Business Week has a very interesting article on the benefits of less paper, or even paperless, in the Health Industry. Kaiser Permanente is cited as a role model for removing paper out of their offices, and moving towards eHealth records.
Interestingly enough, cost is not necessarily the main driver, as they admit that “there is unknown, if any, cost savings benefits”. However, other benefits accrue through improved productivity, and less redundant operations because of informaiton retained in paper records. However, at the end of the day, these will translate into cost savings anyway, as well as a more environmental-friendly behaviour. Not to mention improved quality of service - invaluable to the patient, with more up-to-date information.
Unfortunately, those players that have to make the biggest investments (small practices of doctors) are not the ones that reap most of those benefits - most typically the patient, hospital, health plan, and pharmacists. The up-front cost of establishing a eHealth record for small practices is still quite prohibitive, and the disruption in their work processes is quite significant at first. Only 4% of physicians have a comprehensive system in place, and another 13% use basic electronic system.
Even doctors in hospitals have a steep learning curve - only capable to receive half their normal patient load for the first two weeks, because of disruptions due to the electronic system . But this gets back to normal after a few weeks, usually.
The Health industry, like many others, can really benefit from a Less Paper strategy - also productivity improvements, quality of service, and many other benefits - which eventually turn into significant cost reductions. This is usually best achieved by getting help from an expert - capable of re-engineering your business processes, and minimizing disruption.