How do you manage to accomplish ever expanding company objectives with the same or fewer resources each year? 

When my career began to transition from being a healthcare provider to operational responsibilities, it became apparent that the archaic, paper-based processes made it very difficult to be efficient and accountable. I found guidance in The IT Payoff, Measuring the Business Value of Information Technology Investments. The book describes the value of utilizing a balanced scorecard to help determine a range of metrics to be tracked and monitored when you are considering technology payoff metrics. 

These three main points resonated with me:

  • Productivity
  • Profitability
  • Customer value

From an operational perspective, my former company was not alone in the challenge to effectively monitor productivity, to quantify how paper-based business processes affected profitability, and to measure customer value. Like many other providers, it was questionable if we had properly identified our customers or thought about how implementing technology could improve their experience and evaluation of our services.  

I would like to share some best practices based upon my journey from a provider seeking technology to impact organizational success to working with other providers to positively impact productivity, profitability and customer value. Over the next few months, I will be posting a three-part series documenting the digital transformation of healthcare organizations in their quest to achieve improved productivity, profitability and customer value:

  • Part 1 – Creating New Efficiencies with Referral & Medical Records Management 
  • Part 2 – Delivering a Paperless Clinical Environment for Improved Patient Care
  • Part 3 – Scaling Technology across your Enterprise for a Lower Total Cost Of Ownership

Each post will identify the challenges associated with paper-based business processes for operations and clinical review, how technology was used to create new efficiencies to drive accountability, and the measures of success as a result of business process automation.

Are you seeking to drive transformational change?  Stay tuned for guidance to improve your productivity, profitability and customer value.


Scott Magers, PT, is an account executive for
Hyland Healthcare, with more than 20 years of experience in outpatient therapy, home health care and skilled nursing facilities.

References: Devaraj S, Kohli R. The IT Payoff, Measuring the Business Value of Information Technology Investments.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.; 2002.