Connectis.ca
D O C U M E N T S O LU T I O N S
9 05.695. 220 0
8 8 8 .707. 8221
info@connectis.ca
www.connectis.ca
Linking Paper
Forms and Oracle
Applications
About Connectis Group
Connectis is an experienced provider of
business process solutions since 1985, with
over 300 process automation implementations
for paper capture & eforms with workflow,
document management, scanning solutions &
fax server integrations. Our experienced
Professional Services Group staff follow a
methodology that ensures your project
deployment will be on-time & on-budget.
Introduction
The objective of this document is to deliver a briefing on the technology available to organizations that
require an efficient method of linking paper forms to Oracle-based applications. Our focus is the human
resources (HR) and pharmaceutical industries.
For the purposes of this briefing, we will assume that the point of arrival is measured by an organization’s
ability to:
•
Automate the capture, process, conversion and placement of data received on paper-based forms and
documents into Oracle-based target repositories/databases
•
Place data into Oracle business applications where it may be used to solve a range of issues with
varying complexities
•
Process a variety of paper-based form and document data using particular rules and requirements
•
Quickly and easily deploy a system that may be integrated into the existing workflow with very few
changes
•
Minimize ramp-up time by integrating with existing front-end applications such as email/Web
servers
TRENDS IN HR AND PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES
The HR and pharmaceutical industries are undergoing dramatic changes. Human Resource Management
(HRM) reflects a movement away from the traditional personnel administration function and towards a more
strategic management-oriented approach. From simply the corporate cost center, HR has become an added
value and strategic force.
As HRM undergoes this radical transformation, it takes on a new form – from an administratively heavy
paper-processing center to an efficient, productive unit powered by automation.
In the clinical trial arena, study coordinators find themselves extremely busy and, at many research sites,
responsible for managing multiple studies for a variety of sponsors. To maximize efficiency in a paper trial,
research sites have worked with batches of data for quite some time. Earlier processing methods, however,
lacked the ability to integrate business rules to deal with records individually. Today, products offer robust
solutions that make the clinical trial process flexible with features that allow customization of the clinical trial
process.
2
Because of fierce competition in the pharmaceuticals field, there is great demand for powerful computing
solutions that can speed drug discovery, improve communication flow and processing and realize financial
efficiencies. The technologies used to store, analyze, interpret and share information can have a dramatic
impact on these elements and therefore a program’s success or failure.
WHAT ARE THE GOALS AND BENEFITS OF IMAGE-BASED INFORMATION CAPTURE?
Companies who elect to leverage the automated capture of information from paper documents into corporate
repositories typically focus one or more of three goals:
1. Capture, validation and input of all transactional data (fields) from forms into the backend system or
application (e.g. Oracle, Oracle Clinical, Oracle Financial, etc.).
2. Capture and validation of all transactional data from the paper form with the goal of initiating a line
of business process (workflow) based on the data obtained from the scanned images.
3. Capture, conversion, and indexing of the images and key data fields from the document into backend
content and/or document management systems for later browser-based retrieval and review by
others in the business process chain (e.g. Customer service, claims management, or order
processing).
In all of these cases, the primary value proposition driving the implementation of the automated forms and
document processing system is faster input of the paper-based information and overall business process
acceleration. In addition to this obvious business acceleration these systems provide, the return on investment
(ROI) for these systems can almost always be driven from reductions in ‘hard’ headcount costs associated
with manual data entry and retrieval of paper-based files and documents.
A high-level summary of the core business benefits that may be derived from implementing automated forms
and document processing technology include:
•
A significant reduction in data entry costs – As is discussed later in this paper, automated processing
systems can often ‘read’ 90% of the information on a form with only 10% of the data requiring
human examination and review.
•
Faster entry of information – In many industries, fast availability of data in an online environment
translates directly into increased profits and/or reduced costs. For example, in a medical billing
environment faster input of patient charge information leads to faster reimbursement and improved
cash flow for health care organizations.
3
•
Reduced storage costs – By storing the actual scanned images of forms and documents in a repository
such as Oracle, companies avoid the cost and space utilization associated with paper document
storage. State and federal case laws have consistently indicated that scanned images of documents
are as legal and binding as their paper counterparts provided that the organization has used a
documented and reliable procedure for archive and storage.
•
Reduced retrieval costs – Scanned images of documents that are indexed and stored online in a
repository are available for immediate viewing and retrieval via a browser-based interface from
anywhere in the organization. Established corporate security policies can be leveraged to control
access and ensure compliance with information security standards such as the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
•
Better customer service – Immediate online access to scanned images of processed forms and documents
leads to improved customer service and even customer self-service in cases where a secure customer
portal has been established. The ability to address customer questions and needs in a ‘one touch’ or
even ‘zero touch’ manner can significantly streamline customer service center environments.
PRODUCTION PROCESS OVERVIEW
The production process for linking paper forms and Oracle applications involves four key elements that are
described in greater detail within this section:
•
•
•
•
Scanning (image capture)
Automated Processing and Human Data Verification
Data Connectivity to the Oracle business application
Ongoing information and image access and retrieval
SCANNING (IMAGE CAPTURE)
Image capture has quickly become a ubiquitous capability that may be achieved using a variety of technologies
including fax, desktop scanning, network scanning, and production scanners.
Perhaps the most widely available technology for image capture is the traditional fax machine. Within the
context of image-based forms and document processing we can consider any remote fax machine accessible
by those submitting forms and documents to be the equivalent of a data entry terminal. Using fax server
software at the central site where processing will be performed, a single workstation may be configured to
receive concurrent inbound fax transmissions from up to 72. These faxed images are logged at the central
site and provided to the automated processing system for identification, data extraction and export to the
backend Oracle repository and/or application.
4
Desktop scanning using consumer-grade flatbed and page-fed devices can be used to enable individual
workers within an organization to capture forms at their desks. While technically feasible, this type of
solution is rarely used based on the fact that organizations have typically not deployed scanning capabilities as
a standard desktop component.
Network-based scanning is quickly becoming the most widely used capture mechanism for corporate and
line-of-business applications due to the integration of network connectivity and output into most new digital
copying platforms. This capability transforms the traditional photocopy machine into a device that can be
used for image capture and document onramp for even medium-volume environments where hundreds of
pages may need to be scanned on a regular basis. Additionally, vendors such as Hewlett-Packard and
Lexmark offer network-connected scanning appliances capable of medium-volume (up to 30 pages per
minute) document scanning and deliver for centralized processing. These devices are very attractive for
distributed environments such as medical centers where scanning must be done at the point of customer
interaction.
Finally, there are traditional production scanning platforms capable of handling over 120 pages per minute
with outstanding image quality and paper handling characteristics. These devices are used primarily in
situations where centralized scanning of forms and documents is desired. In these cases, a trained system
operator is used to prepare batches and initiate system processing.
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PROCESSING AND VERIFICATION
Automated processing and verification of the input paper documents is primarily concerned with reading and
validating the information on a page or set of pages with as little human intervention as possible. While the
option exists to simply display the image of a form or document on-screen to allow for ‘heads up’ keying of
the data into the target line-of-business application or repository (Oracle), the goal whenever possible is to
pursue the automation of much of the data input process. The following diagram shows the range of
automation and complexity that can characterize this process:
On-screen display of
images with manual
document
identification and
keying of information
by operators
Automatic document
ID, automatic sorting,
automatic processing,
high-speed correction,
output of data stream
and document images
Low Complexity
&
Significant Manual
Processing
High Automation
Levels
&
Minimal Manual
Processing
6
For years, the processing of forms containing bubbles and machine print has been prevalent in educational
and home markets. Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) technology for detecting filled and unfilled bubbles on
specialized forms continues to be widely used for standardized tests, and Optical Character Recognition
(OCR) technology is used to convert printed documents into editable text suitable for modification using
Microsoft Word or similar packages. However, commercial grade forms and document processing
applications incorporate a significant amount of advanced technology capable of converting virtually any
written or drawn symbol into data. The following diagram provides an overview of the data types that can be
automatically processed using commercial packages:
Hand Print
Barcodes
* ABCDE F *
Machine Print (OCR)
Check Boxes
Signature Presence
Circle Response
7
For documents that are to be processed using high-levels of automation, the reduction of human involvement
in the overall processing cycle can be dramatic as is shown in the following figures. The top graphic details
the manual processing of the form and the work level and time that is required to input the information while
the bottom graphic shows the same form and associated workload reduction that is achieved through
automated paper and document processing. (A yellow highlight on each of the documents indicates data to be touched or
keyed by data processing staff):
Without
Automation
With
Automation
- Key Every Field
- 2-3 Minutes to Process
- Touch/Review 6 Fields
- 13 Seconds to Process
While processing forms and documents, items may require operator attention for a variety of reasons,
including:
•
Inability of the system to automatically read a character or field with high confidence;
•
Failure of a validation or lookup against an existing Oracle database table being used to ensure data
quality; or
•
Failure of a business rule to successfully evaluate (e.g. total calculation on an order form; presence of
a signature on a legal document)
In these cases, a software component targeted at facilitating high-speed operator correction and verification is
provided. While these packages may vary from vendor to vendor, all such packages provide the capability to
8
view the image of the document on screen concurrently with highlighted data areas and text describing the
recognition or logic issue. The following image shows an example of such an application (note how the form
is displayed ‘in context’ at the top of the window with the field in question being viewed directly next to the
interpreted data at the bottom half):
At the conclusion of the correction process, data and images are typically finalized and passed to one or more
connect agents that transfer the data directly to a database (Oracle) or line of business application (Oracle
Clinical, Oracle Financials).
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Image Mgmt
Forms and
Document
Processing
System
Oracle
Scanned
Images
Document
Repository
Oracle
Name = “Bill Johnson”
Date = “08/05/01”
Pat_ID = “4534545”
Site_ID = “345-43”
ZIP = “93823”
INFORMATION AND IMAGE ACCESS
After completion of processing within the system, the processed data exists in the target line of business
system (e.g. Oracle Clinical, etc.) exactly as if it had been manually keyed using traditional data entry
techniques and applications. The images and associated search tag information was passed to a document
repository (which could simply be an Oracle table structure that includes a BLOB element for the storage of
the image alongside the data) where it may be accessed and retrieved within a browser by anyone granted
security permissions to do so.
Oracle-based
Document
Repository
Oracle
Name = “Bill Johnson”
Name = “Bill Johnson”
Name
= “Bill Johnson”
Date
= “08/05/01”
Name
= “Bill Johnson”
Date
= “08/05/01”
Date =
Pat_ID
= “08/05/01”
“4534545”
Date =
Pat_ID
= “08/05/01”
“4534545”
Pat_ID
“4534545”
Site_ID
==
“345-43”
Pat_ID
“4534545”
Site_ID
==
“345-43”
Site_ID
= “345-43”
ZIP
= “93823”
Site_ID
= “345-43”
ZIP
= “93823”
ZIP = “93823”
ZIP = “93823”
10
AUTOMATION RATES
While the level of automation (percentage of data that is read from a document without human intervention)
can vary from application to application based, the following table provides a good ‘rule of thumb’ for the
accuracy rates that can be expected for a well designed application using commercial technology:
Data type being read
Barcode
Check Boxes / Bubbles
Machine Print (Numerics)
Machine Print (Alpha-Numeric)
Hand Print (Numerics)
Hand Print (Alpha-Numerics)
Accuracy rate
>99%
> 99.5%
>98%
>95%
90-98%
90-95%
INTEGRATING ONLINE FORMS AND DATA
One final area for examination when considering the integration of paper forms and Oracle applications is
that of data coming from internet-based input via online forms. Upon examination of the paper-processing
environment discussed in this document, it becomes clear that the platform being leveraged in the paper
capture environment contains a significant amount of information about the processing, validation and
export of data for each form. Specifically, in the creation of processing templates to process the paper forms,
the following information was specified:
•
The layout of the form and the location of fields on the form
•
The data types (numeric, date, currency, name, text) for each field on the form
•
The validation rules (range checks, database lookups, calculations) to be used to process each field on
the form
•
The export mapping and output designation for each field on the form (Oracle table and column)
and the rules for handling the output of the images
From a flow perspective, the steps used to process information from paper forms is as follows:
•
Obtain scanned image of form
•
Use image-processing technology (OCR, handprint recognition, barcode recognition) to convert
scanned image into digital data
•
Validate the digital data using business rule and database validation techniques
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•
•
Route forms to human operators for validation/correction if necessary
Commit data to configured back office data systems, applications and image repositories
From a flow perspective, the steps used to process information from online forms is as follows:
•
Receive the submit of the eForm data and send to server for processing
•
Validate the digital data using business rule and database validation techniques
•
Route forms to human operators for validation/correction if necessary
•
Commit data to configured back office data systems, applications and image repositories
As can be seen, the overall processing flow for both paper and digital forms is very similar with the lone
difference that paper forms involve the initial step of converting the paper (analog) image into digital data
prior to completing the validation and output steps. For this reason, leading commercial systems for handling
the scanning and processing of paper forms also include components capable of automatically rendering form
layouts into templates suitable for scanning as well as online filling. An example of a single form design
shown in a paper layout, a PDF-based eForm layout and a browser compatible HTML-based layout is shown
in the following three graphics:
Paper layout of registration form
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PDF-based eForm layout of registration form
HTML-Based eForm Layout of Registration Form
CONCLUSION
In today’s economic and technological environment it is important to implement solutions in a phased
approach, proving the value of the implementation at the conclusion of each phase. It is also important to
evaluate solutions that leverage authentic industry standards, including HTML, PDF and XML, as the basis
for any implementation.
Using a standards-based approach ensures smooth transitions between changing vendors and technologies.
For flexibility, an open architecture design will allow systems to remain platform and workflow independent.
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Linking paper forms and Oracle applications can be accomplished using commercially available technology to
enable organizations to speed data availability and reduce processing costs. By extending these systems to
include the capture and processing of data from online submissions, leading organizations are able to obtain
rapid ROI while accelerating ahead of their competition.
Connectis.ca
D O C U M E N T S O LU T I O N S
9 05.695. 220 0
8 8 8 .707. 8221
info@connectis.ca
www.connectis.ca
About Connectis Group
Connectis is an experienced provider of
business process solutions since 1985, with
over 300 process automation implementations
for paper capture & eforms with workflow,
document management, scanning solutions &
fax server integrations. Our experienced
Professional Services Group staff follow a
methodology that ensures your project
deployment will be on-time & on-budget.