Our recent blog on the topic of managed print services vendors and print outsourcing described this increasingly common approach to document management and printing fulfillment. However, what about the healthcare industry specifically? What are the main advantages of working with managed print service providers (MPS) in healthcare environments?
This blog will explore the concept of outsourced print services for healthcare facilities and how such healthcare printing services drive cost reductions and capital efficiencies while enhancing the quality of printed output. Our focus will be on these five questions:
- What are managed print services in healthcare?
- What are some benefits of managed print in healthcare systems?
- What are the main types of print services for healthcare organizations?
- Who oversees print management in healthcare organizations?
- Why do I need healthcare print services in my healthcare system?
What are managed print services in healthcare?
The term “managed print service providers (MPS)” in healthcare refers to outsourced solutions that specialize in optimizing and supporting a healthcare system’s entire print infrastructure. In healthcare environments, documentation is mission-critical for everything from patient records and consent forms to billing statements and compliance documents. Marketing-related communications — brochures, flyers, folders, direct mail programs and more — are also part of the healthcare document management mix.
Managed print services vendors ensure that the procurement of printed material is efficient, reliable and cost-effective. Such providers may offer tailored programs that align with healthcare-specific needs including HIPAA compliance, electronic health record (EHR) integration and multi-location support.
Rather than relying on internal print shops, healthcare systems can centralize oversight and streamline operations by partnering with print center outsourcing providers. This shift allows the healthcare system’s administrative, procurement and finance teams to focus on the organization’s core mission, not on applying ink to paper.
What are some benefits of managed print in healthcare?
Hospitals and clinics that adopt healthcare managed print services typically realize measurable improvements across several dimensions. The scalable production, professional-grade quality and centralized control result in a variety of hard- and soft-cost benefits.
Cost Savings
One of the most compelling benefits of print outsourcing is cost reduction. When compared to internal print shops, outsourced print services for healthcare have built-in cost advantages in the sourcing of paper, ink and other raw materials. They also have the advantage of scale in their operations, including the cost of employee salaries and overhead. While the employees and equipment in a hospital’s in-house print center may sit idle between jobs, outsourced healthcare managed print services can spread print jobs across an entire network — potentially at facilities located around the nation — to produce the printed material at the lowest possible cost. As a result, the total cost per printed piece declines.
Capital Efficiency
Printing is a highly capital-intensive business, particularly for standalone printing operations like those found within many hospitals and health systems. The acquisition and ongoing maintenance of required equipment is a significant capital commitment — offset and digital printing presses, bindery and finishing machines, collators and inserters, color calibration tools and more. The physical space that a hospital’s print shop occupies is also precious and likely delivers a far lower ROI than if dedicated to the mission of providing healthcare. All of these concerns disappear — and line items are transformed from capital expense (CapEx) to operational expense (OpEx) — when a managed print services vendor is engaged.
Operational Efficiency
Managed print services providers for healthcare organizations reduce administrative burden by automating ordering, consolidating vendor contracts and providing centralized reporting. For example, the healthcare printing service will often provide an online portal that allows hospital staff to order printed materials in seconds without email chains, spreadsheets or making a trip to the print shop. This simplification ensures that clinical and administrative staff spend more time focused on mission-critical activities.
Risk Mitigation
Security and compliance are paramount in healthcare. Managed print services vendors will typically provide integrated user permissions and other controls to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive documents. There is also the matter of operational resilience. While a hospital’s in-house print shop is subject to risks posed by labor shortages, labor strikes, equipment failure, natural disaster, cyberattack and more, those risks are mitigated by print center outsourcing models that put the responsibility for printing in the hands of an organization focused on that mission.
Print Quality and Brand Consistency
Outsourcing print services for healthcare facilities often results in higher-quality output than would be possible with in-house print shops. Continuous investments in new printing technologies and application of industry best practices can have a particularly dramatic impact on the quality of patient-facing materials such as brochures and branded collateral. In this way, print management solutions in healthcare settings can help the healthcare organization present a unified, consistent brand at every touchpoint and across multiple locations.
What are the main types of print services for healthcare organizations?
Healthcare systems often require a managed print services vendor to support the printing needs of their clinical, administrative and marketing functions. Depending on the scope of the print center outsourcing arrangement, outsourced print services for healthcare organizations may assume responsibility for a diverse mix of printed materials.
Clinical and Operational Forms
These are foundational to daily hospital operations. Common examples include:
- Patient intake forms
- Consent and authorization documents
- Discharge instructions
- Medication reconciliation sheets
- Lab requisitions and diagnostic orders
- Barcode-enabled wristband labels and specimen labels
Such forms must be printed with precision, sometimes using secure or tamper-evident substrates. Some healthcare printing services may offer just-in-time production, inventory management and EHR-compatible formatting to ensure compliance and reduce waste.
Administrative and Financial Documents
Hospitals generate a high volume of transactional print, such as:
- Billing statements and explanations of benefits
- Appointment reminders and no-show notices
- Insurance verification forms
- HR and onboarding packets for staff
- Internal memos and policy updates
Managed print services vendors often integrate with hospital systems to automate variable data printing, ensuring personalized and accurate output while maintaining HIPAA compliance.
Marketing and Patient Engagement Collateral
Print plays a vital role in patient outreach and education. Typical materials include:
- Service line brochures and specialty care flyers
- Health education booklets and wellness guides
- Event signage and promotional posters
- Direct mail campaigns for screenings, vaccinations or new services
- Wayfinding signage and branded environmental graphics
These materials require high-quality production and brand consistency. Specialized print services for healthcare facilities may offer creative services, kitting and fulfillment to support multi-channel campaigns.
Training and Compliance Materials
Hospitals must routinely educate staff and meet regulatory requirements. Printed materials may include:
- Policy manuals and SOP binders
- Training workbooks and competency checklists
- Emergency procedure guides and wall charts
- Compliance posters such as OSHA, HIPAA or CMS notices
Print outsourcing services help standardize these materials across locations and ensure timely updates when regulations change.
Specialty Kits and Fulfillment
Some health systems require bundled materials for specific use cases, including:
- New patient welcome kits
- Pre-op and post-op instruction packets
- Clinical trial documentation kits
- Outreach kits for community health workers
These kits often involve multi-component assembly, variable data and scheduled delivery — things that managed print services vendors are much better equipped to handle.
Who oversees print management in healthcare organizations?
In modern healthcare systems, oversight of print management — particularly when outsourced to a commercial print partner — typically involves collaboration among procurement, finance, marketing and operational leadership. Rather than managing an in-house print shop with aging equipment and limited scalability, many health systems now rely on external healthcare printing services to deliver high-quality commercial print, marketing collateral, operational documents and wide-format signage across multiple facilities.
Procurement and Finance
These teams play a central role in managing print center outsourcing relationships. They oversee contract negotiations, monitor spend and evaluate vendor performance against service-level agreements. As noted above, outsourcing print shifts costs from capital expenditure to operating expense, giving finance leaders greater flexibility and predictability. Procurement teams also benefit from vendor consolidation, streamlined invoicing and centralized reporting.
Marketing and Communications
Marketing departments are key stakeholders for managed print service providers in healthcare systems. Marketers rely on their commercial print vendors to produce branded collateral, patient engagement materials, event signage, direct mail campaigns and the like. The print outsourcing partner, in turn, helps maintain brand consistency across locations, supports creative execution and delivers scalable fulfillment services through a single vendor relationship.
Operations and Administrative Leadership
Operations teams ensure that printed materials support clinical workflows, patient communications and facility needs. This includes everything from discharge packets and consent forms to wayfinding signage and compliance posters. Healthcare printing services work closely with operations leaders to standardize materials, manage inventory and coordinate delivery across departments and campuses.
Healthcare Managed Print Services
Once engaged, the healthcare printing service assumes responsibility for production, quality control, inventory management and distribution. They bring scalable infrastructure, professional-grade equipment and built-in redundancy to the relationship, ensuring continuity of service. They also provide reporting tools, online ordering portals and dedicated account support to keep healthcare systems informed and in control.
Why do I need healthcare print services in my healthcare system?
For today’s healthcare systems, the pressure to reduce costs, streamline operations and maintain compliance is constant. From patient communications and clinical documentation to branded outreach and regulatory materials, print remains a critical operational function. Yet many organizations still rely on outdated in-house print shops or fragmented vendor relationships that drain resources and limit scalability.
Outsourcing print services for healthcare facilities offers a strategic solution — one that delivers measurable value across financial, operational and compliance domains.
Reduce Hidden Costs
In-house print shops often operate with legacy equipment, manual workflows and unpredictable expenses. Labor costs, equipment maintenance, supply procurement and waste from overproduction all contribute to hidden overhead. Healthcare document management partners eliminate these inefficiencies by offering predictable pricing, consolidated invoicing and scalable production. The healthcare systems gain access to professional-grade equipment without capital investment, and benefit from cost-per-piece models that align with actual usage.
Refocus Staff Time
Managing print production internally requires time and attention from clinical, administrative and facilities staff — resources better spent on patient care and strategic initiatives. Specialized print services for healthcare shift the burden of scheduling, quality control, inventory management and fulfillment to dedicated specialists. This frees up internal teams to focus on core responsibilities while ensuring that printed materials are delivered on time and to spec.
Strengthen Security and Compliance
Healthcare organizations must meet strict regulatory standards, including HIPAA, CMS and state-level mandates. Managed print service providers in healthcare are equipped to handle sensitive data securely with protocols for document handling, data encryption and chain-of-custody tracking. Whether printing patient forms, billing statements or compliance posters, these print outsourcing vendors offer safeguards that reduce risk and support audit readiness.
Gain Visibility and Control
Healthcare managed print services provide centralized platforms for ordering, tracking and reporting. Healthcare administrators and procurement teams can monitor spend, usage and inventory across departments and facilities. This visibility supports better budgeting, reduces waste and enables data-driven decisions about print strategy. As mentioned previously, many vendors also offer customizable portals that integrate with internal workflows, simplifying reorders and approvals.
Support Multi-Site Operations
Large health systems often span multiple hospitals, clinics and administrative offices — each with unique print needs. Custom-configured print management solutions for healthcare offer standardized production and distribution across locations, ensuring consistent quality and brand integrity. Whether delivering discharge packets to a rural clinic or signage to a flagship hospital, outsourced print partners manage the logistics, fulfillment and inventory so that materials arrive where and when they’re needed.
Taylor Healthcare: Print management solutions for healthcare systems
One of the largest global print and communications companies in North America, Taylor Corporation specializes in the types of managed print services described above. Likewise, Taylor Healthcare has been serving health systems nationwide for nearly a century. That combination of print fulfillment expertise and deep healthcare category knowledge enable Taylor Healthcare to deliver unbeatable print management solutions in healthcare settings from coast to coast.
All of the capabilities and technologies described in the blog above are available from Taylor Healthcare through our healthcare managed print services, including:
- Commercial print services
- Customer communications management solutions
- Data analytics and direct mail campaigns
- Document management solutions, including forms on demand
- Promo marketing products
- Signs, graphics and wayfinding solutions
- Award-winning in-house creative services
- Response Element, our easy-to-use print management portal
Looking for a way to realize the many benefits of managed print for healthcare? Contact Taylor Healthcare to learn about our healthcare managed print services.
