Since January 1, 2024, prescriptions in Germany have, as a default, been processed electronically. The very first e-prescription was filled by a company called NOVENTI, Germany’s leading prescription processor. These paper-based prescriptions must not only be processed efficiently but also adhere to strict regulatory compliance standards to ensure accuracy and legality.
NOVENTI acts as an intermediary between pharmacies and caregivers. This role is critical as neither party gets paid until prescriptions are processed accurately and efficiently. Ensuring strict regulatory compliance is integral, with substantial fines imposed for failing to meet the strict turnaround times dictated by service level agreements (SLAs).
The move to digital helps meet those SLAs, but caregivers who still rely on paper prescriptions can slow that down. Digitizing the paper prescription is an added step to the process, a step not as simple as just scanning the document.
The challenge: unpredictable prescription volumes
NOVENTI is responsible for processing a vast number of incoming prescriptions with volumes that can fluctuate wildly from day to day. This unpredictability demands a highly flexible and scalable operational model, a system that can swiftly scale up or down to maintain efficiency without compromising accuracy.
Adding to the complexity, NOVENTI handles a wide array of prescription forms that can vary from one prescriber to the next. Handwritten submissions present their own obvious challenges, but even the digital submissions have their quirks. While a well structured form with predictable data fields makes data extraction easy, many forms are semi-structured. Each prescription requires advanced data capture and processing capabilities that ensure accuracy and speed and adhere to regulatory compliance standards. The ability to seamlessly process these varied forms is crucial to maintaining the flow of prescriptions between pharmacies and insurers, and meeting all SLAs.
Stringent data privacy requirements demand a secure solution
For NOVENTI, both data privacy and regulatory compliance are paramount—protections are codified and enforced by two distinct governing bodies: the EU and Germany’s government itself. The EU oversees General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) while at the national level, NOVENTI must comply with the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG), supplemental to GDPR. The end result is that NOVENTI operates under regulations as strict as those in the banking sector.
And the fines for violations are much more than the proverbial slap on the wrist. Under GDPR, fines can reach up to 4% of a company’s global revenue—or 20 million euros, whichever is higher. BDSG doesn’t go any easier on those who run afoul of regulations. So, with all of the other issues NOVENTI faces to meet their SLAs and not delay patients receiving their medications, they also need to operate with tremendous amounts of care to ensure privacy.
Matthias Graßl, a representative of NOVENTI, emphasizes: “Every document processing step must be checked by the internal data protection officer, as is every partner, solution provider, and their products and services.”
NOVENTI’s dedication to data privacy ensures that sensitive information is protected at every stage of processing. This commitment is reflected in their rigorous internal audits and the careful selection of external partners and solutions.
NOVENTI’s strategic approach
In searching for the right solution for their data processing challenges, NOVENTI identified three essential elements to meet their needs.
1. Scalable infrastructure: NOVENTI must be able to size up or down as needed, in real time, as volume fluctuates dramatically.
2. Advanced data capture technology: The intelligent document processing solution needed to be able to accurately extract handwritten prescriptions and digital forms—both structured and not.
3. Rigorous compliance measures: NOVENTI’s operations are designed with a strong focus on compliance. Every aspect of their data processing workflow is subject to stringent checks by their internal data protection officer, ensuring adherence to GDPR and other relevant regulations.
NOVENTI engages ScaleHub
To address these challenges, NOVENTI identified ScaleHub as the most promising partner to help them achieve their goals. Our approach to scalable data processing—which mixes OCR, AI and the intelligence of crowd contributors—consistently provides guaranteed speed, accuracy, and instant, unlimited scalability. Beyond that, our commitment to data privacy is fully GDPR-compliant. The collaboration began with a proof of concept, allowing NOVENTI to evaluate ScaleHub’s capabilities in handling their unique requirements.
Through this proof of concept, NOVENTI was able to test the scalability, accuracy, and regulatory compliance of ScaleHub’s managed service. The results were promising, showcasing how ScaleHub seamlessly integrates with existing workflows while maintaining the highest standards of data protection.
We’re now processing more than 240 million fields per year for NOVENTI, at a rate that’s nearly 8x faster than agreed upon SLAs.
Download the Case Study PDF to learn more about NOVENTI’s partnership with ScaleHub and how they transformed their prescription processing operations.
