LCM is a Belgian insurance fund with two regional health funds, the Christian Mutuality (CM) and the Mutualité Chrétienne (MC). Together, they form the largest health insurance fund in Belgium. They have a diverse range of tasks: reimbursing medical expenses, paying replacement incomes in case of long-term illness or disability, and providing additional benefits and concrete assistance.
Digitization of disability certificates
The government is fully committed to digitization with the aim of streamlining the payment of replacement incomes and minimizing inefficient paper flow. An important step in this process is the replacement of paper disability certificates (GAOs) with electronic disability certificates (EGAOs).
LCM seized this opportunity. They had long wanted to automate the processing of such certificates because it offers efficiency gains. An additional benefit for members is that their dossiers are processed faster.
Team-as-a-service
Digitization projects are always very intensive because they require a lot of manpower and work hours. At LCM, they didn't have that margin: the existing ICT teams couldn't free up enough hours to carry out the automation. However, the expected efficiency gains were sufficient to justify the deployment of an extra team. This is where Kunlabora comes in: we ensured that LCM had an extra team of our employees available to carry out the automation.
Automation and integration project for LCM
Defining scope: automating certificates
To prepare the project well, we at Kunlabora proposed starting with a mini-Service Blueprint. This allowed us to clearly define the scope. The goal was to make the new workflow within LCM more efficient and to automate the existing (manual) processes. The new workflow – the happy flow – means that when an EGAO certificate that is perfectly in order enters the LCM systems, it does so without the intervention of an employee. This has two consequences: a CM member no longer needs to deliver certificates to CM offices. Additionally, the workload of CM employees is reduced because these tasks run completely automatically. In short: a win-win for both parties. The happy flow was quickly expanded so that even more EGAOs can be processed automatically. The result is that now only a residual fraction of EGAO certificates requires manual processing or intervention. This optimizes the turnaround time of dossiers and minimizes manual errors.
Tracking disability dossiers via MyCM
A second task involved setting up better digital services for disabled members. The result? CM members can easily track the progress of their disability dossier in the MyCM environment. CM members receive targeted information. This includes the extension of disability to guiding people who return to work after a long period. This relieves members, but also employees: they have to follow up on fewer questions by phone, for example. Behind the scenes, we ensured the automatic registration of applications for part-time work resumption during disability. Before resuming the activity from before the disability, a step of part-time work resumption is often recommended. When members apply for this, the data of that application is automatically made available to the relevant employees. The advisory doctor can now easily give his or her approval, and CM employees can work faster and more accurately.
Challenges in extensive digital automation projects
LCM is a large organization. This means they have many procedures and rules to ensure the continuity of their operations. Therefore, it is extra important to clearly map out the entire process to avoid surprises. The entire process is not only important for the organization, but stakeholders must also be aware of the expected changes and give their approval. To achieve this, continuous consultation with these interest groups and their representatives is necessary. That we at Kunlabora first mapped out these interest groups and got to know them was a great help. Additionally, a business expert was added to the development team to more accurately monitor the business impact and share expertise.
Efficiency gains and error reduction thanks to automation
When we look back on the projects, we are satisfied. The collaboration with LCM is very pleasant. Their employees are always very helpful, ensuring our Team-as-a-Service team finds their way well at LCM. Our projects provide significant operational efficiency gains at LCM. They have nicely embraced the new methods in their daily operations, ensuring faster turnaround times in dossiers and better data quality.
Does your organization have a large digitization project but too little manpower to carry it out efficiently? Then be sure to discover our 'Team as a Service' offering. You will benefit from a dedicated Kunlabora team so that your daily operations do not suffer from the extra workload.
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