Windows Mobile Mailroom Case Study
Wireless Mailroom Application
The
Client
International document imaging and data capture company geared towards
clients in healthcare, insurance and pharmaceutical industries. The
client also operates outsourced archival and vital media storage
facilities.
Business Case
Several large healthcare industries use the client's Electronic Mailroom
department as a centralized claims processing clearing house. The
Electronic Mailroom department is responsible for the pickup,
categorization and tracking of documents before, during and after
imaging. To comply with US healthcare regulations governing the capture
and storage of confidential data (HIPAA
certification) the mailroom required a solution to track all
incoming documents using a variety of barcode scanning methods at both
document and pallet levels.
The Solution
A Windows Mobile solution running on Intermec handhelds provided the
capability to scan and track medical records, claims and other documents
at any stage of the processing infrastructure ensuring full HIPAA
compliance.
The solution needed to implement a user interface suitable for a very
rugged environment. The mail handlers often used heavy duty gloves to
cart the bulk pallets and still needed to be able to operate the Windows
Mobile interface with as little stylus use as possible. In particular
scanning needed to be intuitive and fast. A low battery drain black and
white LCD was chosen to maximize battery longevity and this also
impacted the UI design since items could not be color coded.
Mobile Hardware
Intermec devices with black and white LCDs, extended batteries and
industrial bar code scanning & 802.11 wireless.
Technology
- Pocket PC 2003
- .NET Compact Framework 1.0
- VB.NET
- SQL Server 2000 backend
-
Object Orientated Design
Project Scope
Analysis, Design and Coding and Implementation effort = 20 man days
Solution Benefit
- full document lifecycle tracking and
audit capabilities
- ability to scan and identify any package on
the mailroom floor
- track operator efficiency
- HIPAA compliance
Country
Pennsylvania, US
Download the PDF
"HIPAA" is an acronym for the Health Insurance Portability &
Accountability Act of 1996 (August 21), Public Law 104-191, which
amended the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986. Also known as the
Kennedy-Kassebaum Act, the Act includes a section, Title II, entitled
Administrative Simplification, requiring:
1. Improved efficiency in healthcare delivery by standardizing
electronic data interchange, and
2. Protection of confidentiality and security of health data through
setting and enforcing standards.