Data Implementation at Artemis by the Numbers

Data implementation is one of the scary unknowns when self-insured employers look for a data analytics solution. It’s a lengthy process, filled with potential setbacks, that takes skill and experience. For some of our prospective clients, the thought of going through yet another implementation process is enough to convince them that it isn’t worth it. 

At Artemis Health, we want to reduce the pain and uncertainty of implementation because access to holistic benefits data is extremely valuable. Employers, consultants, and brokers rely on it for fast, reliable answers to help them with their benefits strategies. That’s why Artemis has made a concerted effort to improve data implementation through an investment in people, technology, and efficiency. 

Let’s look at how Artemis does data implementation, complete with some stats to help showcase our strategy. 

First, we invested in people. The team has grown to keep up with our growing client base, but it’s not just about numbers. We’ve added implementation managers and data managers with industry know-how and deep SaaS experience as we’ve welcomed new partners to the Artemis family. A skilled team has allowed us to more than double the number of clients using the Artemis Platform from 2018 to this point in 2019. And we still have a few months to go in 2019!

Additionally, we’ve found efficiencies in our process and technology that have made data implementations faster and easier for our clients. Zeus, our proprietary data management system, has helped the team achieve both faster implementations and better quality data. Zeus is up to 90x faster at processing data than traditional systems, and it automates many aspects of data quality assurance. Team members can rely on Zeus to find and fix some data quality issues independently. It’s the driving force behind a 34% faster data transformation process. 

Zeus, coupled with other process improvements, has enabled our team to increase the number of implementations per team member by 36%. 

Employers and their advisors are used to long, drawn-out implementation timelines that cost them valuable time without access to their data. We understand this concern; every month without accurate benefits data is a month that you aren’t making data-driven improvements for member health and wellness. That’s why we’re also aiming for speed in our implementation process. We want our clients to have access to the power of Artemis as soon as possible.

Here’s a couple of ways we’re doing this: 

• We prepare ahead of time for the transition from the sales process to the implementation process. Our internal teams communicate closely so clients won’t need to explain their implementation priorities to multiple people, and we’re ready to go as soon as the ink is dry. 
• We work with data sources directly, from health carriers and PBMs to wellness programs, as much as possible. Our goal is to get all the documentation and legal agreements in place early so data can be shared with Artemis sooner. 
• We phase implementations to focus on top data needs. This means clients will start getting answers sooner as we work on non-traditional data sources. 
• We drive the process from start to finish so our clients can focus on their day-to-day work. We always aim to do the heavy lifting and only involve the client when we need input or help connecting with a data source. 
  

This process has been highly successful for us, and since 2018, Artemis has reduced the “kick-off” to “go-live” time by 17%! 

Our clients are noticing these improvements. Here’s what a few of them are saying about the Artemis implementation process: 

“The implementation just solidified the partnership. Our Artemis contacts have been great and responsive. It helped support our decision and we don’t feel any buyers remorse.”

“We have gone through so many implementations with different vendors, this is one of the smoothest ones that we have gone through. It was suspiciously smooth. When is the ball dropping? (laughter) It can’t be that smooth.”

“This has been one of the most pain-free experiences in terms of stand up for me. You guys are a dream. You are very strong in this space. We were able to synthesize everything from an eligibility standpoint in one feed, which makes things a lot easier.”

So what’s next for Artemis’ implementation process? A continuous improvement initiative that will take us through 2020. We’re using a Lean Six Sigma philosophy to focus on a few key areas: 

1. Reduce time waiting for paperwork and data
2. Speed up data loading and validation
3. Global agreements and vendor relationships 
   

The goal is to drive a 48% improvement in our implementation timelines. It’s a lofty goal, but one that we’re confident we can accomplish thanks to our talented team, next-generation technology, and dedication to improved processes.