The U.S. Army's Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) Uses HandySoft's BizFlow to Reduce Error Rates and Cycle Times of Medically Related Inquiries

Vienna, VA - March 21, 2005 - The Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), a branch of the U.S. Army, is using BizFlow® Business Process Management (BPM) technology from HandySoft Global Corporation to help process between 500 and 1,000 medically-related inquiries a month from Congress and other government agencies. By integrating BizFlow, HandySoft's award-winning enterprise BPM platform, with its existing Microsoft Sharepoint portal, the OTSG has been able to simplify and streamline the management of medical inquiries and related tasks, reducing error rates associated with manual paper processing, as well as process cycle times. Moreover, BizFlow provides reporting capabilities that enable the OTSG to generate process metrics, leading to continual process improvement.

Congressional and other governmental inquiries that come into the OTSG can deal with any medical issue, including those related to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. These issues range from the rate at which soldiers return to duty to requests to review regulations and their potential medical impact on the Army. The most serious inquiries must be answered within two days, so the turnaround requirements are stringent. The OTSG implemented a OneStaff portal through Microsoft Sharepoint that provided a basic overview of organizational events, permitting them to identify and streamline the process and leverage the technology used to manage tasks. BizFlow serves as the foundation for the new suspense and action tracking system within the OneStaff portal. With more than 40 Federal Government and DoD agency customers, HandySoft has extensive experience helping government officials create a unified, integrated solution for managing suspense action items.

"One of the many potential benefits of BPM is improved productivity," noted Ken Vollmer, principal analyst, Forrester Research, in his August 2004 report, The Real Significance Of Business Process Management Solutions. "Higher levels of process automation also translate into the need for less manual effort for many tasks. In addition, lower levels of human activity also mean less potential for introducing errors into key processes."

The Office of the Surgeon General is also using BizFlow to manage and track tasks assigned at weekly operations meetings. BizFlow has provided the OTSG with the ability to log assigned tasks and transfer them to the necessary Directorate, as well as a central repository to track the status of inquires. BizFlow not only gives the Action Officer easy access to the status of all completed and pending tasks, but it also facilitates the speedy handling of inquiries and tasks through automation and the elimination of human error associated with paper-based systems.

"One of the central tenets of federal government e-gov initiatives is to reduce the error rates and costs associated with manual paper processing. We've seen tremendous traction in the federal government space because our technology is easy to use to automate processes, and is easily integrated into existing portal and other technologies," said Stuart Claggett, chief operating officer of HandySoft Global. "Forward-thinking agencies like OTSG are leveraging their investment in BPM technology to perpetually evaluate their operations, to determine new ways to improve their performance and service delivery."

About HandySoft Global Corporation
HandySoft Global Corporation is the premier provider of configurable software solutions that simplify and automate business processes; capture and enforce best practices; improve productivity and quality while reducing costs; integrate information technology; and foster collaboration among employees, customers, and partners.

The foundation for HandySoft's industry and departmental solutions is BizFlow®, the award-winning platform for business process management, automated workflow, and collaboration. BizFlow offers complete capabilities for building and managing automated business processes, including tools for designing and monitoring the processes, presenting and accessing work, integrating existing IT systems, and administering the platform itself. As a global solutions provider, HandySoft Global is headquartered in Vienna, VA, with offices in Australia, Japan, London, and Korea, with strategic partner representation throughout the world. HandySoft has implemented process management solutions at hundreds of sites worldwide. For more information call +1-703-442-5600, email info@handysoft.com or visit www.handysoft.com.

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