expensive complications). A great example is the use of technology in diabetes care. Technologies like continuous glucose monitoring and automated insulin delivery improve medical care of diabetes patients beyond expectations, increasing patient safety, quality of life, and may even approximate diabetes cure in some patients.
Paola Ballester, MD. Medical Director of Utilization Management for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (St. Petersburg, Fla.): ROI for healthcare technology has to pass one of four simple tests. Does it increase access to care, improve quality/outcomes, optimize margins, or meaningfully reduce staff burden? If a solution cannot clearly move one of those levers, the ROI isn’t there. Technology has to solve real operational problems, not just add another tool to the stack.
JohnRich Levine. Chief Nursing Officer for Reeves Regional Health (Pecos, Texas): Return on investment in healthcare technology extends far beyond the purchase price or the speed of implementation. The real return appears when technology strengthens clinical judgment, reduces friction in daily workflows, and allows nurses and physicians to spend more time with patients rather than at screens. If a system improves safety, shortens time to treatment, or helps clinicians make clearer decisions at the bedside, the value becomes visible very quickly.
In a rural hospital like ours, I evaluate technology through three lenses. Does it improve patient safety? Does it make the work of our clinical teams easier and more reliable? Does it help us serve our community more effectively with the resources we have? When those three outcomes move in the right direction, the financial return usually follows.
Technology succeeds in healthcare when it quietly supports people doing their best work.
Manny Rodriguez. Chief Marketing, Experience and Customer Officer for UCHealth (Aurora, Colo.): I think ROI for health care technology is best measured across three dimensions: clinical impact, operational efficiency and patient experience. It’s important to look beyond short-term cost savings and consider the broader, long-term value that technology brings.
At UCHealth, we consider technology a strategic asset that streamlines administrative tasks and enables our clinicians to focus more fully on patient care. By prioritizing investments that foster lasting improvements, we build a stronger, more resilient health system, achieve greater financial returns, and most importantly, deliver exceptional care to our patients.
Todd Ponsky, MD. Chief Innovation Officer and Professor of Surgery and Pediatric Surgery for Cincinnati Children’s: Return on investment in healthcare technology is uniquely complex because value cannot be measured by financial return alone. A single innovation may generate substantial revenue, reduce morbidity for thousands of patients, or prevent hundreds of deaths. Each represents profound value, yet they are not easily compared on the same scale. In practice, the technologies that create the greatest clinical and mission impact often also produce the greatest long term economic value. For academic health systems, that economic return is essential because it enables investment in research, innovation, and the uncompensated care that advances our broader mission.
Neema Navai, MD. Enterprise Lead of Virtual Care and Engagement for MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston): Healthcare technologies have reached a clear inflection point. Historically, these tools have focused on organizing information and supporting billing workflows. Looking ahead, the emphasis is shifting toward clinical workflows, decision support, and restoring meaningful work by offloading the administrative burdens clinicians have long faced. For patients, these innovations promise greater transparency into their health information, stronger support for self-management, and reduced friction in accessing care. Whether through enhanced communication, expanded telehealth capabilities, AI-driven tools, or seamless backend integrations, the next era of healthcare technology will deliver measurable ROI by returning time, humanity, and professional satisfaction to clinical care.
Hemali Sudhalkar, MD. National Medical Director, Strategy for Kaiser Permanente Care at Home (Oakland, Calif.): In our organization, we define the return on investment for health technology by its tangible impact on clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient safety, experience, and overall quality of life. A great example is our Advanced Care at Home program, which harnesses technology to deliver advanced care directly to patients in their homes. This initiative has produced significant positive results, including a reduction in the average length of stay from 5.5 days to 3.5 days and a 3% lower readmission rate compared to traditional care settings. Importantly, by shifting advanced care into the home, we’re able to “return” hospital beds to those who need them most, alleviating strain on our facilities and reducing the time patients spend in the hospital—all without compromising the quality of care.
Mohamed Rami Nakeshbandi, MD. Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Downstate Health Sciences University (New York City): At an academic medical center, ROI for technology extends beyond traditional financial metrics to include measurable improvements in clinical quality, patient experience, and workforce well-being. We evaluate success by the technology’s ability to improve outcomes, reduce harm, and advance performance on key quality measures while also enhancing patient satisfaction and access to care. Equally important is its impact on clinicians and staff—reducing cognitive burden, improving efficiency, and mitigating burnout. Finally, true ROI includes how well a solution supports our mission of education, research, and innovation, ensuring it creates long-term value for both patients and the health system.
Albert Villarin, MD. Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer for Nuvance Health (Danbury, Conn.): CMIO Innovation ROI Framework: Defining Value from Digital Health, AI, and Clinical Informatics
- Strategic Transformation: Digital maturity • AI-enabled care • Market differentiation
- Clinical Outcomes & Workforce Sustainability: Mortality lower • Readmissions lowere • Burnout lower • Documentation time lower
- Operational Efficiency & Financial Performance: LOS lower • Throughput greater• Revenue capture greater • Cost per case lower
Healthcare Innovation ROI = Clinical Outcomes + Workforce Sustainability + Operational Efficiency + Financial Performance + Strategic Value
Leslie Eiland, MD. Medical Director of Patient Experience and Digital Health for Nebraska Medicine (Omaha): As a physician, I define ROI for technology by whether an intervention improves access to care, or whether it enhances the quality of care I provide. I place value on technology that allows me to focus on what’s most important — strengthening relationships with my patients and helping them lead healthier lives.
Barbara Riddell. System Director of Clinical Informatics for OhioHealth (Columbus): In healthcare, ROI measures total value—not just financial return—including quality, safety, efficiency, and patient and clinician experience. Technology ROI often includes cost avoidance and risk reduction, such as preventing errors, penalties, and inefficiencies, not only new revenue. Many healthcare technology benefits accrue over time, making ROI a longitudinal measure rather than an immediate financial payoff. Strong ROI aligns technology investments with enterprise priorities like quality outcomes, access, workforce sustainability, and regulatory compliance.
Marcia Hodge. Assistant Vice President of Nursing Practice and Innovation for Maimonides Health (New York City): When evaluating return on investment (ROI) for technology, it is important for me as a nurse leader to think of the security behind the technology, system integrity, as well as the clinical and financial value. ROI should capture measurable outcomes such as reductions in documentation time, enhanced workflow efficiency, decreased medication errors, and enhanced patient safety and satisfaction. It also includes indirect benefits like reduced nurse burnout, improved staff retention, and better adherence with quality and regulatory standards, and reduced organizational risk. A comprehensive and balanced analysis of the total cost of the technology against these quantifiable and qualitative gains help healthcare organizations determine whether the technology meaningfully improves care delivery, supports the nursing and medical workforce, and enhances overall long-term operational performance.
Katherine McPherson. Director of Human Resources Operations for CommonSpirit Health (Chicago): I define technology ROI as a multifaceted, holistic combination of financial, operational, clinical and strategic Human Capital ROI. This includes actual cost savings and revenue generation, leading to an enhanced patient experience and better patient outcomes. From a human capital perspective the ROI will enhance staff satisfaction, engagement and retention, reduce burnout and provide the organization a competitive advantage.
K. Nadeem Ahmed, MD. System Chief Medical Officer for Valley Health System (Ridgewood, N.J.): The concept of ROI stems from the financial industry, as a measure to determine if financial investments can be recovered. However, in healthcare, the ideal ROI for technology should relate directly to improved patient outcomes, which may or may not produce financial returns. Short of that, gaining operational efficiencies, simplifying complex processes, and decreasing manual tasks are other good metrics to gauge ROI.
Ryan Kenney. Vice President of Strategy Enablement for Nebraska Medicine (Omaha): Technology doesn’t create ROI—outcomes do. We strive to ensure every technology investment is tightly linked to a strategic objective with measurable outcomes.
At the Becker’s 11th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Conference, taking place Sept. 14-17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will gather to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
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