Health Care Facility | Insurers | Related Initiatives
Health Care Facility | Insurers | Related Initiatives  

HCAI Update - HCAI 2017, the Year Ahead / January 12, 2017

This year is expected to be a banner year for HCAI, with two significant insurer-driven system releases currently in development.

For the past two years, the HCAI development team has worked diligently alongside industry representatives, including the HCAI IUG and advisory committees to understand the current business needs for the HCAI system. The HCAI team met with volunteer insurance companies of all sizes across Ontario. The response was unprecedented: by the end of December, HCAI was able to meet with frontline system users from companies representing more than 75% of Ontario's Direct Written Premium (DWP).

We are excited to announce HCAI's two scheduled system releases will include insurer-recommended enhancements that are the first step in making your individual user experience better. These releases are scheduled to be deployed in the spring and fall.

Spring System Release 3.17 - Live May 1, 2017

The most significant change for Release 3.17 will be the launch of the Insurer Merger Tool. This optional tool will allow insurers who have undergone mergers to combine their organizations in HCAI in a parent-child set up. This tool is expected to provide relief for companies that have undergone mergers by reducing the number of user logins required and permitting the transfer of documents between merged companies.

Details about the tool, including how it works and how to request it for your organization, will be shared in the coming months.

Other system enhancements for Release 3.17 include:

  • A new search field in the User Management screen that will enable searching for users by email addresses
  • Streamlining the user interface by removing outdated and unused functions, such as the Pending tab, from view
  • Continuing to support newer versions of web browsers

Integrating Insurers

Integrating Insurers should note they will not need to update HCAI schemas to prepare for Release 3.17. As always, regression testing is recommended and will be available starting mid-February, 2017.

Claim-Claimant Archiving – Starting Spring 2017

As announced in November, claim and claimant archiving will begin in Spring 2017. Claim and claimant archiving will allow the system to safely archive dormant data while minimizing the impact to end users.

Organizations can prepare for claim and claimant archiving by:

  • Reviewing your organization’s data management strategy and ensuring that your records, including claim and claimant records are stored somewhere outside of HCAI
  • Ensuring your organization has established clear processes for deactivating claim and claimant records in HCAI

To learn more about how your organization can get ready for claim and claimant archiving, plan to attend our virtual town hall and Q&A session on January 19, 2017 from 11 a.m. (EST) to 12 p.m. (EST). All are welcome to attend.

Fall System Release 3.18 - Live October 2, 2017

Release 3.17 builds on the user-friendly theme of the spring release. This includes further development of the Insurer Merger Tool that will allow for more complex mergers on HCAI.

Development for Release 3.18 is still underway, but users can expect to see improvements that will address issues identified by insurer users and working groups, including:

  • A new feature that is capable for reducing the number of adjuster worklists
  • Enhancements intended to reduce the number of unmatched documents
  • Advanced OCF search capabilities
  • Addressing administrative inefficiencies to improve the user experience

Integrating insurers can plan for integration changes in Release 3.18 with testing expected to begin mid-summer. To help our integrating insurer community prepare, details will be shared as they become available.

What’s Next?

As always, HCAI is committed to providing the Insurer community with details to help them prepare for system releases. The general timeline for Release 3.17 communication activities is below:

Activity Mar-2016 Apr-2016 May-2016
HCAI Update √    
What’s New? Video   √  
Updated OCF Walkthrough Video     √

Keep checking HCAIinfo - HCAI's dedicated eLearning resource site - for more updates and information throughout the year.