Questions and Answers
Request for Proposal: Electronic Form Solution
RAF/2013/00020
1.
Question
When referring to physical signatures in point g on page 69 of the RFP, does this
refer to the applicant completing the Eform but instead of submitting it electronically,
he prints the form, signs it and then sends it via fax/post/scan to email?
Answer
YES, but can service providers please provide a solution on how digital signatures
can be used if possible.
2.
Question
When referring to barcodes in point h on page 69 of the RFP, does this refer to the
instance where instead of submitting the Eform electronically which would
automatically update the database, the user instead prints the form (the system then
adds a barcode prior to print) and sends it manually via fax/post/scan to email?
Answer
We require barcodes to be visible on the eform, per page for the data on the page.
Once a user starts entering information, this must be captured in the barcode.
3.
Question
How will the RAF continue processing the claim once the data has been captured by
the e-form?
Will the RAF need to be able to search and view the data captured in a specific
format?
What extent of form building functionality is required? Would you need to create an
entirely new form, add new fields or just move around fields and do cosmetic
changes?
How many claims does the RAF receive a day?
1|Page
Answer
The service provider needs to provide solutions on how to process the claim form
thereafter. The solution should ideally be able to input data from the form into a
database. Thereafter the normal process of validating the claim will occur. Instead of
someone capturing the claim, the eform should be able to input the data. However
like stated, the service provider should provide the solution as to how they foresee
their form to work.
Field building functionality will be when a specific field/section is selected then the
form should be able build itself. Not all sections maybe required by a claimant.
RAF receives on average about 200-250 claims a day.
4.
Question
Is there a backend system already in place for processing claims?
Answer
There is no backend system to process the eform; however RAF has a claims system
for processing claims.
5.
Question
If there is a backend system in place, how does the RAF foresee interfacing taking
place?
Answer
As part of this solution, the service provider needs to propose how their eform can
integrate into the current RAF claims system.
6.
Question
If there is no backend system in place, must we include functionality for processing?
Answer
Service provider should include in proposal how their solution can process the eform.
2|Page
7.
Question
Does the RAF foresee applicants using the website to track the progress of their
claims?
Answer
Yes, but this is very much in the future.
8.
Question
E-form must cater for online and offline capability”. Offline can imply a form that can
be completed without the need to connect to a central server or it can imply
completion and submission of a paper form. Can you elaborate on the extent of
offline capability required?
Answer
The form should have the capability of being saved local on the claimants PC, and
also should there be a disruption on the network/network connectivity, the form
should not be lost with data captured. Once the reconnection or connectivity, the
claimant should be able to submit the form. The claimant must also be able to save
the form print and submit manually.
9.
Question
Please provide a description/ overview of your existing claim system.
Answer
The claims system was developed in-house and is built on dot net with Informix
database. The system is currently being enhanced to add new functionality and
modules. Each module has a specific function, e.g. the registration module is used
for the registration of claims. The whole claim is processed on the system and future
enhancements will cater for a document repository so that claim documents can we
added to a claim.”
3|Page
10.
Question
Does the RAF have a document management system in place?
Answer
The RAF has a document management system built in SharePoint.
11.
Question
Is it a requirement to capture the data in a database for later use?
Answer
Yes, unless the service provide has another solution.
12.
Question
Is it a requirement for the user completing the form to have a secure profile for
sharing of communication or information?
Answer
We would like to since it’s sensitive information, but depending on proposal, may not
always be possible, hence we ask for an HTTPS.
13.
Question
If a document is completed by hand will the RAF capture the hard copy into the
electronic form?
Answer
The RAF can then scan the document and obtain the information from the bar code.
14.
Question
Will scanning be done in a distributed or centralised environment? (I.e. will it be at
individual offices of the RAF or at a central HO/Processing centre).
Answer
This is business dependant, but for now looks like a distributed environment. The
scanning is for barcode scanning.
4|Page
15.
Question
Dependent on the answers for the above point could we ascertain the volumes that
will be scanned either centrally or de-centralised (Per office).
Answer
At present RAF gets about 200-250 claims a day.
16.
Question
How will the forms be received, will it only be physical (post, drop off) or will items
be faxed and emailed.
Answer
This is an eform so electronic submission, post, hand deliver.
17.
Question
Once the image has been created where does it need to pass to. (E.g.: SharePoint,
File Directory etc.)
Answer
Need to be processed and stored in a database. This will be solution dependant.
18.
Question
Solution must cater for form-builder functionality.
Does this entail adding new fields dynamically, and to also modify the format
dynamically? Would this also require validations on new fields to be specified
dynamically, for example field lengths, valid values etc?
Answer
The form must be able to change dynamically depending on choices made on the
form. These will be dependant on the claimant and form being completed.
19.
Question
E-form must cater for online and offline capability and must allow for users to save
information and complete filling out later.
In an offline environment, how would the applicant have accessed the form to be
able to save it? Or must this be an application running locally on an applicant’s
PC/Mobile?
5|Page
Answer
The offline capability must allow the claimant to save the form locally to the PC and
be able to upload anytime. If there is a break in internet connectivity and the
claimant is capturing info, the form must not hang or become unavailable or loose
any data captured, but should all saving or remain until connectivity is back and
allow the submission.
20.
Question
E-form should allow for attachments should the user wish to attach supporting
documents. What file types and sizes must be catered for?
Answer
Any file type should be catered for; these can be doc, pdf, tiff, etc. Sizes are
dependant but from experience should cater for a 2mb. This is not cast in stone
thou.
21.
Question
E-form must allow for both physical and electronic/digital signatures.
How is this envisaged to work? A physical signature would require a touchpad and a
digital signature would require the applicant to register as a verified user before
filling in any forms?
Answer
This concept is for future if the RAF decides to create kiosks. In that case a digital
signature can be done. Also your solution should cater if the user can create a digital
signature, something similar how acrobat pro x does.
22.
Question
The RAF E-form should not be editable once information is submitted to the RAF,
either by the claimant or by any RAF Staff. How would amendments/additional data
be handled then?
Answer
The law does not cater for amendments on the form once submitted. This is to try
and help eliminate fraud. The RAF process will cater for any changes in details.
6|Page
23.
Question
ICT Infrastructure and Software
E-form must cater for online assistance/user shadowing to help with completing the
E-form. Who will be providing this assistance? Is this part of the tender? How will
this work in an off-line environment.
Answer
This will be done by the RAF call centre staff. This should work only in online mode.
24.
Question
p) E-form must work on the following databases:
SQL;
Oracle; and/or
Informix database
Once the data is captured, what then? What type of back end functionality will be
required on this data? e.g. reporting, adjudication, functionality, etc. What type of
data volumes are we talking about here?
Answer
This should form part of the solution, and the service providers should stipulate how
their solution will work from start to end. How will the info be written from the form
to a database and what type of database.
25.
Question
Information Protection
The E-form must cater for barcodes on the form per page which when scanned, will
provide the form data of the page. Scanners and scanning solution must also be
provided.
i.
E-form must have a unique identifier per form. E.g. having a unique
number generated on form.
ii.
On submission of the E-Form, an interim reference number should be
displayed on the screen along with a disclaimer.
iii.
The data must be encrypted when being submitted to the RAF.
7|Page
If the form data forms part of the barcode, what is the use of storing
the captured data then, would it not be the same data?
How is the process envisaged to work? I.e. will an applicant capture the information
on a form, which is then saved onto a database, and later submit the hardcopies
with the signatures and all attachments to be linked to the electronic record?
Please provide more details on the “as is” and “to be” process.
Will the applicant fill in all information, or will various role players be required to fill
in the information on the e-Form, for example would the applicant fill in the
demographics section and the doctor the clinical section (both would then need
access to the system)
Answer
The idea of having the information captured in the barcode will help should there be
a loss of information. Currently the RAF forms are submitted to RAF and the claimant
can still supply outstanding documents later.
With the eform we would like to claimant to attached ID, and other documents in
their possession. The forms should have a unique identifier on the form, so no two
people can have used the same form.
How we see the process to work is the claimant can submit the eform, but also
needs to provide the relevant documents as well, whether with the eform or later.
As this is an RFP the proposal should provide possible ways the relevant solutions
will work.
26.
Question
Before the claimant submit the claim via the proposed electronic form, will the
claimants need to register and have login credentials or the claimants will use it
without being known to the system, or having logged in?
Answer
For direct claims no, but for supplier claims yes they will have to.
8|Page
27.
Question
Before the claimant submit the claim via the proposed electronic form, will when
running it in the Kiosk, how does RAF anticipate the users to access the form, from
the PC (Personal Computer) or in some electronic device? If it? Some electronic
devices please; specify them.
Answer
This is still futuristic and we are awaiting guidance from the executive team. This
however for now, we are looking at a thin client.
28.
Question
All the information that has been had-written must be contained in the barcode
please elaborate. The barcode can only capture the form name, number and date /
time stamp. This means that faxed & posted forms would have to be captured by
RAF directly into the system and the full scanned document can be attached as
proof. Please advise if this is correct.
Answer
Seeing that the solution is an online Eform, most of the information should be typed
in and submitted. For the very few that shall print the form out and then fill it in, the
form will have to be manually captured on the system as currently being done.
Once the manually captured form is competed, the current scanning solution in RAF
will scan and the form will be on the RAF system.
29.
Question
This question is crucial as it will indicate the number of scanners required and
influences the costing directly; please elaborate on the scanner requirements.
Answer
At present we cannot say how many scanners will be required but we are looking for
at least 2 scanners per region. The scanners need to be hand held which can scan
the bar codes from the form and display the info on the screen.
9|Page
30.
Question
Is this amount per office or at head office level?
Answer
Cost shall be head office and this will be a project
31.
Question
The number of copies you wish to receive?
Answer
1 Original and 3 copies please check prescribed response format on Annexure I.
32.
Question
Page 71 point h) you talk about Adobe Acrobat Reader in your list of links that need
to be present for a download however you do not mention it in your list of items
required to run the forms solution. Is it then acceptable to assume that the Adobe
Reader is also one of the required platforms to run the eForm.
Answer
This is an example of what you users can download, as this is a common utility. The
solution is not based on any specific technology. We want to allow users to cater for
the download of acrobat reader, so we should have a link that opens to the
download page.
33.
Question
Page 71 point h) item iii) Silverlight is not a browser but a proprietary technology
from Microsoft that does not run on any other browser, can one make an assumption
that the correct list of browsers required are:
Internet Explorer
Firefox
Chrome
Safari
Opera
Mobile (HTML5)
Answer
Yes you can
10 | P a g e
34.
Question
Page 70 Section ICT Infrastructure and Software point d)
The solution must not allow for multiple submissions of the same form. Although this
is easily achieved in a single document; there is no way of preventing the client
downloading a 2nd form and submitting exactly the same data again. Will this also be
required to prevent.
Answer
Each form will have a unique number on it. By saying the user cannot submit the
same form, this helps stop fraud. Should a user download 100 forms, each will have
a unique number.
35.
Question
Page 71 point e)
You ask for requirements for the hardware, including scanners etc. How many offices
does the RAF expect to deploy scanning to?
Answer
Scanning is for the barcode, and the RAF currently has 7 offices. For now all forms
should come to head office, so for now only 1 office for scanning.
36.
Question
Are you stating that all the information that has been had-written must be contained
in the barcode please elaborate? The barcode can only capture the form name,
number and date / time stamp. This means that faxed & posted forms would have to
be captured by RAF directly into the system and the full scanned document can be
attached as proof. Please advise if this is correct.
Answer
Seeing that the solution is an online Eform, most of the information should be typed
in and submitted. For the very few that shall print the form out and then fill it in, the
form will have to be manually captured on the system as currently being done.
Once the manually captured form is competed, the current scanning solution in RAF
will scan and the form will be on the RAF system.
11 | P a g e
37.
Question
This question is crucial as it will indicate the number of scanners required and
influences the costing directly; please elaborate on the scanner requirements.
Answer
At present we cannot say how many scanners will be required but we are looking for
at least 2 scanners per region. The scanners need to be hand held which can scan
the bar codes from the form and display the info on the screen.
38.
Question
Is this amount per office or at head office level?
Answer
Cost shall be head office and this will be a project.
39.
Question
Is it a requirement to capture the data in a database for later use?
Answer
Yes, unless the service provide has another solution
40.
Question
Are you stating that all the information that has been had-written must be contained
in the barcode please elaborate? The barcode can only capture the form name,
number and date / time stamp. This means that faxed & posted forms would have to
be captured by RAF directly into the system and the full scanned document can be
attached as proof. Please advise if this is correct
Answer
Seeing that the solution is an online Eform, most of the information should be typed
in and submitted. For the very few that shall print the form out and then fill it in, the
form will have to be manually captured on the system as currently being done.
Once the manually captured form is competed, the current scanning solution in RAF
will scan and the form will be on the RAF system.
41.
Question
This question is crucial as it will indicate the number of scanners required and
influences the costing directly; please elaborate on the scanner requirements.
Answer
At present we cannot say how many scanners will be required but we are looking for
at least 2 scanners per region. The scanners need to be hand held which can scan
the bar codes from the form and display the info on the screen.
12 | P a g e
42.
Question
Is this amount per office or at head office level?
Answer
Cost shall be head office and this will be a project
43.
Question
Is it a requirement to capture the data in a database for later use?
Answer
Yes, unless the service provide has another solution
44.
Question
When referring to physical signatures in point g. on page 69 of the RFP, does this
refer to the applicant completing the Eform but instead of submitting it electronically,
he prints the form, signs it and then sends it via fax/post/scan to email?
Answer
YES, but can service providers please provide a solution on how digital signatures
can be used if possible.
45.
Question
When referring to barcodes in point h. on page 69 of the RFP, does this refer to the
instance where instead of submitting the Eform electronically which would
automatically update the database, the user instead prints the form (the system then
adds a barcode prior to print) and sends it manually via fax/post/scan to email?
Answer
We require barcodes to be visible on the eform, per page for the data on the page.
Once a user starts entering information, this must be captured in the barcode.
46.
Question
Can you provide more information (make/model) of your high speed desktop
scanners?
Answer
They are fujitsu desktop high speed scanner. Fi5900c. These are currently used for
scanning of documents.
47.
Question
When RAF staff manually capture forms, can they make use of the website
(electronic form) or do they have an existing CRM on which the capture the info?
13 | P a g e
Answer
Current forms are captured to the claims system.
48.
Question
Point k.) on page 70 requires RAF staff to search for Eforms by different criteria,
would special administration login not be required prior to this otherwise anyone can
search the site for this?
Answer
This is accessible only to claims staff and call centre agents.
49.
Question
Point b.Page 70, will RAF supply the wording of the T’s& C’s?
Answer
Terms and Conditions
50.
Question
Point f. Page 71, when referring to remote assistance via call centre, does this refer
to the call centre explaining what is required on the Eform telephonically? What is
meant by “shadowing”, if this means the call centre agent should be able to interact
live on the users screen? This will require the user to download certain software
prior to this.
Answer
in this regard, the RAF is looking for something like an online chat or live chat or so,
just to assist the user.
51.
Question
Point c. Page 72 refer to a Personal Claim form and bidder claim form, there is
however no examples of these claim forms in the RFP, there is also no Annexure K
attached to the RFP.
Answer
Claim forms are on the RAF website.
14 | P a g e
52.
Question
Do the Personal Claim form and Bidder form make up the Eform or is the Eform all
claim forms as found on www.raf.co.za under claims?
Answer
For now it’s just the two as part of phase 1.
15 | P a g e