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Health Services Provider Goes Digital
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions
- Procurement
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Cybersecurity
- Remote Asset Management
Services
- Data Science Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
UNIMED, the largest health insurance company in the south of Brazil, was facing challenges with managing a large volume of documents including medical records, hospital charts, doctor statements and more. The company has 30 offices spread out over 800 kilometers, each operating as a separate entity but sharing documentation among all offices. The original document cannot leave the office of origin, so copies of patient records and bills are sent back and forth between offices for processing every 15 days. This resulted in multiple copies of the same information at several different locations. When a patient visits an in-network UNIMED physician, the medical records and billing documents are processed and stored at the local UNIMED office. If a patient seeks a second opinion or chooses to see a UNIMED doctor in another city, the two offices must bill each other for the visit. This complex process often led to tests being repeated two to three times since the original test results are not easily available to the second physician. This was a drain on the organization’s bottom line and efficiency, and contributed to the huge amount of records UNIMED needed to maintain.
About The Customer
UNIMED is the largest health insurance company in the south of Brazil, with 30 offices throughout the state of Rio Grande do Sul, spread out over 800 kilometers. Each UNIMED in-network physician is a part-owner of the UNIMED Federation, so the doctors have a vested interest in the efficient operation of the organization as a whole. Each office operates as if it were a separate company; however, documentation is shared among all offices. UNIMED maintains volumes of documents including medical records, hospital charts, doctor statements and more. The company was facing challenges with managing these documents and was looking for a solution to digitize and manage these records efficiently.
The Solution
UNIMED implemented DocuWare to digitally manage 1.3 million patient accounts and over 1.8 million pages of information a month. Utilizing advanced technology, UNIMED was able to digitize and microfilm records simultaneously, meeting federal record retention laws. The digital information is indexed and stored on a secure server managed by Brasil Telecom, a communication services provider. Using DocuWare’s AUTOINDEX module, the microfilm location number such as: Roll 22 Frame 75, is automatically added to each image as an index term. Each of the 30 offices has access around the clock to the knowledge stored electronically in DocuWare and can search and view documents online as needed. The microfilm copy of the records is stored at a central location. DocuWare’s strong security features allow UNIMED to set access rights and maintain patient privacy while providing physicians with an efficient, easy way to share test results and other records.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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