Demand for more seamless delivery of healthcare necessitates a digital approach. Everything is taken into consideration, especially printing, document flow, and how it is managed.
Jon Gibbs, Vasion Print
In an era where the Asia-Pacific healthcare sector is rapidly digitizing, a critical yet often overlooked challenge threatens to undermine progress: outdated print infrastructure. As healthcare facilities across APAC embrace electronic medical records (EMR) and digital health solutions, the persistence of traditional print servers has become a significant bottleneck in operational efficiency, as well as regulatory and security compliance.
“The healthcare sector in APAC is at a pivotal moment,” said Jon Gibbs, Regional Director of Business Development, APAC at Vasion Print. “While we’re seeing tremendous digital adoption across the region, many facilities are discovering that their print infrastructure has become the weak link in their security and efficiency chain.”
Regional Digital Health Momentum
The APAC healthcare landscape is experiencing unprecedented digital transformation. There is cognizance that healthcare systems across borders have to be better integrated for more seamless delivery of healthcare. Dialogue and reports like the ASEAN-Japan Centre’s “Assessing Digital Health Adoption in ASEAN” marks a significant step toward harmonizing standards, legislation, and interoperability across APAC, potentially accelerating EMR-EHR adoption throughout the region.
Leading markets like Singapore and Australia have already established robust frameworks supporting telemedicine and digital health integration, setting benchmarks for the region, also inadvertently facilitating the integration of EHR into existing healthcare systems.
Better integrated healthcare systems, enhances the reason why healthcare has to be digital. And print infrastructure has to improve in parallel.
The Growing Pressure on Healthcare IT
The stakes have never been higher for healthcare providers in APAC. With hospitals across this region maintaining an average 40% use of digital solutions like patient-accessible health records and portable personal health information between providers, the need for robust, secure, and efficient patient records systems is paramount.
Traditional print infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with these evolving demands for adherence to security and privacy requirements, as well as local regulations.
Consider this stark reality: 46% of healthcare professionals identify outdated IT infrastructure as their primary obstacle to new technology adoption, according to PWC.
Ultimately, print servers are outdated, overly complicated, with a lack of visibility into print activity, and ownership of print queue management that increases wastage of bandwidth, resources, and overall risk. It is subject to human error that technologies like automation can address by ensuring consistent application of updates and security patches.
This challenge becomes even more pressing when we examine the security landscape. In Australia alone, healthcare accounted for 22% of all data breaches in the latter half of 2023, while one Singapore’s healthcare IT provider faced a staggering 1.7 million breach attempts monthly.
The true cost of maintaining Status Quo
The financial implications of legacy print management are substantial. In 2024, the average data breach in APAC will cost nearly USD11 million—triple the global average. With healthcare being the prime target for ransomware attacks (35.4% of all incidents), and over 70% of successful attacks targeting this sector, the need for robust security measures has never been more critical.
“What’s particularly concerning is that many healthcare providers don’t realize how vulnerable their print infrastructure makes them,” Gibbs noted. “Every unsecured printer is potentially an open door for cybercriminals, and with the cost of breaches in APAC being triple the global average, this is a risk that healthcare providers simply cannot afford to take.”
Cloud-based print management: The Path Forward
The solution lies in modernizing print infrastructure through cloud-based management systems. Vasion Print is a leading printing solutions provider that offers a single web-based management platform that manages printer deployments for 450 healthcare industry customers and over 650,000 print devices globally. The success of this approach is already evident in healthcare organizations.
Andrew Tsiorvas, Dynamic Software Solutions
Andrew Tsiorvas, general manager of Dynamic Software Solutions (DSS), a Vasion implementation partner in APAC, emphasized the transformative impact: “What sets Vasion’s cloud-based printing solution apart is its ability to address both immediate operational needs and long-term strategic goals.
“Our healthcare clients consistently see up to 40% reduction in IT support tickets related to printing issues, and the enhanced security features give their compliance teams peace of mind. The platform’s printer-agnostic approach has been particularly valuable in APAC, where healthcare providers often manage diverse printer fleets across multiple locations.”
Key benefits of a cloud-based print management system like Vasion Print includes:
- Centralized Control and Enhanced Security
– Elimination of vulnerable print servers
– Real-time monitoring of print activities
– Automated enforcement of security policies
– Protection of Patient Health Information (PHI)
- Operational Efficiency
– Streamlined driver and printer deployments
– Automated routine maintenance tasks
– Reduced IT resource requirements
– Simplified management
- Regulatory Compliance
– Detailed audit trails
– Automated document routing
– Real-time redaction capabilities
– Alignment with local regulations
Documents available to the right people at the right time
According to Deloitte, the global healthcare sector generated more than 2.3 zettabytes of data worldwide in 2020. This explosive growth in data volume presents unique challenges for healthcare providers particularly in the Asia Pacific where healthcare IT maturity varies significantly.
Automated workflows that comply with regulations of countries in this region, like Singapore’s upcoming Health Information Bill or Australia’s Privacy Act 1988, ensure that sensitive patient information is securely stored and shared, reducing the risk of unmonitored printed documentation as well as the associated costs and security concerns of printing, storing, and disposing of physical documents.
The future of healthcare in APAC depends on the industry’s ability to build robust, secure, and efficient information management systems. Cloud-based print management is not merely about modernizing infrastructure—it’s about creating a foundation that supports growing healthcare needs while protecting sensitive patient information.
“We’re seeing a significant shift in how APAC healthcare providers approach print management,” explained Gibbs. “Those who have made the transition to cloud-based solutions are reporting not just improved security and compliance, but also substantial cost savings and increased operational efficiency. This isn’t just about printing anymore—it’s about creating a secure, efficient foundation for the future of healthcare delivery.”
Healthcare providers who embrace this transformation now will be better positioned to meet the evolving demands of digital healthcare delivery, ensuring both operational efficiency and patient trust in an increasingly complex healthcare landscape.
