What's your ROI? Making the Case for Improving Public Health: Reducing Hypertension through Primary Care and Public Health Integration in Rural Oklahoma

Through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ASTHO oversaw the development of a tool by the University of Kentucky that estimates the Return on Investment (ROI) of QI projects.  The tool compares investment costs with expected benefits in routine operating costs and other outcomes achieved.  It uses present value conversions, so that comparisons can be made accurately across time.  It also amortizes costs and benefits, allowing high initial costs to be evenly “spread” over the project.

The tool was beta tested by the states of Connecticut, Maine, and Virginia.  Numerous other states and localities subsequently applied the tool.  ASTHO has formed a national ROI network that provides expert and peer-to-peer assistance in ROI.  

The basics of this powerful form of analysis will be explored and the tool's capabilities will be explained.  A case study will be provided by Oklahoma which is making the ROI case for its project teaming public health nurses with physician-ordered follow-up of hypertensive patients.  The state is participating in the national Million Hearts initiative sponsored by CDC.  Lessons learned about conceptualizing this specialized form of analysis, identifying and collecting data, analyzing data, and communicating results will be explored.