Case Study

Midwest Blue Cross Blue Shield Organization

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These are tough times for Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations. The combination of the recent recession and the changes resulting from health reform and new regulatory mandates have forced most Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations to take a hard look at their operations to wring out costs.

A major Blue Cross Blue Shield organization in the Midwest was able to reallocate seven full-time equivalents (FTEs), accelerate processing turnaround, and significantly improve system reliability by deploying two ImageTrac document scanners from Birmingham, AL-based ibml. ibml’s high-speed, high-capacity ImageTrac scanners are distinguished by their: ability to scan co-mingled documents; flat-track design; in-line intelligence; and flexibility in automating a wide range of applications.

The Midwest Blue Cross Blue Shield organization uses ibml’s scanners to process approximately 3.8 million health claims a year, as well as some explanation of benefits (EOB) documents, and checks.

Immediate Payback

The ImageTrac scanners replaced five traditional scanners at the Midwest Blue Cross Blue Shield organization. From the start, the scanners provided significant operations and business benefits.

By replacing its five legacy scanners with two high-speed ibml devices, the organization only needs two scanner operators, and on some days, the organization has one operator run both ImageTrac machines (something the organization could never do with its old scanners). This enabled the organization to reallocate three FTEs to other job functions. With a fully-loaded FTE costing the department an average of $50,000 a year in salary and benefits, the organization is saving about $150,000 a year on scanner operators alone since switching to ibml’s ImageTrac document scanners.

But the labor savings don’t stop there.

Because the in-line intelligence provided by the ImageTrac scanners automatically separates different document (or category) types, the Blue Cross Blue Shield organization was able to reallocate two FTEs who previously were solely dedicated to manual document preparation. As an example of how this in-line intelligence helps the organization, look no further than claims associated with a specialty health plan card; these claims need to be prioritized in the organization’s downstream workflows. In the past, staff had to manually search for and separate these claims from other work. Now, ibml’s devices automatically recognize these documents during scanning, which allows the organization to prioritize them electronically, without ever handling the paper. With this type of in-line intelligence, it’s no surprise that the organization says that it lets its scanners do as much sorting as possible.

Unquestionably, the ImageTrac scanners are faster than the organization’s old devices. While the operation isn’t allowed to shut down any earlier in the day (it uses staggered shifts), the high-speed ImageTrac devices have freed up department staff to do other tasks when its scanning is complete.

When you combine the two FTEs the organization reallocated from document preparation with the three scanner operators it saved, as well as two other general FTEs who were reassigned after the deployment of the ImageTrac devices, the Blue Cross Blue Shield organization was able to reallocate a total of seven FTEs -- representing an eye-popping $350,000 a year in salary and benefits.

Better Reliability

On top of the labor savings they provide, the ImageTrac scanners also are more reliable than the Blue Cross Blue Shield organization’s old scanners. Previously, the organization would have to call its scanner provider at least once a week with a maintenance issue. Since moving to the ImageTrac scanners, the organization has never called ibml more than once a month, and they admit that many of the maintenance questions they’ve called about were the result of improper operator training.

What’s more, the organization’s operators report that the ImageTrac scanners are extremely easy to use; some claim the scanner can “operate itself.” In most cases, new operators are trained and self-sufficient in just a day. Operators especially like the flat track design of the ImageTrac scanners, which provides greater visibility into scanner performance and makes it easy to clear jams.

Bottom Line

With no let-up in sight to the cost pressures facing Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations, they would be well-advised to think outside of the box when it comes to the scanners they use to process health claims and other documents. ibml’s high-speed, intelligent scanners provide the labor savings, faster turnaround and enhanced quality demanded in today’s challenging healthcare environment.