Case study

CARTI Arkansas cancer center chooses HP MPS for dispersed sites

IndustryHealthcare

ObjectiveGain management control over diverse printer deployment across multiple urban and rural sites

ApproachEngage HP Managed Print Services

IT matters• Serve print needs of multiple sites across 11 cities

• Equip 520 employees with right-sized, right-featured printers

• Supply printers with high-quality, high-efficiency Original HP toner

Business matters• Keep clinics running efficiently for high-quality

patient care

• Cover urban and remote rural sites with one contract

• Leverage usage data to continuously improve deployment and processes “The biggest benefit we receive from HP MPS is the analytics

– data that can help us pinpoint where we need to move or replace printers and how to optimize our processes.” – Jim Carter, director of information technology, CARTI

Efficient management of distributed print environment CARTI is an independent, not-for-profit cancer treatment center based in Little Rock, Ark. The center provides advanced forms of diagnostic radiology, surgical oncology, oncology/hematology, as well as leading-edge radiation therapy to more than 22,000 patients each year. Believing that treatment should be close to home and as convenient as possible, CARTI distributes its services across multiple sites in 11 Arkansas cities. Each site uses printed medical records and other documents in its daily clinic operations. CARTI relies on HP Managed Print Services (MPS) for efficient management of its distributed print infrastructure.

Case study | CARTI

Delivering care to patients

Distributed cancer treatment locationsCARTI’s mission to deliver compassionate care includes minimizing travel time for patients who might be suffering from fatigue or compromised immune systems and whose treatments, such as chemotherapy, can last for hours at a time. The center therefore operates a range of sites across Arkansas for patient convenience. These sites range in size from the 175,000 square foot CARTI Cancer Center in Little Rock to remote rural offices. The small Stuttgart site provides medical oncology services one day a week, for example.

Remote locations may specialize in either radiation oncology or medical oncology and are staffed by physicians and others who travel to those sites on certain days of the week. “Our philosophy is to go where patients are,” says Jim Carter, director of information technology at CARTI. “Travel can be difficult for cancer patients. As much as possible, we prefer to have the physician travel to the patient instead of making the patient travel to the physician.”

CARTI’s choice to provide distributed care was greater facilitated through acquisitions in recent years. CARTI offers a comprehensive network of multi-specialty cancer treatment locations offering coordinated care.

Printing is a key part of daily clinic operationsPrinting is central to CARTI operations in part because of the organization’s geographic distribution. Internet connectivity can be slow or unreliable in some of the center’s rural sites, where doctors prefer to hold paper charts reliably in hand. Other printed documents central to daily clinic operations include lab slips given to patients for bloodwork, and high-quality color tumor images oncologists use to target radiation treatments.

“When staff needed a printer they might go out and buy a cheap one, but ultimately spend more on consumables – and the printers broke down more. It was a management nightmare.”– Jim Carter, director of information technology,

CARTI

Each one of CARTI’s approximately 520 employees uses printers or printed output in some capacity, from receiving clerks to oncologists. Reliable functioning of the print infrastructure lets staff focus on keeping clinic workflows moving efficiently, with each patient receiving timely and attentive care.

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Organizational growth poses printer-management challengesThe distributed operations model was great for patients, but it complicated IT management for CARTI, particularly management of the organization’s print infrastructure. Growth through acquisition had left CARTI with a mix of printer makes and models, often acquired ad hoc, with little strategic planning and more attention to immediate price than total long-term cost. Clinics might use remanufactured toner, which posed quality and reliability issues, and any leaking toner cartridges would damage printers. Staff would purchase equipment and supplies from their local vendors, leaving the organization paying varied prices.

“When clinic staff needed a printer, they might go out and buy a cheap one, but ultimately spend more on consumables – and the printers broke down more,” Carter says. “It was a management nightmare.”

HP MPS reaches entire rural Arkansas network To remedy the challenges from individual purchasing decisions, CARTI decided to seek a managed print contract. CARTI interviewed a number of local vendors but found that no one provider could service all of its clinic locations including the rural sites. Then the CARTI team discovered HP MPS. Designed to deliver measurable business results, HP MPS combines innovative hardware, software and services to help organizations establish fleet predictability, improve security and digitally evolve the workplace. What’s more, HP MPS could service the entire CARTI network, from the biggest central clinic to the smallest rural office. “HP MPS became our one-stop shop for managing our print environment across the enterprise,” Carter says.

At the same time CARTI entered the managed print contract with HP, it also was assimilating three acquired organizations. While this compounded the challenges, the center used it as an opportunity to define print policies, tag and document its print assets, and create procedures for right-sizing its deployment.

“With analytics and guidance from HP MPS, we have eyes to see what’s happening and can base our decisions on data instead of assumptions.”– Jim Carter, director of information technology,

CARTI

Originally every printer in CARTI’s existing fleet was included in the managed print umbrella. Over time, because of the usage analytics delivered by HP MPS, CARTI has been able to optimize its print environment. Learning what devices are over- or under-utilized, it’s moved printers to appropriate locations. Analyzing which aging printers are costing the most, it’s prioritized them for replacement.

Now when a clinic needs a printer, it calls CARTI’s centralized helpdesk. IT staff analyze the request and consult with HP technicians to learn which model best meets the need. At times, CARTI has been able to consolidate printers, replacing individual devices with shared ones, bringing richer functionality. As CARTI refreshes its deployment over time, it gains the advantages of advanced security and productivity features and lower energy consumption.

Case study | CARTI

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© Copyright 2017 HP Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

1 Based on ISO/IEC 19752 cartridge yields for HP 80X compared with HP 26X Original HP toner cartridges. Learn more at hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies.

4AA6-9715ENW, April 2017

CARTI is enjoying the quality and reliability advantages of Original HP Toner cartridges with JetIntelligence. The cartridges are specially engineered to help HP LaserJet models, such as the HP LaserJet Pro MFP M402 printers deployed at CARTI, work faster and produce 30% more pages.1 Original HP Supplies are a key part of the equation for reducing total cost of ownership by reducing printer wear and tear, service needs and pages wasted due to poor quality.

Analytic data guides continuous improvement Business analytics that guide ongoing optimization provide the most significant benefit for CARTI, Carter says. These business review meetings with HP help CARTI examine printer usage volumes and patterns, and help identify opportunities for deployment optimization or process streamlining. “In healthcare, we have to ask why we are printing 1,000 pages and shredding them shortly after,” Carter says. Additional benefits of HP MPS include the service processes that keep printers supplied and operating in peak condition, and the “sheer availability” of printers to keep running reliably without interrupting clinic workflows, Carter explains.

For the future, CARTI looks forward to continuous improvement of its print infrastructure to streamline workflows and cut costs while maintaining strong information security with HP removing the management burden and worries. “Our HP MPS team is in constant contact with us about our needs, where our high costs are, and possible areas of improvement,” Carter says. “Now we have eyes to see what’s happening, and we can base our decisions on data instead of assumptions.”

Learn more at hp.com/go/MPS

Customer at a glance

Application Printing of clinic documents including patient records, lab slips, and tumor tracings

Hardware• HP LaserJet Printers

• HP Color LaserJet Printers

• HP LaserJet MFPs

HP services• HP Managed Print Services

Supplies• Original HP Toner cartridges

with JetIntelligence

Case study | CARTI