Overview
The amount of paperwork generated by a single medical claim is staggering. One of the nation’s largest not-for-profit regional medical insurance providers was severely impacted by the overwhelming amount of paperwork it needed to maintain for its customer base, particularly since the imaging system utilized hand scanners. Records imaging and storage took an average of three days and, thanks to this paper-based approach, required costly third party storage contracts. Alacer was tasked with creating a new approach to records imaging and archiving that would be less resource-intensive and more responsive to customer needs.
New records imaging system increases throughput and allows instant record retrieval
Challenges
Alacer needed to understand the organization’s internal technology system as well as the current and future levels of demand for archives. Its consultants worked with the insurer’s underwriting, audit and legal representatives and obtained input from 11 peer organizations to develop a set of critical customer and quality requirements. In order to more quickly deploy a solution, the Alacer team worked in parallel to implement physical changes to the client’s technology network while designing the new archival system.
Results
The new records imaging system was installed ahead of schedule and the results attained within 11 months exceeded the client’s goals. Record archiving throughput increased by 54%, and the average piece-handling time was cut from 21 hours to 9.6 hours. Document retrieval is now instantaneous. Staff expenditures were reduced by $208,000 annually. Perhaps more importantly, expensive third-party storage contracts were cancelled, saving $1.2 million; an additional $270,000 in savings and cost-avoidance was achieved through the sale of a proprietary records storage facility.
