Management Solution Helps Hospitals Control Assets

A new asset lifecycle management solution helps hospitals integrate and simplify their information technology (IT) portfolio while complying with regulatory guidelines.

The Ricoh Symphion Asset Lifecycle Management for Healthcare offering is an information-as-a-service software solution that tracks hardware and software issues on a hospital's IT network, simplifying the management of print and other managed devices while helping to identify compliance risks. A software toolset features automated scanning, device discovery, and predictive analytics to help hospital IT management make informed decisions that can help reduce device, labor, and other costs, while at the same time manage the risks of ever-evolving infrastructure.

Features include agentless asset scanning, which identifies and reports hardware and software issues on a hospital's network, making redundant the manual confirmation process. A systematic, enterprise-wide assessment process collects and analyzes information on print assets and service, IT inventories, configurations, and operations and vulnerabilities in a Windows platform to help reduce system downtime. Reporting on and management of print devices and analysis of print costs, usage, and uptime trends help optimize print processes and reduce costs.

Streamlined and automated reporting on software titles help ensure only software that is needed and being used is ordered or gets a license extension, which can help reduce compliance risk and overall IT spending for the hospital. The solution also provides support for the technology via a dedicated "concierge team" of experts who deliver services for the term of the contract as an extension of the provider's team. The Ricoh Symphion Asset Lifecycle Management for Healthcare is a product of Ricoh (Tokyo, Japan) and Symphion (Dallas, TX, USA).

“At its core, the healthcare industry serves to protect the most vulnerable from harm. For Ricoh this means protecting patients' private information and helping to ensure that our customers have security safeguards in place,” said Ron Nielson, vice president of healthcare at Ricoh Americas Corporation. “With our Asset Lifecycle Management for Healthcare, hospitals are now equipped with enterprise-wide, constantly updated information about their hardware and software assets to make quick and accurate decisions to keep their technology in good health.”

Hospitals are challenged with improving efficiencies and reducing costs, while striving at the same time to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandates and meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The ability to seamlessly capture, transform, and manage patient and business data across departments with secure IT ecosystems can improve care coordination and clinical processes, driving business efficiencies, profitability, and meaningful use.

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