There are many reasons why health care costs in the US are spiraling out of control: ineffective use of resources, unmanaged chronic conditions and infrequent implementations of proven prevention strategies all contribute. While it stands to reason that preventative actions are one solution, no one has yet quantified the value of investing in non-traditional prevention programs.
A team of researchers and mobile health providers have led the development of a prototype “return on investment calculator” that can measure the value of prevention services. People talk about the value of preventative measures all the time, but no one has ever really captured the important contribution of the many non-traditional prevention based programs like mobile healthcare programs.
Using published data from the National Commission on Prevention Priorities (NCPP) that assigned values to a broad array of preventative practices, as well as published data on the cost-savings of preventing avoidable emergency room visits, the team developed an algorithm that “calculates” a return on investment ratio, thereby quantifying the value of mobile health care to the overall health care system.
Marshall Fleurant MD MPH, Caterina Hill MPH, Jennifer Bennett, Steven R. Simon MD MPH, Nancy Oriol MD, LeRoi Hicks MD MPH. The Use of Health Information Technology among Mobile Health Clinics in the United States in 2010.
Nancy E. Oriol, Paul J. Cote, Anthony P. Vavasis, Jennifer Bennet, Darien DeLorenzo, Phillip Blanc, Isaac Kohane (June 2, 2009). Calculating the Return on Investment of Mobile Healthcare. BMC Medicine.
Description of the ROI Algorithm:
Partnership for Prevention - Rankings of Preventive Services for the U.S. Population
Heather J. Carmack, PhD (June 2010). "What Happens on the Van, Stays on the Van": The (Re)Structuring of Privacy and Disclosure Scripts on an Appalachian Mobile Health Clinic.
Mobile Health Clinics Research Database
A link to a database of references on mobile health. This research database is being compiled by and for mobile clinics. Help us build the database, if you want to add any references or for more information please contact mobilehealthmap@hms.harvard.edu.
