Session: Successful evaluation of new services, products for profitability

Editor’s Note

“What problem does your OR have that you would like to solve?” posed Pamela Hunt, BS, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Executive Advisory, Consultant and Associate Faculty, Kelly School of Business, Indiana University, to the audience at the OR Business Management Conference. During her session, "No Margin, No Mission: Successful Evaluation of New Services and Products for Profitability," Hunt shared key financial planning concepts and tips to consider when evaluating the profitability and quality of a new service or product.

She identified each component used to determine an organization’s return on investment (ROI). “We must evaluate our expenses and our revenue,” she said.

From there, she gave a breakdown of key components, which include:

• weighing fixed and variable costs
• conducting a breakeven analysis
• determining the payor source
• understanding leasing vs purchasing
• analyzing service proposals
• conducting a cashflow analysis.

Hunt connected these financial concepts with the main goal of an institution, which is quality patient care. “When you know that the financial changes you make are making changes for patients and their families, you will be able to enjoy your work,” she noted.

The cost of quality, or lack thereof, is difficult to articulate, Hunt said, but low-quality patient care or quality errors can lead to both tangible and intangible costs. This concept is crucial when evaluating the ROI on a product or service. She described specific quality metrics to consider when trying to determine if overall patient care and financial performance has improved.

Hunt listed key takeaways for each leader in the audience:

• use cost of quality data to determine ROI on equipment and services
• be transparent
• determine which quality metrics you will use before you make a process improvement change
• follow up with quality metrics to make sure you accomplished what you set out to do.

She concluded her presentation with a personal story about the care her uncle received when he was a patient, which reinforced the connection between successful financial performance and quality patient care.