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Cut costs in half while improving productivity & security

by Michael Campana

Summary

3 areas can help productivity, security, and lower costs

Time: 3 minute read
Imagine improving your organization’s productivity and security while cutting costs by more than half. That’s exactly what happened when a large Arizona-based healthcare system refocused their workflow strategy and addressed their burdensome paper-based processes. In fact, they not only halved productivity and security costs from $659,000 to $312,000, but they also reduced the total cost of device fleet ownership by nearly half a million dollars annually.

You might be asking how to achieve these great results. Here are three best practices the healthcare system used that you can consider at your organization.

In fact, the health organization not only halved productivity and security costs from $659,000 to $312,000, but they also reduced the total cost of device fleet ownership by nearly half a million dollars annually.

1. Refresh (and reduce) an aging fleet

As print, fax and scanning devices age, their maintenance costs soar. Not only are older devices expensive to maintain, but they also cost you in lost productivity. Without the ability to reroute print jobs — in the case of a broken device or long queue, for example — your workflows can come to a complete halt. By implementing a fleet made up of fewer, newer multifunction printers (MFPs), you can reduce costs while also improving productivity.  And by rightsizing your fleet and reducing the number of devices you have, you’ll also recover unnecessary upkeep expenses and streamline device management.

2. Move beyond paper processes

Paper-based processes are sluggish and pose a greater risk of theft or loss. The effort you spend looking for missing items, finding the right forms and sending hardcopy documents to other departments is a massive expense. And with patient information and prescriptions at risk of being left unattended on output trays, you can also face potential non-compliance with HIPAA requirements. Moving to digitized information workflows can help you operate more efficiently and strengthen the weak links in your security infrastructure.

 

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3. Share information swiftly and securely

Access to information is crucial for excellent patient care, especially for integrated delivery networks. When this data sharing hinges upon paper processes, it is a struggle for health systems to move information across multiple locations. Digitizing and automating processes not only helps improve productivity and security, but it also helps make your information more mobile. Point-of-service scanning, for example, allows healthcare workers access to information that can be shared almost instantly throughout the health system — leading to faster, better decision making and improved patient outcomes.

The results

For this Arizona-based healthcare system, an aging device fleet meant maintenance and management costs rang up a $2 million price tag annually. Outdated and sluggish paper processes posed a security risk — while also inhibiting care collaboration and productivity. After assessing and implementing their new strategy, the health organization streamlined and modernized workflows and achieved significant cost savings. Results include:

  • Total cost of fleet ownership was reduced by nearly half a million dollars annually.
  • The fleet was reduced by more than half, from 2,000 to 957 devices
  • Costs associated with productivity, security and availability were cut by more than half from $659,000 to $312,000 per year.

It’s tempting to overlook stacks of paper until a serious incident occurs, or to ignore a printer until it breaks down and causes information gridlock. By taking a closer look at workflow inefficiencies now, you can take a proactive approach to boost productivity and reach compliance goals while achieving both short- and long-term savings.

 

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