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Spotlight on Sustainable Healthcare

Implementing a Paperless Strategy Committee

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) successfully implemented a Paperless Strategy Committee during the closure of a primary administrative building. This committee, representing 22 departments, aimed to understand paper reliance, identify technological solutions for a seamless transition to paperless operations, and subsequently implemented those solutions. The initiative resulted in a 25 percent reduction in paper use for the first year, an increase of 1,931 square feet of productive real estate, and transitioned the Health Information Management department to become virtually paperless resulting in significant annual savings of over $500,000 in supplies, staffing, and equipment maintenance, showcasing the environmental and financial benefits of embracing a paperless approach.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is an academic medical center located in the heart of the Longwood Medical Area (LMA) in Boston.

BIDMC is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health and is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. They are a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, and more than 4,000 physicians and 35,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.

BIDMC’s passion is caring for their patients like they are family, discovering new therapies and cures using the most advanced technologies, and inspiring and teaching the caregivers and investigators of tomorrow. They believe in putting people at the center of everything they do to provide extraordinary care every day.

Impact & Cost Savings

During the moving out and closure of a primary administrative building, BIDMC created a Paperless Strategy Committee.
The focus was to understand why departments were paper reliant, identify technology solutions to support a transition to paperless, and then implement those solutions. The Paperless Strategy Committee had representation from 22 departments and an executive sponsor. The efforts of the Paperless Strategy Committee ultimately resulted in the following results:
1931

square feet

increase in productive real estate space

25%

reduction

in paper use the first year

160000+

kg CO2

in energy emissions saved per year

500000+

realized savings

in supplies, staffing, and equipment maintenance

This committee elevated to hospital leadership several key barriers to going paperless, which have now been shared across the organization. The committee increased awareness and priority level regarding the need for clarification on digital signatures, tools to support basic document editing, and more.

BIDMC’s Environmental Sustainability Committee, alongside their Jane Matlaw Environmental Champion awardees. For 25 years, they’ve hosted an annual sustainability celebration that offers the opportunity to reflect and celebrate how far they have come to create a healthy future for their patients, their families, and themselves through their sustainability efforts at BIDMC. At this event, they honor individuals and teams that have demonstrated leadership and innovation towards their sustainability goals.

BIDMC’s Environmental Sustainability Committee, alongside their Jane Matlaw Environmental Champion awardees

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