Healthcare is a complex ecosystem where efficiency, safety, and patient satisfaction are deeply interconnected. Leaders constantly grapple with evaluating the impact of tools and systems, especially solutions that influence workflows across multiple departments. Clinical Communication and Collaboration (CCC) platforms are one such area—essential yet often undervalued components of clinical workflows.
Ron Remy, CEO of Mobile Heartbeat, sat down with us to discuss how healthcare organizations should rethink how they measure the value of clinical communications products. Rather than evaluating them strictly as a product category, he suggests viewing them as tools that drive significant productivity gains for clinicians, operations, and staff. These solutions improve effectiveness, satisfaction, and patient safety while also supporting the data-sharing and interoperability that future AI-powered healthcare systems will require, as health tech companies work together to create a more connected ecosystem.
His insights offer a broader perspective on evaluating ROI in systems that span multiple workflows and teams, without positioning clinical communications as the singular solution to healthcare’s complexities.
“If you want to understand the impact of a system, sometimes the best test is simple—turn it off for a week and see what happens. The results speak for themselves.”
Why Measuring ROI in Healthcare Is So Complicated
Healthcare leaders are accustomed to measuring ROI for specific tools and interventions. Buy a new MRI machine, and it’s straightforward to calculate how many scans it needs to perform to justify the expense. But what happens when the system in question supports a wide range of workflows, users, and use cases?
This is where traditional bottom-up ROI models start to fall short. As Ron explained, "The challenge with unified communication platforms has always been, 'What’s my ROI?' You can measure the efficiency of a single tool, but when a system impacts multiple workflows, calculating ROI becomes exponentially harder."
Take the example of installing telephones in hospitals decades ago—no one calculated the ROI of the phone network as a whole. It became a utility, integral to every part of the hospital’s operations. The same challenge applies today with unified communication platforms that connect EHRs, nurse call systems, and messaging tools.
A Top-Down View: Measuring the Broader Impact
Ron advocates for a top-down approach to ROI that looks at the system’s holistic value rather than dissecting individual use cases. "We focus on two key levers," he explained. "First, the number of users connected to the platform—because, as Metcalfe’s Law tells us, the value of a network increases exponentially with each new user. Second, the impact on each user’s daily workflow."
This is where the exponential value of nodes comes into play. Using Metcalfe’s Law, Ron illustrated how each new user added to the network doesn’t just add value—it multiplies it. Think of a fax network: two fax machines provide four potential connections (2²), but ten machines offer 100 (10²). In a healthcare setting, every clinician, administrator, and staff member connected to a CCC platform amplifies the network’s utility exponentially.
But it’s not just about the number of users—it’s about the impact on each of them. In one study, Mobile Heartbeat tracked how much med-surg nurses walked during a shift before and after implementing their platform. Post-implementation, nurses walked 1.2 fewer miles per shift—translating to 22 minutes saved. Across hundreds of staff, that adds up quickly. And that’s just one metric. Reduce time spent hunting for data, figuring out who’s on shift, or responding to overhead pages, and the efficiency gains multiply.
Crucially, this isn’t about cutting staff or eliminating roles. “The goal isn’t to reduce headcount,” Ron emphasized. “It’s about giving highly trained clinicians more time for patient-centered care.” By eliminating inefficiencies, the entire ecosystem benefits—from quieter units (thanks to targeted alerts reducing overhead noise) to faster response times and improved HCAHPS scores.
The Ripple Effect: Boosting Patient Safety and Staff Satisfaction
Better communication doesn’t just streamline workflows—it directly impacts patient safety and satisfaction. Communication errors are a leading cause of medical mistakes, and simplifying how care teams connect helps reduce these risks.
“If you have a very easy way to communicate that is simple, consistent, and ubiquitous, your communication errors will drop,” Ron noted. “And that leads directly to patient safety improvement.”
Hospitals using Mobile Heartbeat’s platform have also reported improved HCAHPS scores, particularly in “quietness” and “responsiveness” metrics. By directing alarms and notifications to the appropriate staff members rather than broadcasting them across the facility, units become quieter and more focused, creating a better environment for both patients and staff.
Staff satisfaction also improves. Clinicians feel empowered when they have tools that make their jobs easier. Instead of wasting time locating colleagues or deciphering fragmented communications, they can focus on what matters most—patient care.
Looking Ahead: The Role of AI in Clinical Communications
The future of CCC platforms lies in further augmenting workflows through AI. Mobile Heartbeat is already developing AI-driven chatbots that will act as virtual care team members, capable of retrieving information, placing service orders, and assisting clinicians in real time.
But Ron is quick to stress that this is about augmented—not artificial—intelligence. “We want to augment clinicians’ abilities, not replace them,” he explained. “Our focus is on removing friction from their workflows, so they can spend more time on what matters: patient care.”
This approach underscores a larger shift in healthcare tech—from isolated solutions to interconnected systems that support clinicians, improve patient outcomes, and drive operational efficiency.
Seeing the Bigger Picture
Ron’s insights into clinical communication highlight a broader truth: healthcare is a web of interdependent systems, and evaluating the impact of any one solution requires looking at the bigger picture. CCC platforms don’t just streamline workflows—they amplify efficiency, enhance patient safety, improve satisfaction, and lay the groundwork for future innovations like AI.
For healthcare leaders, the takeaway is clear—move beyond traditional ROI models. Look at how tools integrate into broader workflows, how they scale with users, and how they create ripple effects across the organization.
As Ron put it, “If you want to understand the impact of a system, sometimes the best test is simple—turn it off for a week and see what happens (although he doesn't recommend it]. The results speak for themselves.”
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