From benefits idealisation to value optimisation: application in the digital health context

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Healthcare Management
• Information Systems Research

Background:

• Healthcare organizations face pressure to prove ROI from digital health investments.
• Benefits management (BM) is a common approach in digital hospital initiatives.
• Existing BM models may not fully address the complexities of large-scale EMR implementations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the evidence supporting the benefits management (BM) approach in digital hospital initiatives.
• To compare the BM literature with the electronic medical record (EMR) implementation literature.
• To identify inadequacies in current BM practices for EMR implementations.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative narrative overview of the benefits management (BM) literature.
• A qualitative systematic overview of electronic medical record (EMR) implementation literature.
• Examination of 25 articles on BM and 12 literature reviews on EMR implementation.

Main Results:

• The benefits management (BM) approach lacks strong empirical support in the literature.
• Current BM models do not adequately support the needs of large electronic medical record (EMR) implementations.
• Existing BM practices, despite policy integration, are not evidence-based.

Conclusions:

• The current benefits management (BM) approach is insufficient for managing outcomes of digital hospital initiatives.
• A transition from benefits idealization to value optimization is necessary.
• Health service leaders should adopt evidence-based approaches for benefits governance in digital transformations.