Slow and faulty printers are hindering healthcare in KSA, research finds

Ahmed Bin Abdulqader  ـ nabd–alhadath

• 97% of patient-facing employees in the KSA lose time to poor tech – and want action

The healthcare sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is experiencing lost productivity due to slow or non-functioning printers^[i], according to new research from Epson undertaken throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

While most healthcare operators may not pay much attention to the humble office printer amid major challenges in the sector, the survey uncovered a clear link between poor technology and reduced productivity.

The Epson survey included 3,400 patient-facing practitioners such as doctors and nurses, and covered EMEA. It included 900 practitioners in the Middle East and Africa, and 100 in KSA.

Nearly all (97%) (Q1 – 6% say they lose no time) of healthcare workers in KSA say they lose time to slow or non-functioning printers each week. 78% (Q1) of respondents lose more than 30 minutes per week, with 18% (Q1) losing up to an hour, 15% losing up to two hours, and 13% losing 3-4 hours while a notable minority (3%) (Q1) waste more than four hours a week.

A staggering 98% (Q2 – 5% said none of the above) say this has a negative impact, causing delays or difficulties with sharing information (52%), updating patient records (47%) and making appointments (40%). More than a third (35%) said it leads to more complaints from patients, and 36% said it causes delays or difficulties discharging patients.

As a result, 92% (Q3) of healthcare workers say more should be done to ensure time is not wasted by poor technology. A further 90% agreed that despite time being wasted by non-functioning or slow printers at work, little action is being taken.

It’s therefore no surprise that 97% (Q4) say they think their IT department or IT managers should provide printers that print quickly and require less maintenance to reduce difficulties created by printer downtime.

In doing so, environmental concerns also come into play, with 84% (Q5) of respondents agreeing that the environmental impact of non-sustainable printers is a great concern to them personally. Meanwhile, 82% said it’s a great concern to their organisation/trustees, and 79% say it is a great concern to their patients.

Amr Ahmed, Business Solutions Sales Manager for Epson Saudi Arabia and Egypt said, “The stark reality is that printers are significantly impacting patient care. Practitioners are demanding technological solutions to address this issue. By addressing this issue, healthcare providers could improve productivity and the wellbeing of staff, leading to improved healthcare for patients and a better bottom-line for healthcare providers.”

“For many organisations, a simple switch from laser printers to Heat-Free inkjets could help. Heat-Free inkjets tend to have fewer moving and consumable parts to replace over the lifetime of the printer compared to lasers, reducing intervention[ii] and improving productivity and user satisfaction.”

Unlike laser printers, which use heat-intensive processes like fusing toner to a page, Epson’s Heat-Free Technology does not require heat in the ink ejection process[iii], reducing the energy requirement.

Healthcare leaders – and especially IT managers – need to take heed of patient-facing healthcare workers and consider a switch. In doing so, they’ll support patient outcomes.

To learn how Epson can help the healthcare sector, please visit Heat-Free Technology | Epson Middle East

[i] Eurostat shows there were about 3,900,000 practicing nurses and 162,000 practicing midwives in EU member states in 2021. It also states there were an estimated 1.82 million physicians working in the EU in 2021. This adds to an approximate total of 5,882,000 patient-facing healthcare workers. If 26% are losing up to 30 minutes of time a week, that’s 1,529,320 people. 30 minutes multiplied by 52 weeks is 1,560 minutes or 26 hours a year. 26 hours a year multiplied by 1,529,320 people = 39,762,320 hours lost a year or 4,970,290 eight-hour working days.

[ii] Heat-Free Technology | Epson United Kingdom

[iii] Microsoft Word – Energy efficiency of Heat-Free Technology_ver3_0725.docx (bigcontent.io)