(Michigan Medicine)
Michigan Medicine has flagged around 4,000 general computing devices (laptops and desktop workstations) that are in use for under 60 minutes a day. They represents roughly ten percent of the entire hardware fleet. If even half of these low use, non-critical devices can be removed from the environment, Michigan Medicine will be able to save more than $1.4 million in hardware costs. These funds could be reallocated to other more pressing needs or strategic endeavors.
These findings are thanks to the critical assessment performed by the Device Governance Workgroup (DGWG), a team of dedicated clinical, research, and administrative leaders who meet monthly to review Michigan Medicine’s hardware fleet of computers, printers, monitors, and peripherals used for daily work. They review funding requests, explore device replacement and depreciation policy, and evaluate the most efficient and cost-effective ways to manage device inventory throughout the enterprise.
“We cannot enforce budgets or determine what departments purchase,” noted Ranjit Aiyagari MD, chief medical information officer and co-chair of the DGWG, “but we are committed to providing an analysis of the financial impact to the organization with regard to how many devices we have and how they are used – or underused.” The DGWG is currently working to bring about a minimum five percent reduction in the number of “CoreImage” computing devices used. They are asking departments to identify underutilized or unused devices that can be removed or repurposed. Targeted devices are Windows/PC devices used less than an hour each day.
Streamlining the asset fleet will also enable HITS to be more efficient in supporting existing hardware and to concentrate on keeping active devices up-to-date.
For more information, visit the Device Governance Workgroup page.
