In an environment of ever-growing costs, healthcare facilities are turning their attention internally – even to print expenses.
While it may sound minimal in the grand scheme of facility management, medical organizations are seeing this small expenditure is actually larger than originally thought.
This is because it’s the ongoing costs that really make a difference in budgets. Cost control is a bigger-picture concept, and medical facilities are turning to managed print technology for help.
While most of the costs in the healthcare field are largely out of the hands of facility owners, print expenses can be managed with relative ease. When facilities do this, they make their entire operation more efficient toward the needs of staff, partners, and most importantly, patients.
Why Print Expenses Are So Costly for Medical Facilities
The healthcare industry is known for a mountain of major expenses. Drugs, surgical tools, safety equipment, labor, and insurance are some of the top costs that medical facilities face.
These expenses may be sizable, and consistent in their own right – but even costs that are smaller can be concerning when the fees hit more frequently.
Consider how often medical facilities engage in printing, scanning, copying, and other workflows using MPFs. These workflows are done across multiple departments and even multiple facilities within the same network. The energy and material usage can add up quickly, resulting in costs that climb high quickly. In some cases, they can climb higher than the “larger” expenses that are paid less often.
We can also factor in how so many devices in the typical print fleet are used inefficiently. That is to say, some facilities are so busy they don’t take advantage of energy saving mode, more efficiently organized print processes, strategies to save ink, and other methods. This makes the total cost of print expenses even higher.
Managed Print Offers Control in an Unpredictable Industry
Some people say the philosophy to a happy existence is to focus on what is within our control.
It makes sense. Whatever is out of the scope of our control, even if it is costly, provides no return on investment when we fixate on it. But by shifting focus to what we can manage directly, we gain returns on our time, energy, and money.
Managed print services provide facilities with a chance to see their print processes in detail. Print fleets can be monitored based on device usage and frequency, supply levels, energy footprint, maintenance needs, and even security threats. This transparency makes the print fleet a perfect place to focus on when the goal is expense management.
This is also highly effective at crafting the perfect print budget and strategy. Being able to track devices with accuracy lets facilities make data-driven moves.
Let’s say the goal is to cut costs. Managed print services help to determine which devices are used the least, or which devices accrue the most waste. What about increasing a print budget? Facilities can do so in a way that shows where the cutoff point is, where adding devices or supplies no longer adds value or ROI.
With patient needs, regulations, and more changing in healthcare, and with most changes largely out of the hands of facility managers, it’s nice to know that one of work’s core processes is directly controllable.
Why a Print Fleet Makes a Big Difference in Performance
Hospitals and medical facilities know that everything is connected in the healthcare industry. We don’t refine our office processes solely for the purpose of saving money, though that’s a big part of it. The real focus is making the facility more efficient, in order to make patient care more accessible.
Those facilities that reign in costs like print expenses have more money left over to reinvest. This could be used to upgrade patient areas, to hire more staff, or to upgrade medical equipment of any kind.
Print processes are also becoming more important in the remote, hybrid, and asynchronous environments of the modern healthcare landscape. Efficient print fleets make it easier for companies to remain efficient and resilient even in new and changing work arrangements.
How to Effectively Manage Print Expenses Today
Medical facilities are being pushed to their limits like never before. Health concerns are still high after the pandemic. Labor shortages are getting worse in some cases. Regulations are evolving, patient expectations are increasing, and the field as a whole is in a period of transformation.
What can medical facilities do to manage their print expenses? The most efficient strategy possible is to invest in managed print services to streamline this critical need.
Ready to do better with print expenses? Doing Better Business offers managed print services tailored to the unique needs of the healthcare industry. Our services will help you with cost control, print fleet management, and facility improvement via savings. Contact us today to get started.