A hospital cannot prove AI return on a workflow it never measured. The baseline is the recorded cost of the work as it runs today — hours, dollars, error rate, and a named owner — taken before a vendor is chosen. Without it, every later number is a story.
Published · By Lisa T. Miller
What “baseline” means in this work
A baseline is not a discovery workshop and it is not a vendor demo. It is four facts written down and signed by the operational owner:
- Volume. How many times the workflow runs in 30 days.
- Effort. Staff hours consumed, including rework.
- Cost. Those hours priced at loaded labor, plus vendor fees and denial dollars the workflow currently produces.
- Quality. Error rate, cycle time, and the exception rate a human already handles.
If any of the four is missing, you do not have a baseline. You have a narrative.
Pick one workflow, not a platform
The 1-1-1 Method starts with one workflow. High volume, rules-based, measurable. Do not baseline “AI in the revenue cycle.” Baseline “outpatient cardiology prior auths opened between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays.” Scope is what makes the number honest.
How to take the baseline in ten working days
Days 1–2 — Name the owner and freeze the definition. One operational owner. Write the start event and the end event.
Days 3–6 — Count. Pull 30 days of volume from the system of record. Shadow the queue for two shifts.
Days 7–8 — Price it. Loaded labor, denial dollars, vendor cost. Put the annualized number on one page.
Days 9–10 — Set the bar. Write the 90-day metric and the stop rule before kickoff. If the workflow cannot clear it, stop in writing.
What to refuse
- A vendor who cannot tell you which number will move, by when, on your volume.
- A pilot whose success criterion is “users liked it.”
- A baseline taken after go-live.
- Averaging four hospitals into one baseline.
The baseline is the “one workflow” in the 1-1-1 Method. For the 90-day calendar, see Your First Hospital AI Project. For sourced figures, see Statistics and Benchmarks.
FAQ
How precise does the baseline need to be?
Precise enough that the owner will sign it.
What if we do not have time studies?
Two shifts of observation plus 30 days of system volume is enough to start.
Can we baseline two workflows at once?
You can inventory many. You can only run one 90-day build.
Does a documented baseline guarantee ROI?
No. It makes ROI knowable. If the number does not move, you stop.