Key Takeaways
- Healthcare organizations can better control printing costs by understanding how devices are being used.
- Managed Print Services can provide visibility into print volumes, equipment usage, supplies, and maintenance needs.
- Print management tools can help organizations establish policies and reduce unnecessary printing.
- Right-sizing a printer fleet can help ensure equipment better matches the needs of different departments.
- Cost management should be balanced with document security and the organization’s broader compliance requirements.
Healthcare organizations manage large volumes of documents across administrative offices, clinical environments, billing departments, and other areas.
That can make printing difficult to manage, especially when an organization operates numerous printers and multifunction devices across departments or locations.
Rather than promising a specific percentage of savings, the better approach is to understand what contributes to healthcare printing costs and identify opportunities to manage the print environment more effectively.
Understand How Your Equipment Is Being Used
Reducing printing costs starts with visibility.
Organizations should understand which devices are being used, how much they’re printing, and whether equipment is appropriately matched to each department’s workload.
Important areas to evaluate include:
- Monthly print volumes
- Color versus black-and-white usage
- Device age and condition
- Supply consumption
- Maintenance requirements
- Equipment placement
- Underused or overused devices
This information can help identify inefficiencies that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Right-Size Your Printer Fleet
More devices don’t necessarily create a more efficient print environment.
Some departments may have printers that are rarely used, while others may rely on equipment that isn’t designed for their workload.
Evaluating the entire fleet can help determine whether devices should be relocated, replaced, consolidated, or better matched to the needs of individual departments.
The goal isn’t simply to reduce the number of printers. It’s to create a print environment that makes sense for how employees actually work.
Establish Smarter Print Policies
Organizations can also evaluate when and how documents are printed.
Depending on operational requirements, print policies might encourage employees to use two-sided printing, limit unnecessary color printing, or use digital workflows when a physical copy isn’t needed.
Print management software can provide additional visibility and control. Depending on the solution, organizations may be able to track usage, establish print rules, authenticate users, and generate reports.
Simplify Supply Management
Managing toner and other supplies across a large healthcare organization can become time-consuming.
Remote monitoring can provide information about meter readings, toner levels, usage, and certain device alerts. Depending on the applicable maintenance program, this information can also support supply management and automatic toner replenishment.
This can help organizations manage supplies more systematically rather than relying entirely on employees to manually monitor individual devices.
Take a Proactive Approach to Maintenance
Service and maintenance are another part of the overall cost of a print environment.
Preventative maintenance can help address routine service needs, while remote equipment monitoring can provide visibility into certain device errors, jams, and alerts.
A structured maintenance approach can also make it easier to manage a large fleet than handling each printer or copier independently.
Consider Managed Print Services
Managed Print Services can bring several aspects of print management together under a broader strategy.
Depending on the organization’s needs, an MPS program can include:
- Print environment assessments
- Device monitoring
- Usage reporting
- Supply management
- Preventative maintenance
- Print policies
- Equipment optimization
The information collected through an MPS program can help healthcare organizations make more informed decisions about their equipment and print environment.
Don’t Overlook Document Security
Cost shouldn’t be the only consideration when evaluating healthcare printing.
Printers, scanners, copiers, and multifunction devices can process, transmit, and, depending on the device, store sensitive information.
Healthcare organizations should therefore consider appropriate device security, user access, secure print release, network configuration, and document workflows as part of their broader information-security strategy.
Managed Print Services can support the management of a print environment, but it does not by itself make an organization HIPAA compliant or replace a comprehensive cybersecurity and compliance program.
Manage Healthcare Printing Costs with Offix
There isn’t one percentage that every healthcare organization can expect to save by changing its print environment.
Actual opportunities depend on factors such as existing equipment, print volumes, supplies, maintenance requirements, workflows, and the way devices are currently managed.
Offix can help healthcare organizations evaluate their print environment and explore Managed Print Services, multifunction devices, print management software, maintenance, and other solutions based on their needs.
Contact Offix today to learn more about managing your healthcare organization’s print environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What contributes to healthcare printing costs?
Costs can include equipment, paper, toner and supplies, maintenance, repairs, and other expenses associated with operating and managing a print environment.
What are Managed Print Services?
Managed Print Services provide a structured approach to managing an organization’s printers and multifunction devices. Services can include equipment assessments, monitoring, usage reporting, supply management, maintenance, and fleet optimization.
Can MPS reduce healthcare printing costs?
MPS can help organizations identify inefficiencies and make more informed decisions about equipment, supplies, usage, and maintenance. Actual financial results depend on the organization’s existing print environment and the changes implemented.
Does Managed Print Services make an organization HIPAA compliant?
No. MPS and printer-security capabilities can support an organization’s broader security efforts, but HIPAA compliance involves organizational policies, procedures, technical safeguards, and other requirements beyond the print environment.