Are CFOs Making the Right Tech Investments?

To maximize tech value, CFOs need to examine the specific challenges facing their health system.

As CFOs are called upon to do more than just manage margins, they are expected to be instrumental in improving both clinical and operational outcomes through thoughtful financial acumen.

One way to deliver on this expanded mandate is by investing in technologies that enhance patient and clinician satisfaction. These investments not only support long-term financial sustainability but also address some of the most pressing challenges facing healthcare systems, such as workforce burnout, care coordination inefficiencies, and patient engagement gaps.

The biggest technology investment for health systems and hospitals is the EHR platform.

Laurie Beyer, CFO of Greater Baltimore Medical Center, calls the installation of Epic’s platform one of the most impactful tech upgrades the health system had seen.

“Obviously the biggest tech upgrade or implementation was moving to Epic in 2016,” she said.

Many CFOs that HealthLeaders has spoken with say Epic’s Gold Star program is intriguing, allowing the health system to earn money back for implementing new functionalities.

“Over the years we've maximized the functionality,” Beyer said. “And if you do this, and you use it effectively, then you get points and money back from Epic. So we've been very diligent about that.”

UMass Memorial Health switched its EHR platform to Epic in 2017. CFO Sergio Melgar recalled how the switch not only improved operational efficiency but also staff synergy, preventing departments from working in silos.

Melgar says CFOs must ask themselves ’Where is the liquidity coming from?’ before jumping into large tech investments. CFOs must ensure their balance sheet is prepared for the expense, not only for purchasing the system itself, but also for training staff.

 “You need to invest in transformation because you don't want to put Epic on the practices that you currently have. You want to transform what you do,” he previously told HealthLeaders.

In choosing an EHR or an EHR upgrade, CFOs should take into consideration:

-Assessing the organization’s current system and identifying what is working and what is not.

-Establishing a clear plan for how an EHR will be used and maintained.

- investing in training and support.

-Patience, especially during the first year of implementation, as staff get used to the technology and new workflows.

-As Melgar put it: “Focus on a continuous improvement philosophy.”

AI Tools

 Another popular tech investment is AI. Many health systems are looking at ambient AI tools to capture the patient-provider encounter and improve billing opportunities

Clinician stress and burnout remains high, driven in part by documentation and administrative tasks that put clinicians in front of a computer instead of patients, AI dictation solutions have the potential to reduce administrative strain. They leverage ambient listening and natural language processing to document patient encounters in real-time.

Beyer says this tool has been helpful in enhancing patient and clinician satisfaction.

“The doctor can look me in the eye and talk to me without sitting in front of the computer, and then at the end of the encounter can look at the note and then can modify it and send it on its way,” Beyer says of the patient experience.

 “So that's been a huge satisfaction for patients, and for doctors so that they don't have to spend hours at night getting their notes,” she said. “We've done some things like that, but on a very thoughtful basis, to enhance patient and provider satisfaction.”

Beyer emphasized that moving slowly and thoughtfully on AI investments is an essential factor to determine what tools will provide the most value for her organization's specific challenges.

Besides clinical documentation tools, AI has also found a home in revenue cycle management, helping with billing, coding and improving overall efficiency.

Building An AI Business Plan

Brian Devine, CFO of Allegheny Health Network, also spoke at the exchange about creating a strategic, long-term business plan for AI and new technologies.

“Utilizing AI and new tech for clinicians and other areas like RCM has to be accompanied by a strategic plan, don’t invest just to say you did it. How do we approach a business plan around these types of technologies,” he said.

What’s needed to get started? Long term strategy, ROI, and governance.

For creating this plan, Devine suggests:

• Identifying a clinical champion to evaluate the changes to the clinical workflow; allowing CFOs to look at all the potential efficiencies.
   
• Be open to not immediately reducing resources until learnings, adoption and scale occur.
   
• Gain funding by starting with pilot efforts – track operational metrics and allow that to set realistic expectations.
   
• Ensure to consider IT infrastructure needs – upgraded WiFi, TVs in patient rooms, cellular towers, server space, security – it all adds up quickly.
   
• Lastly, consider that ROI may not always be there, but the market is moving quickly, and without these tools it may be difficult to recruit and retain clinical talent. There is some element of competitiveness and required investments over time.

Finding The Funds

Having a strategic, long-term plan for using innovative tech is one thing, coming up with the funding for it is another. While many health-systems are strapped for cash in today’s healthcare landscape, CFOs may find themselves looking for financial flexibility in unexpected places.

One of these, Beyer says, in non-clinical spend.

CFOs should examine different avenues for savings from non-clinical expenses and ensure there are dedicated teams in place to help do this.

“Non-clinical spend has been a focus for us,” Beyer said. “We have not had discipline with non-clinical spend. The GPO does not manage it, so we have brought in some resources, on a fixed cost basis, to really take a look at almost every single non-clinical contract [and asking] ‘is it the best vendor we are getting for the best price?’”

The potential savings in non-clinical spend could help CFOs unlock a variety of wins, like investing in technology to improve operations and long-term savings.

“That's a little thinking outside the box, because I would think some CFOs don't really focus on the on the non-clinical side,” Beyer said.