The ROI of HIT

At HCI, the issues facing our CIOs are always number one. And this month, with serious economic challenges looming for most hospitals, we share stories that may help: all of our department stories are focused on the ROI of HIT projects. Starting off the pack is, “A Competitive Edge,” page 20. In this article, we see how several hospitals are making sure that every IT dollar yields concrete benefits. We show you successes in both non- and for-profits when it comes to building a care service model that is intensely patient-centric and service-oriented, and why a key element is the need to optimize clinician workflow and operational efficiency without enlarging clinical staffs.

We also take a look at the strategy of lean management in, “Waste Management,” page 24. Going lean, as hospitals are finding out, requires an enterprise-wide effort and dedication to a new way of doing business. It's a philosophy that seeps into every layer of an organization and dictates how a project is carried out, whether it's something as complex as deploying a workflow system or as simple as standardizing surgical tool kits. Done right, the reward is a more efficient use of resources - an easy sell in the current economic climate. In this article, we look at how methods like the Toyota Production System are being leveraged to help eliminate waste and engage the workforce, what best practices are being employed, and how forward-thinking organizations are going lean to take control of their bottom line.

According to a recent KLAS study, 12 percent of U.S. hospitals with at least 100 beds are now outsourcing a majority or all of the IT department. But does farming out the infrastructure, various IT tasks, or even the whole shop really help the bottom line, or does it make more financial sense to keep IT in-house? In “On the Outs,” page 28, we show you how outsourcing can potentially help - or hurt - health systems, identify what factors may determine whether an organization is a viable candidate for outsourcing and take a hard look at the dollars involved.