Decipher doctor's notes with AI? This way we pay our members even faster

When you say IT, you increasingly say AI. This technology already helps CM to process 100,000 doctor's notes per day. Fancy a future full of AI?

Reading poorly printed ink? Processing doctor's notes is often a time-consuming task. This is how the plan grew to use AI for this. This helps our colleagues to process doctor's notes more smoothly. Our members will then be reimbursed for their costs of medicines or medical care more quickly. IT with impact, so to speak!

'IT at CM is in constant change. Thanks to impressive IT projects, we create added value not only for our members, but also for our colleagues," says Roel, IT Director at CM. 'Our employees are given the opportunity to sink their teeth into concrete challenges. And to use their creativity for smart solutions. This way we were able to realize our AI project in twelve months.'

Naturally, you must structure such a project clearly. That is why the AI project team worked agile. 'We believe that innovation also comes from the teams themselves. That's why all team members get our full trust and the opportunity to bring in and use new technologies.'

From retyping to smart prediction, thanks to AI technology

"CM currently has approximately 500 encoders ," says Pieter, Business Director. 'These are employees who look at every note with the naked eye and manually enter it into the system. Only then will our members receive their costs back. That requires a lot of time and concentration. Especially when you know that this concerns tens of thousands of notes per day and that certificates are often illegible or contain errors.'

Problem? Not for AI. CM uses the technology to speed up the submission of certificates . Once the paper notes have been scanned via a self-developed platform, they pass through an AI engine. The latter predicts the information on the certificate. So less retyping.

AI, the reliable colleague that makes our work easier

Correct prediction is one of the challenges according to Jan, scrum master at CM: 'A handwritten "1" can quickly be confused with a "7". With what the system knows about this and previous certificates, it can often make the correct prediction .'

The reliability of the AI data is essential, because only correct data ensures that all members receive the correct amounts back. Therefore, the AI system only shows the data with a certain confidence score. The encoders will find this completed in the self-built IBIS platform. They also fill in the missing data there.

'The reliability percentage given to the data fields is part of our feedback loop,' says Roel. 'The more we learn, the better we can fine-tune the predictions. So the system is becoming smarter and smarter.' This way, our colleagues can approve certificates more quickly and arrange reimbursement.

IT technology that grows and grows

'It's not just the AI system that gets smarter with every round. We are also constantly gaining new insights into this technology," says Roel. This means there is always room for technical improvements. 'Future developers who start working here will not continue to rely on one particular technology. They will use what they already know as a basis to further build and expand.'

'IT innovation is stimulated from within for us,' adds Jan. 'Our IT colleagues fully share their expertise. For example, through cross-team workshops. Or via "Communities". These are afternoon sessions where IT colleagues talk about new insights and best practices.'

An incredible team

Want to keep up with new technologies? That requires a special mindset. 'We expect a certain flexibility from our IT staff,' says Roel. 'At CM we therefore focus on so-called T-profiles. Of course, everyone here has their core specialty, but we attach great importance to what else you can do.' As a Java developer, would you like to use your broad interests to perform analyses? Should be possible. You get the freedom and autonomy for that.

'The great thing about this project is that all departments involved work closely together and consult with each other. You are immediately rewarded for your work: you see results quickly and get satisfaction from continuously improving the solutions.'

This is possible through the agile or scrum way of working, with biweekly sprints and demos. And thanks to the competencies of a varied team, where everyone gets ownership . The Scrum Master, the Software Specialists and of course the Product Owners.

Future of IT? Evolve with technology

'What does the future hold for IT within CM? Difficult to predict, but it is certain that at CM we will continue to evolve with technology," says Roel. 'At CM you can be sure that you can get started with state-of-the-art technology . But more importantly: you create clear added value with it. More efficiency, better performance and scalability, more cost savings... With what you develop at CM, you mean something to your colleagues and society.'

Participate in exciting IT projects at CM

We are always looking for different ICT profiles to realize our projects. Interested? Then be sure to take a look at our vacancies .