news / events
case studies
Related Links
WebinarsData Capture 101
Newsletter
Request Information
Downloads
Rules
White Paper
Order Processing Automation at Leading Mail-Order Pharmacy
Leading Mail-Order Pharmacy Automates Order Processing, Increases Efficiency and Improves Productivity“I plan to simplify our workflow by using the capabilities of our new scanners,” says the Senior Analyst of the Mail Service Application. “So far, we’ve only upgraded one of our mail centers. But we already are enjoying improved image quality at the mail centers we have upgraded -- this has reduced the need for re-scans. We’re also using the Automatic Document Feed option to reduce our scan time by a third. I can’t even imagine what other productivity enhancements we’ll realize once we start taking advantage of capabilities when we upgrade at all our locations around the country!”
The Challenge
|
The nationwide volume of a leading mail order pharmacy requires the operation of three prescription mail-order facilities. Each of these facilities receives documents in the mail and by fax. Employees open the envelopes and sort and scan all the paper, including the envelopes. Operators process more than 200,000 pharmacy mail orders each week, scanning almost a quarter of a million documents. To scan an order requires a scanner that can handle a wide range of paper thicknesses and formats, including envelopes, handwritten prescription forms, handwritten patient order forms, re-fill and re-order forms, correspondence from customers, and HIPAA privacy forms and signatures. The company’s objectives were to improve image quality, performance and throughput and to automate processes to reduce manual labor. They also wanted to take advantage of new capabilities to reduce re-scans, improve productivity. |
|
The Solution
The organization implemented Datacap Taskmaster software to capture information from these forms using OCR, ICR, OMR and barcode recognition. This captured information is used to automate the indexing of document images stored in FileNet, as well as populate an Oracle database for prescription fulfillment at the production center. There, they fill and package prescription orders which are mailed to customers around the nation.
Up to five individual "scripts," or prescription sheets, can be affixed to a single order form. After scanning, Datacap Taskmaster dynamically splits the original image up into five individual sub-images, which are then processed as if they had been scanned individually. Given the tight tolerances in the form design, this required high-quality images from the scanner to guarantee accurate processing in Taskmaster.
At the end of 2005, Datacap helped the company install and configure four
Kodak
i660 Scanners at one of its locations. The organization plans to upgrade their
other facilities by the end of 2006. They also upgraded to the latest version
of Datacap Taskmaster to take advantage of advances in hardware and software.
The goal was to eliminate labor-intensive re-scans.
“It was time to upgrade to better features, improved performance, and higher quality scans,” the senior analyst said. ““We selected the Kodak i660 Scanner because of its built-in software capabilities, image quality, and unique integration with Datacap Taskmaster. We hoped new scanners would help us improve image quality, performance, and throughput.”
The Result
“We’re very happy with the image quality coming out of our new scanners,” said the senior programmer/analyst. “Our workers can focus on processing prescription orders and meeting quotas rather than constantly watching over how documents are being loaded, for example, or being interrupted for re-scans.
“Plus, our new Kodak Scanners have the Automatic Document Feeder feature. With auto-feed, we can scan batches in a third less time than before.”
Perfect Page makes image adjustments automatically, which allows operators to rely on Automatic Document Feed without having to worry about which side to load the paper—left, right, or in the middle, for example, or how to orient the documents.
“With Perfect Page, the scanner automatically rotates and deskews documents that are off-center. This feature comes in especially handy for scanning envelopes appropriately,” noted the senior analyst. “And we’re also using SurePath paper handling to improve our efficiency.”
The senior analyst is looking forward to even more productivity enhancements in the future, when the other two centers get their new scanners.
“We saw all these great, built-in features and capabilities when we viewed the demo software that comes with the Kodak scanners. They seemed handy and we could see the productivity benefits of using them. Things like: insert page, delete page, scan from here, adjust scan. So we worked with Datacap to customize our solution to import these features into our workflow software.
“We’re excited about the many new features at our fingertips, especially the one that allows us to preview thumbnail images of the scans on-screen--before the operator gives it the OK and sends it on,” attested the senior programmer/analyst. “So if there’s a problem, the operator can adjust the scan on a per image basis, for contrast, for example, and then re-scan right then and there. That gives us more control upfront in the process, so we don’t have to re-scan later, which simplifies our workflow downstream and enhances our overall productivity.”