Printing Less Can Save You More

Following a patient visit, the clinician often fills out a multi-page report. Then hits the print key. The problem is that uses a lot of paper. So some medical assistants in a Northwest internal medicine office encouraged their doctors to print the one-page patient summaries instead. Buy-in to the new process was immediate as clinicians and staff all thought the shorter forms were better while a third felt they were giving their patients better care. But the bottom line was an annual savings of $60,000.

Here's What Worked

• Emphasizing the environmentally responsible aspect of the project to build support 
• Printing one-page instead of multi-page patient summaries
• Using time freed from printing to make calls and speak with members

What can your team do to "green" your work life?