Solution Spotlight: Total Print Management for Hospital System

Customer: Community Hospital System
Location: Northeast Ohio

Highlights

A community hospital system needed a more strategic approach to print management. Its IT department looked to a long-term partner that understood the challenges of printing in an emergency room environment and could provide ongoing guidance toward streamlined printing. Under a three-year Total Print Management program, MCPc is helping the organization leverage detailed usage analytics to reduce costs, streamline supply ordering with an online procurement tool, and free the IT staff from routine printer maintenance.

Benefits

• Monthly scorecard reviews uncover opportunities to further streamline the print environment.
• Online procurement tool consolidates and simplifies printer supply management.
• Internal IT staff is freed up from addressing routine printer support issues.

Business Need

A major community hospital system in Northeast Ohio was seeking a more strategic approach to managing its print environment across six locations. Its incumbent provider supplied and maintained the printer fleet, but it lacked resources to deliver printer usage analytics and ongoing consultation to realize cost savings.

In addition to standard office printing needs, a hospital with a 24/7/365 emergency room environment encounters unique challenges related to print:

• Bulky medical equipment, conveyances, and fast-moving staff and patient traffic demand efficient workspace usage.
• Staff needs to print in a variety of formats, including specialized medical documents, patient wristbands and standard office documents.
• Around-the-clock printer uptime is needed for uninterrupted patient processing.

The hospital system required a partner that understood these challenges and could enable a strategic approach to print management, and offer benefits in efficient space usage, fleet management and overall cost reduction.

Solution

The organization had previously partnered with MCPc on Cisco implementations. After discussing Total Print Management (TPM) with MCPc Imaging & Printing consultants, the hospital system decided to adopt the service based on its grounding in usage analytics as well as MCPc’s strong expertise in managing healthcare print environments. A three-year agreement was launched, and MCPc was able to quickly assume management of the printer fleet within a 30-day period to ease the transition from the incumbent provider.

MCPc consultants began the hospital system’s Total Print Management program with a comprehensive assessment of the existing print environment. A room-by-room walkthrough at each facility mapped approximately 400 total devices.

Next, MCPc installed printer network analysis software, FM Audit, to continuously gather and assess device usage data. Using this initial assessment and analysis, immediate recommendations were made to consolidate and rearrange the printer fleets based on floor layouts and device usage — maximizing printer access while conserving workspace.

For ongoing maintenance and management, certified MCPc technicians handle all printer support incidents, and purchasing is streamlined through a customized online store via MCPc’s business supply portal, MCPconnect. For a handful of miscellaneous devices that could not be incorporated into the managed network, such as fax machines and old model printers, MCPc included ad hoc maintenance and supply ordering until they are cycled out of use.

Results

The hospital system’s Total Print Management (TPM) solution has enabled streamlined management of its printer fleet, and established a strategic framework for taking action on printer usage data for cost savings.

Each month, MCPc print management consultants meet with hospital system staff to review its TPM Scorecard, which documents usage, offers a complete printing analysis and identifies opportunities to make the print environment more efficient. Data pulled from the printer network shows both broad trends and drills down into statistics of individual devices. Using Scorecard information, process and user policies are regularly made to reduce space usage, wasteful printing and overall printing costs, while ensuring the appropriate level of printer access necessary to facilitate complete patient care.

MCPc technical support is readily available to resolve device failures, often catching them early through the printer network monitoring software. This frees internal IT staff from addressing routine printer maintenance issues.

MCPconnect, MCPc’s online business supply procurement solution, has reduced paperwork and redundancies by consolidating all printer supply ordering into one electronic portal.

If your organization wants to more strategically manage its print environment, MCPc’s Total Print Management consultants are ready to discuss a solution that streamlines footprint, fleet management and maintenance, and reduces overall printing costs for your organization. Contact us today for more information.