Work management in health care
Improving customer satisfaction is the prime motivation behind a new work process improvement solution at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. The health plan provider has undertaken an enterprise management project geared toward making its internal processes more efficient and effective--a prescription that's good for any company's health.
BCBSKC's initial focus is to improve customer-oriented processes, including streamlining procedures in its member services, customer service, claims and central operations divisions.
The process improvement initiative involves iGrafx software from Micrografx. Modeling and simulation capabilities found in iGrafx allow users to visualize where process bottlenecks will occur, where resources are idle and how costs are being distributed. In effect, it provides a window into the future where the results of change can be foreseen--without impacting the business.
"As we began evaluating our operations processes," says Joey Dalton, manager of operations performance improvement and quality assurance at BCBSKC, "we saw the need for a software solution that allows interactive process simulation and easy-to-use what-if analysis."
Adds Dalton, "Our main objectives are to increase quality, decrease administrative expenses and improve member satisfaction through timeliness and accuracy of claims processing and customer interaction. With this solution, we are confident that BCBSKC will improve both our customer service and our ability to effectively resolve issues as they arise."
BCBSKC expects that the new system will result in faster customer claims processing and an improved bottom line.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City is the largest provider of health plans in a 32-county area serving greater Kansas City and northwest Missouri. The company offers a number of benefit programs that are included in many group health plans for area employers.