As printer and copier hardware faces increased price pressure, new value propositions to deliver utility for end-users are paramount to sustaining a healthy dealer model. And dealers who diversify their offerings to include multiple revenue streams will have the longest sustained customer relationships and healthiest businesses. Of all service-based dealer offerings, none are as mission-critical and valuable for end-users as investments in document security. Vendor-neutral software to get the most secure utility from copier and multi-function devices not only strengthens the commercial partnership between the dealer and the business, but it delivers essential protection against business risks that would otherwise threaten the viability of on-premise printing as a secure distribution format.

Print management is often recognized for its value in saving costs. Effective management saves variable costs in toner and paper, and fixed costs in copier and multi-function investment as large user groups can share assets, leveraging a group queue. But such models create challenges inherent to shared services – especially capacity and privacy concerns.

No industry requires print management for privacy concerns like ‘healthcare’, which requires audited systems for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. Papercut’s ‘Secure Print Release’ requires physical authentication at the printer prior to document retrieval. Such functionality is a valuable investment considering the costs that can arise from non-compliance or security breaches. In one example, rented copiers returned with sensitive data on the hard drive containing Protected Health Information (PHI) for 300,000 patients resulted in a $1.2 Million fine for the healthcare company.

According to PrivacyRights.org, such printer and copier mishaps are part of a larger set of breaches:

All covered entities are subject to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which prohibits unauthorized disclosure of protected health information (PHI) in any format.  Unauthorized disclosure of paper records may also trigger notice requirements under the Breach Notification Rule. Incidents where more than 500 individuals’ health records are compromised are posted on the HHS website. Most of the paper record incidents boil down to simple carelessness. The following are a few examples of breaches that may occur with paper records.

• A medical practice donates a filing cabinet but forgets to remove the records.
• A doctor leaves records in her car, and the records are stolen.
• A pharmacy disposes of intact, unshredded records in a dumpster.
• A covered entity mails medical records to the wrong recipients.

But in trying to manage printing in line with HIPAA best practices, some organizations, such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Collaborative of Wisconsin deliver guidance to members such as ‘Remote users are discouraged from using or printing paper documents that contain PHI’ within their handbook. As stakeholders in the printer and copier industry as well as advocates for best practices in print and document management, we can’t accept ‘no print’ methodologies; solutions such as Papercut can help solve this problem and enable secure printing to continue.

HIPAA presents specific incentive for healthcare organizations to manage their printing securely. But healthcare is not the only industry with specific regulations or concerns for document security. Education has similar regulations with its Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), while the legal, commercial and government sectors have equal demand for print management security functionality.

Papercut enables the following functionality, tailor made to address this market concern enabling a win-win, as dealers and customers alike leverage new technology to achieve compelling, innovative and secure solutions in an otherwise mature industry.