FootPrints Enables HealthMed Services to Automate Help Desk Operations and Process 90% of Service Requests via Email and the Internet (email this article)

EDISON, NJ (October 15, 2003) – UniPress Software (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies), Inc., a leading provider of web-based service desk automation software, today announced that HealthMed Services, a large managed service organization based in Whittier, California, has selected FootPrints® to automate its internal help desk and external service operations responsible for supporting 32,000 customers. Using FootPrints, HealthMed now process 90% of its service requests via email and the Internet, dramatically reducing its telecommunication costs. Additionally, the company has expanded its FootPrints web-based service desk to manage other request-centric projects, including its healthcare insurance eligibility verification process that helped save more than $400,000 in benefit payments.

FootPrints is a 100% web-based service desk that centrally tracks, manages, and controls all types of customer issues and support requests received from email, the Internet, fax, telephone, and wireless devices. The software includes a range of comprehensive features such as centralized issue tracking, self-service online, two-way email management, knowledge management, and powerful reporting, and is widely used by more than 1600 organizations worldwide to automate internal and external support operations.  

      Prior to selecting FootPrints, HealthMed outsourced its help desk operations. The company used a combination of spreadsheets and IBM Lotus Notes® to track support issues and service requests from employees and customers. With requests often falling through the cracks, the company decided to bring its service and support operations in-house, and implement a web-based system to track and manage these activities.  Among the ten different help desk solutions evaluated by HealthMed, FootPrints was selected for its web-based functionality, advanced features, easy-to-use interface, and extreme flexibility.


“With 100 employees at HealthMed and an additional 2,000 at Presbyterian Inter-Community Hospital, for which we provide all non-clinical “back-office” management services, we receive many technical inquiries each day, all related to computer support,” explained Vince Rinner, Chief Information Officer at HealthMed Services. “Having a central repository to track, manage, and control service issues, along with the ability to receive requests from email and the Internet, was critical to our business.”

Prior to implementing FootPrints, all service requests were received by phone. This was a costly process and each call required a live agent. Now, 90% of all HealthMed’s inquiries are submitted via email or the web, speeding up and streamlining the overall support process. Through FootPrints, the company developed a searchable knowledge base that includes more than 40 solutions to common, IT-related problems and frequently asked questions. FootPrints’ self-service online functionality allows HealthMed employees to independently find answers to common questions in the knowledge base, which drastically reduces the number of live-agent interactions.

      In addition to the internal help desk, HealthMed has expanded its use of FootPrints to other projects within the organization, including a member services call center that tracks approximately 3,400 calls per month from more than 32,000 members that need information on healthcare provider referrals, authorization requests, claims inquiries, and general complaint-based issues. FootPrints is also being used to track all change requests from HealthMed’s physicians network, and it has transformed the company’s previously paper-based process of requesting reports to a process fully automated via the Internet.

With FootPrints, HealthMed has realized significant cost savings, particularly when calculating the number of claims that are no longer erroneously paid because they were deemed ineligible by the system.  “We have saved over $400,000 by cleaning up our systems eligibility process,” explained Mr. Rinner. “FootPrints gives us the flexibility to create projects that support a broad range of business activities, and we are continuously improving the system to streamline workflow and other processes.”

About UniPress Software, Inc.
Headquartered in Edison, New Jersey, UniPress Software, Inc. is a developer of web-based service desk automation software targeting mid-market companies, departments within large enterprise organizations, and small businesses. The company’s FootPrints® product line, launched in 1996, provides a comprehensive range of workflow, communication, and knowledge management capabilities to significantly improve help desk and customer support operations. FootPrints products are widely used by more than 1,600 corporate organizations, government offices, and educational institutions worldwide, including Prudential Financial, BHP Petroleum, IBM, Kampgrounds of America, Charles Schwab, the IRS, WebMedx, Time Warner Cable, and the University of Pennsylvania. For more information, contact UniPress at 732-287-2100, or via the web at www.unipress.com.