Invoice Processing:
Accelerating the Accounts Payable
Process in Healthcare
A  
PPLICATION  
S  
TUDY  
The Laser Eye Center 
uses technology 
to streamline 
invoice processing
An enormous volume of
paper invoices must be
processed through a long
and tedious approval
chain.
Multiple offices and satellite
locations means invoices have
to be shipped back and forth
by courier, adding significantly
to costs. 
Shipping invoices by courier
adds time to the process.
Obviously, documents that
are not archived immediately 
are not accessible on
demand and are difficult to
track. Moreover, the possibility 
of damaging or losing
paper invoices was high.
Vast amounts of paperwork
needs to be archived, and
paper documents are often
damaged, lost, or misfiled.
PROCESS WORKFLOW 
Invoice processing is one of those cumbersome tasks that every company needs, but
no company really wants. For many organizations, processing invoices can be a logistical 
nightmare plagued with costs and operational inefficiencies. Yet obviously, the
process is critical.
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Traditional invoice processing 
Common invoice processing challenges—especially for large organizations—
include:
Recently, the Laser Eye Center,
a major healthcare provider
in Canada, implemented a
Xerox solution that eliminates
the delays in the accounts
payable process, and the
results have been tremendous.
The Laser Eye Center
The Laser Eye Center is the largest
provider of laser vision correction services 
in North America. With an organization 
of this size, and with the sheer
volume of people it serves, invoicing
challenges are inevitable. A highly
mobile network of doctors and managers 
for 60 clinics nationwide contributed 
to the numerous and recurring
delays in the accounts payable process.
In the not too distant past, the Center
was burdened with the same traditional
challenges with which most large
organizations must contend.
A careful examination by Xerox consultants 
revealed that this medical provider
needed a digital solution to replace
their cumbersome, slow moving, and
costly paper approval process. They
needed more than a simple electronic
filing system with security, search and
retrieval. Rather, they needed a solution
with automated workflow and notification 
that would automatically notify the
The Laser Eye Center decided that it
needed to switch to an automated
accounts payable capture system, so
that any person on the approval chain
could sign off on an invoice in a simple
and timely manner. 
After an exhaustive search of the marketplace, 
they chose Xerox
DocuShare—Web-based knowledge
management software.
DocuShare at a glance 
DocuShare is Internet-based software
that lets managers, doctors, and
accounts payable staff members capture, 
manage and share electronic documents, 
making it faster and easier to
get information. Information is created,
accessed, viewed, updated and stored
quickly, ultimately increasing productivity
. DocuShare uses a familiar “folder 
architecture” and is simple enough for
any non-technical person to learn and
use. Invoices are scanned using a Xerox
Document Centre. The newly created
digital files are then uploaded to the
appropriate folder on the DocuShare
site. The file is now immediately accessible 
by any other authorized manager,
doctor, or accounts payable personnel.
"In my eyes, The Laser Eye Center is
living proof that Xerox deserves its
well-earned reputation of helping companies 
use documents to improve communication,” 
Scott says. 
clinic managers and doctors in the
invoice and purchasing approval chain
that their review and electronic signature 
was required.
So together, Xerox and Laser Eye
Center set out to improve. Their aim
was to implement a system that was
easy to learn, easy to manage, and easy
to use. The solution also had to work
within their existing workflow. The
Laser Eye Center was not willing to
rebuild its entire infrastructure for the
sake of a new solution—any new products 
or services had to fit right in with
its existing resources.
“We had to give our whole accounts
payable process serious thought,
because the reality of our situation was
that we had an inefficient and counterproductive 
system in place. Our vendors
were waiting too long for payments.”
said Ken Scott, Operations Controller.
When an invoice arrives at
the clinic, an employee
scans it. The invoice can
then be routed through the
appropriate approval chain.
There has been a 100 percent 
reduction in lost
invoices once they are
scanned into the system.
Anyone is able to easily identify 
and track where invoices
are situated in the approval
chain.
The time spent tracking
invoices and chasing down
paperwork for late payments 
has been minimized. 
The Laser Eye Center’s 
central managers, regardless 
of their location, now
simply provide their electronic 
signatures for the
invoice to proceed to the
accounts payable folder.
Then, the regional manager
opens up the file to add
his/her signature.
The Laser Eye Center has
extended the benefits of
DocuShare beyond invoicing. 
Now the software is
used to disseminate legal
documents, leases and
company policy information
to doctors and staff across
the U.S. and Canada.
Reaping the benefits
Thanks to the Xerox DocuShare solution, the Laser Eye Center has experienced significant results:
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Xerox®, The Document Company®, Xerox Connect, and the digital X® are trademarks of Xerox Corporation. ©2001 Xerox Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. 05/01
In the past, the Laser 
Eye Center had difficulty
meeting a 30-day 
turnaround period. 
Now, with DocuShare,
invoice processing is 
completed in a single day.
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Ken Scott, Operations
Controller, says, "With
DocuShare, we can now
meet vendor payments,
avoid late payment fees
due to lost invoices, reduce
complexity and add efficiency 
into the invoicing
process. We now have at
our fingertips a powerful
tool that is exactly what the
creators of the Internet
envisioned and more." 
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