A few months back, I wrote about President Obama's pick for chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, and a speech Chopra had given. In part, he talked about the healthcare system and how during his wife's pregnancy he had to fill out the same insurance information time and again at her various medical providers.
Recently, I accompanied someone in going to a hospital emergency room. Though thankfully not a crisis, she was experiencing chest discomfort requiring immediate attention. While I commend the staff members at the hospital for their skill and attentiveness (even when the ER resembled a MASH unit in a war zone), I was a bit surprised at how often the same information--medical history, her list of medications, etc.--had to be repeated. I would have thought once entered into the system, such information would be made available to those assigned to the patient's care--certainly within the same facility.
At press time, the president was developing a healthcare plan, and government officials were calling it a work in progress, asking that people withhold judgment while they aimed to pass an overhaul. Being an optimist, I tend to believe technology will be able to support successfully any massive change. But being a realist, I'm concerned, since from the above examples, we see technology still has a way to go within the system we have now.
On the P&C side, between the economic downturn, a highly competitive soft market, and changing customer expectations, carriers have their hands full. However, in a survey from analyst firm Novarica, over 50 percent of respondents are sticking with their claims technology investment plans--and 13 percent are planning to spend more. Beyond core system upgrades, companies are spending on analytics, mobile technologies, Web 2.0, and payment technologies.
These aren't "nice to haves" anymore. I attended an industry conference where a presenter related he had told his post-college-age son it was time the young man pay for his own car insurance. Dad then proffered his agent's phone number. The son instead went on Twitter . . . and got an immediate response from an insurer with a friend request for Facebook.
While carriers mainly may be tinkering internally with Web 2.0, "even if you're not sure how to use Twitter today, we recommend you secure your Twitter handle now in the event this turns out to be like the Internet domain grabs of the early '90s," suggests Novarica.
So, it appears the claims technology train not only has left the station but quickly is picking up speed while beginning to lean on newer bells and whistles. What's the final destination? At the end of the line, insurers that stay on track likely will find satisfied customers of all ages ready to come aboard.
