ROCHESTER, N.Y.--March 23, 2005-- A study released today by leading IT research and advisory firm IDC and Xerox Corporation reveals that a lack of effective document management strategies in the U.S. healthcare industry can result in higher operating costs and lost revenue. According to the report, the healthcare industry spends almost twice as much time - 70 percent - with documents than the industry average, which includes industries such as retail and financial services. Healthcare workers spend almost half of that time looking for information, and 33 percent of the time those searches are unsuccessful. "Healthcare is one of the most document-intensive industries," said John B. Jones, vice president, Healthcare Services, Xerox Global Services. "Organizations that focus on how documents and information are managed are better equipped to improve the key business processes that are critical to delivering timely and accurate billing, meeting regulatory requirements and providing quality patient care." In fact, survey respondents with effective document management strategies in place said they have reduced costs by an estimated 20 percent and increased productivity by more than 50 percent. Those same respondents spend about half the time processing documents and searching for information in documents than the healthcare industry average, according to the study. "It's clear by this study that an effective document strategy has a range of powerful benefits," said Angele Boyd, group vice president, IDC. Methodology The findings of the survey were obtained from telephone interviews with 41 healthcare organizations in the U.S., representing companies with more than 500 employees. Complete survey results are detailed in an IDC white paper, titled "Effective Healthcare Organizations Turn to Document Strategies to Streamline Business Processes." To access the paper, visit www.xerox.com/globalservices and go to "White Papers" and then "Related Resources."