Documentum Claims Processing – User Interview

On May 14^th, TSG conducted a post-launch interview with a client user, Jim, responsible for claims processing.  For client confidentiality, we will not be sharing the client or user full name.  The client is a division of a major insurance company and long-time Documentum user.  The overall solution involves AS 400 based policy and claims processing systems, TSG’s HPI Product (available for Alfresco or Documentum) as well as some home-built connectivity solutions.  TSG conducted this interview as part of our normal post-launch review as well as to get input into future HPI product direction. 

User Interview Notes

Jim thought the system implementation had gone well.  Overall he liked the system, particularly search and outbound emails, and mentioned having “less clicks” and “easier navigation” was the key benefit in the new system.  He also had positive feedback on improved system performance, some of which can be attributed to extensive database performance tuning done by the team during implementation.

Some interesting points during the discussion included:

Can Claims ever be truly paperless?  – While Jim has the support from his company to work from home, he mentioned it would be challenging for him to do so because his work requires access to information found in files that have not been captured electronically in the system.  TSG asked why those files can’t be captured in the system.  Jim explained that most of the un-filed content are litigation material and arrives in big box and CD format. This content may or may not be accessed so it is hard to justify the cost and/or time required to file it into the system. However, by not making this content accessible in the system, there are specific challenges Jim experiences:

1. Claims personnel are tethered to the office in the case access to this content is required
2. Sharing content with colleges in other offices is time consuming because it requires Jim and team to located/distribute
3. Risk that this content isn’t truly protected in the event of a disaster

As a simple solution, Jim and TSG discussed ways to “bulk load” the CDs/DVDs to reduce the effort to index. 

Audit Support – Another time consuming activity claims is responsible for is preparing for re-insurance audits. Jim discussed the effort required to retrieve and print files that are either filed or unfiled in the system.   The team discussed included two unique approaches:

1. Audit Self-Support – TSG does have clients (mostly Accounts Payable) that allow auditors to access the system in a review-only mode to retrieve documents on their own.  Jim thought this might make some sense as he spends a considerable amount of time annually supporting the audit process.
2. Bulk Print – Other TSG clients have built a “shopping cart” approach for building large PDF’s for distribution.  For example, one building owner had followed this method when selling off buildings and preparing supporting paperwork.  

Outbound Email – One enhancement to HPI for this client that Jim particularly liked was the ability to send outbound email from within the application.  Previously Jim would leverage his own email and have to later index outbound emails back into the system.  The ability to select a document from the system and send an associated email which was then filed and then recorded within the Folder Notes was a major time-saver for Jim.  Another aspect of outbound email that was implemented was an address book that stored frequently used emails. We uncovered that Jim was not currently using this feature but would look to use it more because it was much quicker than copy/pasting emails.

User Interface Improvements – Jim really liked the user interface the new system provided, specifically,

1. Consistent Organization of Content –    HPI leverages a folder concept with related folders that allows Jim and other users to see current claims as well as previous claims and policy folders without having to search again.
2. Document Viewing Flexibility – The interface allows for side-by-side viewing of documents from different folders.
3. Search Capability – Execute a search, review the results and easily add more search terms or leverage the sortable columns to prioritize or reduce the search results.

Drag and Drop Zone – As part of the implementation, the drag and drop zone, a custom PC based component developed by the client, was also improved.  This feature allows users to drag desktop items (emails/word) quickly to active folders.  The major benefit for Jim was the reduction in the amount of indexing required. 

1. Old process – the user was required to index everything for content (pick customer, policy….)
2. New process – the current folder information is already defined and the user is only required to select the document type. 

TSG is using this input as a possible enhancement for HPI.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, Jim was happy with the system and glad to provide input.  We are discussing the possible enhancements identified with the client sponsor for a next phase.  Additionally, we thought he would benefit by a couple of non-system enhancements including:

• Bigger Monitor – When reviewing multiple images, monitor size makes a big difference.  With the cost of monitors always going down, would be a good investment for Jim.
• Dual Monitors – While Jim has a laptop, when in the office he puts the laptop in a docking station with just the one monitor external displayed.  We suggested either dual monitors or, like most of the TSG developers, using both the laptop and external monitor in dual monitor mode. HPI has the ability to launch documents in a “new window” to easily provide for dual monitor support. 

If you have claim experience and would like to add your thoughts, please comment below.