Intermountain Healthcare Experiences Big Savings with Healthy Web to Print

Speaking at the recent In-plant Graphics webinar, "Big Savings with Healthy Web to Print", Operations Manager Tami Reese shared how Intermountain Healthcare's Design & Print Center (DPC), has been able to save over $1.3 million annually and enable HIPAA compliance and control branding by adding Web to print. The solution, internally called Print It! (RSA's WebCRD) has increased efficiency for customers and the print center.

In addition to presenting Intermountain's story, Reese offered candid insights and addressed numerous questions during the 20-minute Q&A that followed the presentation.

Before Web to Print

Until a few years ago, Intermountain, a Salt Lake-based non-profit health system and health insurer didn't have an in-plant. Employees could send print jobs wherever they wanted. This presented problems with tracking print spend, and control over the Intermountain brand.

As part of a broader initiative to operate efficiently, improve processes and reduce costs, Reese was asked to build a business case in 2011 to develop a consolidated print facility, otherwise known as an in-plant. Based on Reese's study results, the design and print center (DPC) opened in October 2012. At the time, she calculated a 10-year ROI, but the savings have been so great that the in-plant is on track to deliver a five-year ROI.

Internal customers are care givers and internal departments like marketing, forms, employees and the firm's health plan, SelectHealth. Intermountain also has limited external customers with different pricing that purchase patient and provider education pieces.

Initially accepting print requests via email and using an outside party for an online catalog (at an 11% fee for every document listed in the catalog), the in-plant knew they could be more efficient. Their manual process was error prone, lead to longer turnaround, and made branding and compliance control difficult. After networking and talking with other in-plants and conducting research, Reese felt this product was the best product for her in-plant.

The Solution

Intermountain implemented WebCRD last May and are working on implementing RSA's QDirect output manager for transactional work and RSAs ReadyPrint prepress, as well.

Using a four-phased approach, they set up the online ordering site, built a variable data print business card template to automate the business card process, and are continuing to build their online catalog (migrating products from an external catalog). The fourth phase is getting user authentication and establishing branded ordering sites, catalogs and credit card payments for external customers.

Pilot Group and Marketing- Important to a Successful Implementation

Prior to going live with online ordering, the DPC engaged a pilot group. The DPC used pilot group feedback to increase user friendliness, fine tune the ordering process, and develop training materials and videos to step users through the process.

Marketing the system entailed advertising in Intermountain's internal newsletter, including flyers with every order, offering training classes, creating user guides and videos, and posting a banner on the company's main web page. While the DPC has been able to capture a good portion of the volume that was being sent out from their 22 hospitals due to lower internal pricing, they still see external spending and are actively looking to curtail spending with outside shops.

Benefits and Results

Reese sees many benefits of adding a Web to print solution. The DPC has been able to validate 2017 savings of $1.36 million. The brand and HIPAA compliance and control abilities have been huge." They are seeing increased efficiencies for both customers and the print center and can now provide consistent and accountable pricing, tracking, and reporting. Billing that used to take 12 hours a month not takes just two hours.

Leadership support has been a big benefit for the DPC, too. Reese states, "It's been important to have the leadership support, and them relaying the message, 'this is our investment, you need to be using our investment, we're here for a reason, we're going to save the company money and protect the brand.' "

Key Lessons

Reese talked about the key lessons they've learned from implementing a Web to print solution. She suggests that other in-plants:

• Dedicate a resource to manage inquiries, problems, and train users.
• Dedicate a resource to build the catalog and manage WebCRD.
• Plan on implementation taking longer than anticipated due to unknowns, and
• Work with your technology partners to build and implement the solution. They can be a life saver.

Reese felt that perhaps the biggest lesson was to be flexible and open-minded in the implementation process and keep the end result in mind. She said, "There were just so many unknowns, we just didn't know… [there were] little challenges along the way, but there are always solutions to everything. So, it's been good. It's been a really good experience, we've come so far in the last year, there's no way we could have foreseen this." And the biggest benefit of adding Web to print? She continues, "The whole automation of it. Just people being able to submit what they want to do and watch it along the way and get the notifications. It's just how easy it is." Now that's healthy Web to print.

Listen to the Webinar Recording

Hear more of Reese's thoughts, download the Intermountain case study and listen to the webinar recording here.

Listen here