Hospital Network Mitigates Downtime Risk With Trusted Partner, Active Preparation | Healthcare

8/19/2022 RRD

RRD’s communication and fulfillment services help client address industry-wide cybersecurity risks, prepare for system outage

CHALLENGE

After identifying a significant increase in ransomware attacks in the healthcare sector, a regional hospital system with a network of over a dozen hospitals and satellite locations sought ways to mitigate this risk.  The client’s current clinical forms existed in a hybrid state — 60% digital and 40% paper-based. 

A potential cybersecurity event would remove their ability to access these forms, manage medical records, and effectively treat new and existing patients. An event of this nature would also leave them vulnerable to legal action taken by affected parties.

The hospital network sought a single-source communication partner to ensure any unplanned downtime would be well prepared for with a sufficient supply of backup paper forms for all locations.

SOLUTION

The client’s existing multi-year relationship with RRD included forms and labels printing, shipping, and fulfillment, with RRD processing over 4,000 transactions per month. This expertise led to a natural evolution of the partnership. After evaluating their potential risk exposure, the client turned to its forms committee (which includes RRD personnel) for consultation.

Consulting closely with the committee to convert all electronic form data into paper forms, RRD developed a production model to print enough for a five-day window for each hospital and clinic within the client’s network. Forms were then kitted and shipped to an offsite location that could easily be accessed in the event of a system failure. Additionally, a 30-day supply of necessary forms was printed and kitted for each location, broken up into four shipments, and shipped week by week. Printed items included clinical forms for vitals, doctor instructions, consent forms, and other crucial paperwork. 

Initially, the client approached RRD with a print request for over 27MM forms. However, data secured via the client’s prior RRD ConnectOne Storefront^? orders led to projections that the client was overbuying. RRD subsequently challenged this number and consulted the client with a lower recommendation, which was 67% lower than their estimate.

RESULTS

The solution provided substantial risk security, risk mitigation, and compliance assurance, ensuring that consent and other patient-critical forms would be readily available in the event of unplanned downtime. 

RRD’s approach provided assurance that the client would be able to maintain business continuity at all times, protecting against lost revenue, breakdown in customer trust, adverse patient outcomes, and potential lawsuits. Additional outcomes:

• Phase I of the solution will print, kit, and deliver a total of 9MM+ forms — including 250 different form versions —  across all hospitals and clinics by the end of 2022.
• RRD’s recommendations for a reduced order in contrast with the client’s projections led to 50% cost savings. 
• The client continues to be a substantial partner for RRD, with Q1 2023 remaining the target date for Phase II of the project.