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Test Request Form Automation Case Study

Test Request Form Automation

A leading genetic testing company came to us with a big problem: they receive over 100,000 test request forms (TRFs) per year, which required 30 full-time employees (FTEs) to process. As their TRF volume increased, the company had to hire new FTEs to keep up.

Leveraging our broad portfolio of enterprise content management (ECM) technology, we implemented a solution that streamlined the processing of the forms and reduced the number of FTEs by almost 30%, saving the company approximately $1 million per year.

The Problem

The old process was a highly manual one. TRFs come in by mail, email and fax. Most of the forms are handwritten; some are typed. Two operators—each entering identical data—manually typed TRF field values from 150 different fields into homegrown customer relationship management (CRM) software in a double-blind model (i.e., the application verifies field values independently entered by the first and second operator). Processing each TRF took about 20 minutes.

This was an inefficient system for the following reasons:

  • Limited validation rules (slow and error prone)
  • Heads down data entry (requires looking at the paper copy)
  • Two people required to key each TRF to ensure accuracy
  • Increasing number of forms required adding FTEs in an increasingly costly, inefficient and labor-intensive process

The Solution

MetaSource streamlined the process using complex ICR/OCR technology to extract data from the form along with establishing validation rules to dramatically reduce data entry, shrinking the size of the data entry staff by almost 30%.

The solution incorporated the following process improvements:

  • Data capture from TRFs in all forms (mail, email and fax) using ICR/OCR
  • Streamlined transformation of multiple document types into structured electronic information, ready for delivery into business systems and processes
  • Cursive capture module for handwriting and handprint recognition capabilities
  • Recognition and validation of street addresses
  • Easy export of formatted and validated TRF data to document management platform
  • Instant search and retrieval
  • Long-term archival storage

Solution Impact

The MetaSource solution provides the following value-adds:

  • Heads up data entry (keying from image)
  • Single pass TRF reviews as the ICR/OCR engine accounts for the first pass
  • Improved accuracy by reducing the manual human element
  • Reduction of FTEs from 30 to 22, saving approximately $1 million per year

What Can We Do for You?

This application is just one of thousands we’ve implemented to save millions of dollars for organizations like yours. Contact us to let us know what document and data processing intensive processes are holding you back, whether it’s AP invoice processing, loan boarding, HR onboarding – or perhaps something more unique, like this scenario. Whatever the case, we can help you determine the right mix of technology and services to save you a lot of money and headache.

Contact us to learn more about our document capture and management solutions

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