Aside from taking care of the sick, healthcare organizations have other important things to do. One of these is to perform administrative tasks that include gathering and storing medical records and retrieving them when necessary. Typically, medical records are gathered manually but these are encoded into the computer after which they are compiled and converted into a digital medical file which serves as the source of most medical documents. From here, certain documents need to be printed, reproduced and distributed to different recipients in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Printing is a silent cost center in healthcare. However, its costs are often overlooked or even not monitored because they seem immaterial. But contrary to common belief, unmanaged printing in healthcare can result in wastes and unnecessary costs. As a matter of fact, most modern hospitals are spending large portions of their yearly budget on printing. This is often a result of inefficient or outdated printers, copiers, and multifunction devices.
According to research, a 500-bed hospital can spend over $1.4 million on printing annually. That’s quite a cost – 30% of which could have been saved and added to the hospital’s revenues had unnecessary printing costs been eliminated. Fortunately, healthcare companies can now work with managed print services and implement managed print solutions as a way to reduce costs and streamline their workflow. MPS can get this done because it allows you to:
- Monitor employee printing
- Digitize manually gathered medical records and documents
- Identify opportunities to eliminate or reduce wastes
- Educate your staff about best practices in managed printing
- Enhance file and document security, and
- Improve the efficiency and lessen the costs associated with the preparation and production of medical records
MPS print services is not limited to reducing costs for the healthcare industry. It also works to protect your patients’ privacy. The HIPAA law requires the dissemination of information in healthcare, but it can easily be met by an MPS solution that offers protection of sensitive materials. Additionally, managed print services offers these benefits to your healthcare business:
Streamlined Medical Records
MPS is basically designed to streamline data and files. You can use it to effectively organize and manage your patients’ medical records and protect their confidentiality. It also allows you to perform specific printing tasks within your organization including:
- Communicating with patients about new policies, benefits and requirements
- Corresponding with patients and third parties regarding claims and disputes
- Legal documentation concerning claim disputes and litigated benefits
- Internal dissemination of new or updated policies, processes and procedures
Cost Savings
The operation of a healthcare facility is cost-intensive. It is the main reason why healthcare business mangers are continually looking for ways to cut costs without affecting their quality of service. MPS print services is specifically tailored to accomplish that objective.
During the initial audit of your print environment, MPS professionals can already identify inefficient, underperforming or redundant printing and copying devices, and point out wasteful or unnecessary printing routines in your workplace. The implementation of appropriate managed print solutions for your healthcare organization will certainly work to bring you added savings and increased returns.
Added Security of Information
Security of information is an essential element of every business. It’s the main reason why managed print systems consider it as a critical component of its strategies; it is one of the very few elements that can help you to win customer trust and loyalty. Lose that trust and lose your customers.
While the HIPAA law requires disclosure of patient information, it also regulates the methods healthcare facilities store, retrieve and disseminate private information. The use of MPS solution is an effective way to store patient records and comply with the law. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone.
Adopt a proven managed print solutions for your healthcare business and see it grow in terms of efficiency, trustworthiness and ROI.
Call us toll-free at 1.844.633.3050.