Challenge
With a national and international reputation for many specialist services and as one of the region’s largest employers, NUH recognised the need to overhaul its existing output fleet which was largely unmanaged and reaching end of life. NUH identified the need to optimise its output infrastructure and related policies in order to: reduce costs, eliminate waste and support the drive toward digital working practises.
With NUH working towards being paperless by 2020, Lexmark proposed a parallel project to digitise patient forms, with the added option to scan information into the correct patient record within the NUH clinical systems.
Undertaking a transformational change project on this scale in a constantly changing environment, and without comprising patient care, is no easy task. With these factors in mind, NUH engaged Lexmark as they offered the most complete solution and best value for money.
Solution
After discussing and assessing the trusts’ output requirements, Lexmark proposed a future proofed, enhanced new output fleet and managed service design, consisting of an optimised mix of A4/A3, colour/black & white and multifunctional devices. The Lexmark future state design represented a significant consolidation of devices and a platform on which to deliver continuous improvement, as the Trust seeks to complete more tasks digitally and at the point of care.
A 5-year Lexmark Smart Managed Print Services agreement underpins the relationship, ensuring the Trust’s output estate is continuously maintained and incrementally optimised. The Lexmark Secure Print Release solution enables much improved: security, policy enforcement, user access control, and output visibility/analytics - serving as the basis to identify ongoing improvements.
Taking into account the different departments across the hospital involved in this complex rollout, the MPS implementation was completed on schedule and within 6 months. From start to finish, the entire process was a collaborative effort between Lexmark and the Trust: Lexmark successfully coordinated the implementation process across the Trust’s complex estate and ensured that onsite support was continuously available. This ensured a smooth transition and enabled technical concerns to be addressed at the point where the new technology was deployed.
NUH were highly impressed at the efficiency and onsite teamwork which made the entire implementation process as easy and seamless as possible, especially in such a fast paced environment, ensuring patient care was always of paramount importance.
Results
NUH were able to achieve an output fleet rationalisation of over 4O% which drove significant cost savings and released valuable ward space. The Trust also benefit from 20% lower page volumes (per annum) and a significant reduction in the proportion of colour printing through the introduction of a mono centric print policy.
NUH has also seen increased efficiencies through the intuitive nature of Lexmark MPS, which includes proactive consumables management for the replenishment of supplies, and the continuous improvement opportunities derived from effective management of the fleet and ongoing service reporting and governance.
In addition, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is reaping the benefits associated with the Lexmark Secure Print Management solution; in a 24/7, 365 days a year environment and with thousands of people moving within the hospital at any given time, it is imperative that devices are as secure as possible and that output is only accessible to approved employees of the Trust.
Throughout the implementation, Lexmark’s ability to understand and integrate into medical systems & related processes meant they delivered a market leading solution for the Trust.
The review and introduction of clinical form digitisation is also a crucial part of the Lexmark solution which supports the Trust’s pursuit of the 2020 paperless target. The creation of SMART digital forms which will be used as part of the consultation process will then be scanned in via the Lexmark infrastructure, automating the capture and routing of patient information directly into the Trust’s clinical systems.
