Uncovering cost savings, increasing productivity in healthcare
Last month’s 2008 Annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference & Exhibition drew a crowd of more than 28,400 attendees and 900 exhibiting companies to Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center. The air was full of buzz surrounding the latest and greatest technologies for the healthcare industry. Among the hottest topics were electronic medical records (EMRs). While EMRs are no doubt the wave of the future and more and more healthcare providers are investing in these systems, the reality is, the healthcare industry itself is still very much a paper intensive business. With the right document management process, a huge source of cost savings can be uncovered for an industry that has little new money coming in. Through document processing services, paper driven processes become efficient, digital workflows. Consolidating office and production equipment reduces printing related costs and decreases energy consumption. Forms management systems provide doctors and nurses with print on-demand patient forms, eliminating the stock piling of bulk orders that often results in wasted paper and outdated documents.
The key to the document management process is implementation, a three legged stool you might call it – the people, the process and the technology. Healthcare systems with a comprehensive strategy in place are poised to combat the industry’s economic and regulatory challenges as business processes are transformed through streamlined print jobs and seamless day-to-day patient data management. New ways to reduce costs are uncovered, regulatory compliance is ensured and productivity is increased; leaving room for much needed investments in other areas.
Valerie Mason Cunningham
Vice President, Healthcare Industry
Xerox Global Services