Going Green -
Driving Out Costs at the Desktop
Going “green” has become a higher priority in today’s healthcare environment. Certainly, that was evident in 2008 when several of the healthcare industry’s leading environmental organizations joined together to form Practice Greenhealth. This new, not-for-profit, member-supported organization is helping healthcare providers make sensible green choices that yield cost savings while contributing to a healthier workplace and a less-polluted world.
It’s not just about better managing hazardous materials and medical waste. The opportunities for environmental improvement extend to virtually every facet of hospital operations. Practice Greenhealth estimates that as much as 80 to 85 percent of a healthcare facility’s waste is non-hazardous solid waste.
Paperless – or NOT?
Certainly, document management is one area that merits close scrutiny. Desktop printing, for example, plays a significant role in the inner-workings of most hospitals today. Admissions documents, consent forms, chart documents, requisitions, lab and radiology reports – the list of documents printed at the desktop or routed to a nearby printer is substantial. Already representing the largest share of all hospital printing, desktop printing is projected to grow further as hospitals move to Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Ironically, as EMR initiatives reduce the number of preprinted clinical forms, the effort disperses printing throughout the organization. It’s estimated that 25 to 40 percent of all printing within a hospital will be affected by EMR.
An Inconvenient Truth
As in any office, desktop printing is driven by the need for immediate turnaround of documents. Generally produced in low volume, these documents vary in complexity. In the hospital environment, some are simple, one-color sheets. Others are more specialized documents, such as those printed at registration which may integrate bar-coded patient wristbands with bar-coded labels on a single sheet.
With documents being central to clinical workflow, healthcare providers have given little consideration to the cost of printing them, or the waste they create. The common sentiment has been, “I don’t care how a document is printed. It just better be there when I need it.”
The Inescapable Costs of Desktop Printing
From a business perspective, desktop printing is no small expense. International Data Corporation reports that US companies spend $100 billion annually to print and manage documents from the desktop. For hospitals that includes waste disposal costs of $44 to $68 per ton, according to the Joint Commission.
Most hospitals do not have a clear understanding of the amount they spend on desktop printing. In general, IT directors are not aware of how many printers reside in their enterprises, how many pages are printed each month, or the paper and supply costs associated with their printer fleets. Typically, healthcare organizations have loosely-controlled methodologies for acquiring and managing office printers. Few have an effective means to monitor utilization or track expense. Moreover, without an enterprise placement philosophy, printer fleets often grow by default.
In addition to the direct printing costs, technicians and network administrators testify that they spend 15 percent of their time on printing-related issues. Printer installation and driver management are their top two issues for support. Over 55 percent of network traffic is related to printing. Likewise, 50 to 60 percent of all help desk calls are printer-related, according to Hewlett-Packard.
A Greener Approach to Document Output
As hospitals implement their EMR strategies and drive more print to the point of use, they need to map a parallel strategy for enterprise print management. Only by evaluating all aspects of their print supply chain -- from desktop to internal print shop and external printing -- can they develop an efficient means of managing both paper and digital documents to address compliance requirements, reduce costs and lighten the environmental burden.
Certainly, from a desktop printing perspective, healthcare providers will need to re-examine their current configuration of printers --desktop, network, copiers and multi-functional devices. The goal is to reduce the total cost of ownership while ensuring that critical documents are available when needed. Currently, the average hospital has one device for every two to three employees. Best of class hospitals have aimed for an employee/device ratio of 8:1.
The fleet assessment should identify and analyze the fleet’s costs, utilization and workflow as well as the special and critical needs that are unique to each unit. Then align the fleet with those needs. The aim is to leverage investments and ensure “least-cost printing” through rules-based routing.
Finally, steps need to be taken to provide users with adequate information and education in order to optimize the quality, availability and cost of printed documents while balancing environmental concerns.
Standard Register recognizes its responsibility and commitment to the environment and to the communities in which we work and serve. Our “less paper strategy” for managing our customers’ document flow has had a significant impact on reducing total paper consumption in organizations throughout North America. At the same time, SMARTworks®, our electronic document management platform, provides our customers with an eco-friendly way to procure, manage and track document cost and usage, so they can make responsible choices.
If you’re looking for ways to clean-up your clinical and business processes, as well as lessening their environmental impact, contact us today. Together we can share responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of daily operations.