Why Measuring ROI in Preventative Care Matters

The NHS faces unprecedented demand on primary and urgent care services, with GPs and A&E departments under immense pressure. While preventative care is widely acknowledged as a solution, many ICBs, Place leads, and PCNs struggle to quantify its financial and operational impact.

Without clear return on investment (ROI) metrics, it becomes difficult to justify funding for preventative initiatives. However, with the right digital tools and analytics, ICBs and PCNs can track how preventative care reduces system demand, improves patient outcomes, and delivers measurable cost savings.

Key Metrics for Measuring ROI in Preventative Care

1. Reduction in GP Appointments

Preventative care shifts demand from reactive to proactive services—connecting patients to community-based support before they require medical intervention. In areas using Joy’s digital referral and tracking tools, GPs report nearly 40% fewer unnecessary appointments, freeing up time for complex patient cases.

How to Measure It:

• Compare GP appointment rates before and after the introduction of a preventative care initiative.
• Use EMIS/SystmOne integration data to track referral volumes and primary care activity changes.

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2. Reduction in A&E Attendances

Many patients present at A&E due to unmet social needs (e.g., housing issues, social isolation, mental health crises). Joy’s platform helps redirect these individuals to appropriate community services before they reach crisis point, reducing unnecessary hospital demand.

How to Measure It:

• Track the number of A&E visits avoided through preventative interventions.
• Use NHS data on emergency admissions linked to social prescribing and community referrals.

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3. Increased Engagement with Preventative Services

One of the biggest challenges in preventative care is ensuring patients access the right services. In ICBs using Joy, referrals to community-based care have more than doubled, thanks to simplified referral pathways, clinician awareness, and digital accessibility.

How to Measure It:

• Compare pre- and post-implementation referral rates from GPs and INTs.
• Assess patient uptake and completion of recommended preventative interventions.

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4. Referral Acceptance & Service Utilization

A high referral rate is only valuable if patients actually access services. Joy ensures seamless digital referrals, with real-time tracking of referral outcomes—helping ICBs understand service gaps and optimize commissioning.

How to Measure It:

• Monitor referral-to-completion rates for preventative services.
• Identify bottlenecks where referrals are not converted into active engagement.

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How Joy Helps ICBs & PCNs Measure ROI

• Real-Time Data & Dashboards: Joy provides live tracking of referrals, patient engagement, and system impact, helping ICBs and PCNs prove ROI.
• Seamless EMIS & SystmOne Integration: Joy integrates directly with clinical systems, ensuring preventative care is embedded into existing GP workflows.
• Targeted Analytics for ICB Leads: Custom reporting features help ICBs demonstrate savings, service uptake, and patient outcomes to justify continued funding.

Take a look at some of the outcomes from our clients below:

• Average 39% reduction in GP appointments where preventative care is embedded into care pathways.
• 23% reduction in A&E visits where early interventions are in place.
• 110% increase in referrals from primary care to community support.
• 95% referral acceptance rate in some areas, ensuring patients engage with the support offered.

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Making the Business Case for Preventative Care

1. Aligning with NHS Priorities

The Fuller Stocktake Report and NHS England’s Integrated Care System (ICS) strategy emphasize the shift to Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) and digital transformation.

Key alignment points:

• Preventative care reduces system demand for primary and secondary care
• INTs demand heavy resourcing, both in funding and staffing, so the need to deliver more with existing resource is there – simply put: less input for more output.
• Capturing measurable outcomes for preventative care – which are increasingly being tied to funding applications

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2. Cost Savings & Financial ROI

Preventative care not only improves patient health—it delivers cost savings by reducing high-cost interventions in primary and urgent care.

Example Financial ROI Calculation:

• If one GP appointment costs £39 and Joy reduces 39% of unnecessary GP visits, a system with 50,000 patients can save £760,500 per year.
• If an A&E visit costs £419, and Joy reduces 23% of emergency admissions, a system serving 500,000 patients could save over £4.8 million annually.

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Final Thoughts: Why Measuring ROI Matters

For ICBs, Place leads, and PCNs, the shift to preventative care is only as effective as the data supporting it. By tracking GP appointment reductions, A&E demand shifts, and referral engagement, NHS leaders can secure funding, optimize services, and deliver real impact.

More information from this fantastic article by NHS Confed - quantifying left-shift ICS investment.

Want to see how Joy helps NHS teams measure and maximize ROI on preventative care? Let’s talk.

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