6. Use of Automation & Technology

Status: In-Compliance

The department actively seeks to improve efficiency through technology.  To meet this objective the department has done the following:

• Manage record storage using data imaging technology
• Increase electronic commerce (EFT, Credit Card)
• Create an electronic system for the Captives area
• Automate application and renewal process, premium tax collection and enterprise (state-based) system 
• Upgrade Groupwise

Achieving the Mission

While the department’s mission does not change, the range of activities necessary to achieving that mission are changing and growing. Leveraging new technology with organizational knowledge has been and will continue to be critical to the ongoing success of the department and our ability to perform those wide-ranging activities. The department’s website has proven both efficient and effective for dealing with many of our customers. Additionally, insurers may now make certain rate and form filings electronically. Since many process reviews have been completed, we have identified and implemented numerous opportunities to make our process design and delivery more efficient and effective.

As paper is an extremely costly means of communicating ideas and storing information, the department realized that it needs to image all available data. The agency has started to implement a centralized Electronic Document Management System that will enable electronic document storage, retrieval, and workflow management, to achieve cost savings and improve traditional ways of doing business. Through the course of a year, hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and correspondence are generated and received. Filing is naturally time-consuming and prone to error, even in the best of manual file systems. Documents can be misfiled, misplaced, lost, damaged, and/or unavailable. This contributes to increased retrieval time, incomplete information, and frustration. Additionally, because individual divisions often need to share documents, the need to centralize the storage of original documents and make them available through secured electronic means becomes even more critical.

Processing Electronic Documents

Electronic document management systems provide a process through which a document is recorded or scanned electronically, indexed, and stored as a digital image of its original form. Once digitized, it can be routed, archived, and/or retrieved automatically. In addition, imaging the department’s data  has become a replacement for traditional manual filing techniques. Through the "document storage and retrieval" process, documents are captured by scanning, then indexed and archived for retrieval at a later date. This reduces file space, eliminates errors and misfiling, and improves productivity.

Using an electronic document management system, many areas have achieved significant improvements in the ability to provide efficient business service. Primary among these benefits is the ability to provide immediate response to customer inquiries or to retrieve relevant documentation while directly assisting the customer. This directly enhances efforts to improve overall customer satisfaction. The time delays traditionally associated with document retrievals are virtually eliminated or, at least, significantly reduced.