Businesses in nearly every industry consider meeting their IT needs to be a life and death situation. And when it comes to the livelihood of those organizations, a streamlined, efficient and well-supported infrastructure of technology is crucial in the marketplace. However, within the healthcare industry, a properly functioning technology and print environment can literally be a matter of life and death. Here’s how managed print services (MPS) benefits the healthcare industry.
THE PATIENT’S CONCERN
Historically, physicians swear to the Hippocratic Oath, which is their pledge to uphold specific ethical standards. That practice has evolved over time, but the messaging and intent is the same: having the utmost respect for human life. So, everything in healthcare should follow suit, including the technology available to providers and the communication systems in place.
The reality is that hospitals today are spending an even higher portion of their annual budgets on printing and document handling, and their fleets of printers, scanners and multi-function devices are often cumbersome, inefficient or outdated altogether. Research shows a typical 500-bed hospital spends more than $1.4 million to print 35 million pages annually. Managed print services isn’t a just some trendy time-waster. It’s a way for healthcare organizations to improve workflow and reduce costs in the process.
Not only that, MPS (managed print services) also helps protect a patient’s right to privacy. HIPAA laws mandating the dissemination of information in healthcare can be more easily met with an MPS solution offering protection of sensitive materials. In this way, MPS for healthcare is a way to reduce risk, including risks associated with meeting standards, deadlines or patient needs.
MEDICAL RECORDS AND NEW HEALTHCARE INITIATIVES
The organization and management of medical records can be streamlined with MPS. For example, solutions like PaperCut help healthcare organizations manage confidential and sensitive documents by holding those jobs in the printer’s queue until an authorizing agent swipes or enters an ID number to release the job.
MPS can also play a critical role within organizations printing for these reasons:
- Communication with patients related to new policies, requirements and benefits
- Ongoing correspondence with patients and third-party entities regarding claims processing and disputes
- Legal documentation associated with litigated benefits and claim disputes
- Internal dissemination of updated policies, procedures and other processes for documentation
MANAGED PRINT SERVICES AFFECT COST SAVINGS
Hospitals are continually tasked with cutting costs in ways that don’t diminish quality care. MPS is a strategy for doing just that. It supports the safety and security of patients while helping hospitals save money.
For a real-world example, consider CentraCare Health. MPS helped the organization streamline and optimize its printing. Under the program, CentraCare Health reduced its overall fleet size by 90 devices and began saving upwards of $400,000 annually.
Remember, devices don’t print documents; people do. A supported MPS solution can address location and communication issues across a healthcare network, as well as offer a resource for teaching employees more efficient printing habits. MPS assists in complex printing and reducing an organization’s dependency on paper while facilitating smooth communication with providers, support staff, IT and patients.