     
 
|
Health Insurance,
Managed Care & large Hospitals / chains
- PPO/Provider Directories
- (or HMO staff directories and internal
hospital telephone books)
Managed health care organizations often issue
directories to their subscribers which list member
doctors and participating medical facilities. These
directories include alphabetical listings, geographical
listings, listings by specialty, and other types of
indexes. For larger communities, they may be thick,
perfect bound books -- similar to telephone books in
appearance. In smaller communities, they may be lengthy
signature booklets. Either way, they are commonly mailed
to subscribers.
The directories are often printed on thin
paper (like newsprint). In part, this is done to
keep the book or booklet from getting
inordinately thick (bulky), and in part to hold
down mailing and paper costs. At the same time,
directories are an ideal print-on-demand
application -- many of the pre-printed
directories in inventory are later thrown out,
because additions and deletions to the listings
occur on a frequent basis.
XSIS makes it possible to print directories on
13# paper to preserve the convenience and low
mailing costs of the current, offset printed
books while obtaining all the benefits of a Xerox
digital solution.
Health Plan/Benefits
Booklets
Since employers customize the health benefits
that they offer to their employees, the provider
(Insurance carrier or HMO) must prepare a
description of benefits tailored to the exact
plan selected by the employer. The Plan
description, Contract or Benefit Book is often
mailed directly to the employees at their homes,
especially when employees have a cafeteria plan
and can choose among different health providers.
In some cases, the books are mailed in bulk to
the different local offices and places of
business at which covered employees are located,
where they are then distributed.
Either way, the number of books mailed by the
insurance company or HMO is large and postage
costs become a significant expense. By printing
the documents on lightweight paper using an XSIS
solution and finishing them in-line, the total
operation can be made much more efficient than
using offset presses, and mailing costs can be
dramatically reduced compared to other
print-on-demand solutions.
Hospital-related Forms
Multi-part forms still play an important role
in admitting, supplies/billing and other hospital
departments, even though many hospital work
processes have been computerized. When these
various forms contain 4 to 6 parts, the
form must be printed on 15# - 17#
carbonless (forms) paper to be usable. The
thinner substrate permits handprint/handwriting
to transfer all the way to the bottom sheet, so
the marks are legible on every copy.
In some circumstances, hospital staff may find
that readability is marginal even on 3-part forms
(for example, doctors simply may not be concerned
with applying adequate pressure). Once again,
lighter weight carbonless paper can deliver a
noticeable improvement in legibility of the
bottom copy.
XSIS Lightweight paper
printers allow the use of 15# - 17# carbonless,
pre-collated stock. By contrast, the forms
approved for use on regular high speed Xerox
printers are 22# and above.
The "FAF" option (Feed
Assurance Feature) eliminates
printing on pre-collated sheets that are out of
order. When pre-collation equipment allows one
out-of-sequence sheet to slip into the stack (or
pre-collated paper is loaded in the printer
incorrectly), all the pre-collated units that go
through the printer after that point must be
thrown away. Adding to the wasted paper is the
lost time and labor. FAF ensures error-free data
and stock verification in the printing process,
so forms are always correct.
Hospital Department Handbooks
Most hospitals maintain procedure manuals for
the nursing staff and many departments. These
manuals take up a great deal of shelf space,
sometimes contain so many pages that they must be
split among several large binders, and are
awkward to handle because of their bulk and heft.
By printing these manuals on 13# bond, their thickness
is reduced by 30% compared to the same
manuals printed on 20# bond. A lower basis weight means the same
manual is lighter, so it's easier to carry or
use. It fits in a thinner binder (or can be
consolidated with other manuals into a single
binder), so it's easier to store. Yet, 13# bond
is similar in appearance to standard xerographic
paper and it retains the strength and performance
characteristics that make it suitable for
frequent handling.
|
