Malvern, PA (Nov. 28, 2018) — Ricoh USA Inc. today unveiled RICOH Healthcare Direct Services, an interoperable, secured and reliable fax alternative for health care organizations that optimizes patient and staff satisfaction by automating and digitizing communications. The service helps reduce clerical errors, improve security and drive cost savings by eliminating the need for fax’s paper steps. Leveraging Ricoh’s proven technologies and consulting expertise, RICOH Healthcare Direct Services drives higher quality of care by intelligently routing information directly to the relevant electronic health record (EHR).
At a time when information management and collaborative technologies are surging in other fields, patients can be left wondering why health care providers’ communication can be unreliable, potentially resulting in rescheduled appointments, lost lab results and other costly or time-consuming errors. Additionally, medical error contributes to tens of thousands of deaths each year in America,1 bringing added calls for the reduction or elimination of manual processes that introduce the opportunity for error, such as paper-based fax. Misplaced or misdelivered faxes can result in lost lab results, incomplete communication between referring physicians and specialists, and last-minute rescheduling, all of which can add up to increased work, higher costs and inferior patient experiences.
Fax user error, paper jams and empty paper trays contribute to 25 percent of specialists not receiving test results and records for referred patients prior to their appointment.2 For integrated delivery networks (IDNs), which can send hundreds or even thousands of faxes a day to various partners and disparate systems, those inefficiencies can add up fast, potentially forcing frustrated patients to reschedule or even decline to return for necessary care.
RICOH Healthcare Direct Services messages don’t have such challenges because the information is sent directly into the patient’s EHR, without fax’s opportunities for lost or mishandled information. With more reliable workflows in place, patients can rest easy knowing their up-to-date health records will be on file when they arrive for treatment. Instead of waiting for workers to search for their information before ultimately being asked to reschedule, patients can experience streamlined, efficient appointments that are more likely to include medical advice and treatment based off a complete picture of their health.
Today, health care remains one of the fax’s last strongholds in a world that has mostly moved on to faster, more interoperable technologies. Ricoh pioneered fax technology nearly a half-century ago by introducing the first high-speed fax machine for offices, helping to revolutionize fast, reliable information sharing across distances. With RICOH Healthcare Direct Services, Ricoh is applying the same ingenuity and expertise to revolutionize collaboration again for an industry that needs it most.
“One in 20 faxes never reach their final destination—that’s missed appointments; that’s redoing lab tests; that’s somebody’s health,” said Michael Campana, Senior Manager, Healthcare Marketing, Ricoh USA Inc. “Those kinds of inefficiencies, and their real-world effects are unacceptable in today’s health care industry. Patients know they deserve better, and they know that in many cases their health currently depends on outdated, paper-based workflows. RICOH Healthcare Direct Services brings our expertise and technologies to bear to tackle this issue and provide the reliable, secured, immediate communication that facilitates the kinds of quality care experiences that patients have been demanding.”
Read more about how a large national healthcare system is leveraging RICOH Healthcare Direct Services here. Learn more about RICOH Healthcare Direct Services here.
1. Medical error—the third leading cause of death in the US.” Martin A. Makary, Michael Daniel; The BMJ. May 3, 2016.
2. Dropping the Baton: Specialty Referrals in the United States.” Ateev Mehrotra, Christopher B. Forrest, Caroline Y. Lin; The Milbank Quarterly. March 2011.
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About Ricoh
Ricoh is empowering digital workplaces using innovative technologies and services enabling individuals to work smarter. For more than 80 years, Ricoh has been driving innovation and is a leading provider of document management solutions, IT services, commercial and industrial printing, digital cameras, and industrial systems.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2018, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,063 billion yen (approx. 19.4 billion USD).
