CareWorks, Inc. is Ohio's undisputed leader in workers' compensation medical management. Through their partnership with Medical Mutual of Ohio, they are able to provide the highest quality medical management services available to more than 130,000 Ohio employers.

The company’s previous system was a traditional “push” workflow management software solution. It was designed to move documents from one person to another based on pre-defined workflow paths. Over time, the company began to process documents in ways that didn’t always require every step in a given path. In many cases, these adjustments resulted in internal processes that were longer and more complex than they needed to be, due to limitations in the previous system. “We knew it was time to address our internal inefficiencies when we found ourselves changing our needs to meet system requirements instead of us being able to change the system to meet our needs,” said Bob Jennings, Director of IT.

“We increasingly came across instances where the paths that had been defined were no longer appropriate. This caused delays in processing because documents had to go through steps A, B and C, before it could be completed at step D—even if there was no real need for the documents to go through all four steps. If we needed to get something accomplished that didn’t follow a specific path, we had to jump through a lot of hoops to get things sent where they needed to go. It simply wasn’t meeting the needs of our users or administrators,” said Jennings. These issues sometimes resulted in documents becoming temporarily “lost” in the system.

Additionally, the workflow system was cumbersome in regards to administration. It literally had to be completely shut down in order to make administrative changes. These shut-downs had a significant impact on efficiency levels since CareWorks operates under a time limitation for processing documents.

Searching for a solution
CareWorks began their search for a new system by involving the system and business administrators who were most familiar with the needs of the organization. These system users defined the requirements for a new solution. Topping the list were:

• Simple navigation with minimum click-throughs
• Speed of capturing and searching documents
• The ability to integrate with other systems, and
• The ability to convert existing data to the new system without losing information

CareWorks’ expert users also determined that they would need some amount of customization to fit their more specific requirements. After a thorough review of multiple vendors, the group found what they were looking for in Intellivue.

“Because we were replacing a workflow solution with a document management and imaging system, it was important to be attentive to the fact that some of the workflow capabilities would still be necessary in the new system,” said Jennings.

A simplified process streamlines workflow
At the beginning of the implementation process, Intellinetics specialists proactively examined CareWorks’ business process flow. They interviewed representatives from all areas of the company so that they could thoroughly understand their business and process issues. This process was crucial for proper development of the workflow within the new system.

“Looking back, [the Discovery process] was a wise decision on the part of Intellinetics. We thought we knew exactly how our process should work, but the experts at Intellinetics were able to look at the big picture with a fresh perspective. They made several suggestions that we decided to incorporate, and they have definitely created process improvements,” commented Jennings.

Most notably was the shift to a query-based workflow methodology. Instead of programming complex rules for the system to push information out to consumers, the consumers query the system for their work. This powerful innovation reduced system administration overhead and speeded up document processing times since users could work on documents simultaneously when needed. In some instances, the new query-based methods reduced time on task by more than 60 percent.

The implementation was completed in stages, making it a very smooth transition for system users. In fact, the implementation of the new system was virtually transparent to the vast majority. Users can now shift their attention to other parts of their job because the maintenance and administration of this system is so much more efficient than before.

CareWorks has over 300 employees and provides service to over 130,000. With Intellivue, CareWorks processes an average of 18,000 multi-page faxes per week. The company relies on the increased stability of the Intellinetics solution to process the workload of which roughly 80% comes in via fax with approximately 10 – 20% being scanned into the system.

“With Intellivue, we are no longer forced into following an outdated process. If we need immediate access to a document, we can run queries to retrieve it. This feature alone makes our work faster and avoids costly delays,” said Jennings. “We no longer have to go through all the unnecessary steps in a push-based workflow system.”

The value of a reliable business partner
“Intellinetics has been a wonderful technology partner. We have an Account Manager that we’ve built a personal relationship with and we know we can count on Intellinetics to work with us whenever we run into a challenge. They will go on-site and work with our users individually until issues are resolved,” commented Jennings.

Intellivue has already expanded to other groups. There are currently four applications running on it and the fifth is in progress. Other areas of the company are integrating the imaging system with their existing systems to meet their specific needs. The company has future plans to open access to external clients via the web as well.

“By listening to our needs and ideas Intellinetics built a version of Intellivue tailored to met all of our requirements. Their support is excellent and we’re saving time and money compared to our previous system,” concluded Jennings. “I’m very impressed.”

Learn more today
If your company manages large volumes of documentation that you’d like to turn into a tool to enhance service levels, increase productivity and boost profitability, contact us today to learn more about the power of Intellivue.