49 / 78
August 2016
Policy&Practice
49
WHAT IF
continued from page 33
Internet of Me:
Connected Devices
Reinvent Self-Service
Online public portals and mobile
apps allow citizens to check eligi-
bility for services, apply for and
manage benefits, and coordinate with
agencies and service providers. The
convergence of connected devices
and digital data from third-party
sources extends the art of the possible
in self service, empowering citizens
and improving caseworker effective-
ness. This is the Internet of Things,
the next generation of mobility. In
addition to smartphones and tablets,
everyday objects such as wearables,
cars, and homes are connected. Such
devices can expand contextual data
that agencies have about their clients.
This creates a mechanism to tailor
health and human service delivery
at scale—providing information and
experiences customized to who people
are and what they need.
What if agencies delivered “My
Human Services” based on insight
from mobile digital identification? The
concept of a personal digital profile
is common in other industries. In
health care, electronic medical records
provide a single patient profile that
can be accessed by health care teams
over time and often across institutional
boundaries. Credit card companies
use digital profiles to track anomalies
in cardholders’ spending patterns to
prevent fraud.
By digitally transmitting and
managing customer information from
connected devices with proper security
and governance, agencies increase
client centricity and deliver services
proactively. This is revolutionary.
Instead of relying on caseworkers and
clients to “feed the system,” the system
feeds itself. It is insight-driven, making
connections and triggering next-best-
actions so agencies work differently.
Intelligent Automation:
Humans and Machines
Working in Harmony
Software that learns can dra-
matically change how human service
agencies work, reallocating precious
resources, including time, money, and
expertise. This is workforce efficiency
for the digital age. It is a common-
sense approach to automating
transactional tasks to improve service
delivery and lower costs. Caseworkers
are freed up for vital judgment work.
Customers are also empowered—
spending less time tracking basic
services and more time charting their
path to self-sufficiency.
What if agencies could determine
program eligibility in real time without
any caseworker intervention? It is
already happening with no-touch
processing. Case in point: The Ohio
Integrated Eligibility System uses
no-touch processing for intake and
case creation, relying on state and
federally defined program rules to
determine eligibility. Citizens can
apply online and receive near real-
time eligibility determination without
worker intervention. Today, more than
60 percent of applications have some
form of automated processing.
As agencies implement intelligent
automation, they must determine
the best-use cases. It is also critical to
rethink policy, building rules and toler-
ances that will affect all facets of the
organization.
FromWhat If to What’s Now
Analytics, Internet of Things, and
Intelligent Automation are human
service game changers. To benefit,
agencies must invest strategically and
address the organizational impact
broadly. Funding mechanisms and
approaches must also evolve to take
advantage of these new tools.
This is how human service agencies
can build the foundation for tomor-
row’s digital human services agency.
It is a bright future—proactive,
client-centric services with agile,
insight-driven operations so agencies
move up the Human Services Value
Curve.
Debora Morris
is the managing
director, Accenture Health
and Human Services Growth and
Strategy Lead.
SeanToole
is the managing director at
Accenture Human Services.
agencies delivered “My
Human Services” based on
data insight frommobile
digital identification?
agencies coulddetermine
programeligibility in
real timewithout any
caseworker intervention?
Analytics, Internet of Things, and Intelligent Automationare
human service game changers. To benefit, agenciesmust invest
strategically and address the organizational impact broadly.
Fundingmechanisms and approachesmust also evolve to take
advantage of these new tools.