HIMSS25: ROI as the ultimate measure of value

ROI Institute CEO Patti Phillips asks for a show of hands during the HIMSS25 Executive Summit.

Photo: Susan Morse/Healthcare Finance News, HIMSS

LAS VEGAS – Patti Phillips, cofounder and CEO of ROI Institute, looked at the value of investment and how to reposition the return on investment mindset during the HIMSS25 Executive Summit here on Monday.

Phillips often called upon the more than 500 people who attended the summit to answer how they measure ROI. Impact is the top answer given by healthcare leaders, she said, and it was the top answer given by the audience by a show of hands.

Healthcare executives need to determine whether investments are having an impact on cost, quality and time, Phillips said.

Executives must ask if the investment cost more to implement than the money it saves.

Also, they need to know if anyone is using the new technology or service.

“If people don’t leverage the technology, read the dashboards, access the self-service portal you’ve given them, there is no value,” Phillips said.

Considerations for the impact and ROI include the cost of the project, links to operational goals and the importance to strategic objectives.

Reasons not to measure ROI include fear of the outcome, too difficult, too costly and time-consuming, and no one is asking.

Founded in 1992, the ROI Institute helps organizations evaluate the success of projects and programs and the financial return on investment.

“ROI is the ultimate measure of value,” Phillips said.

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org