Create a Solid Foundation with As-Is Process Documentation

I was once asked, “How do you know how to get somewhere when you don’t know where you are?”

This question is one that organizations should be asking themselves regularly. Knowing where you are is imperative to get where you want to be. This is especially true when it comes to implementing a state’s MITA State Self-Assessments (SS-A).

Conducting a thorough review and creating documentation of current As-Is processes is extremely important for a number of reasons. The first being that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) require states to identify their current and evaluate future maturity level. To assess the different levels of maturity, CMS looks at 10 business areas and 80 business processes, giving a rating from one to five. The criteria associated with each level provides a framework for As-Is processes and how processes are predicted to be executed in the future. 

Even if the CMS SS-A didn’t require identification of As-Is processes, defining and documenting them is still crucial for growth and improvement. Conducting As-Is business process workshops provides state’s with a solid understanding of their current condition as well as determines their ability to achieve their To-Be levels.

Recently, netlogx conducted a MITA SS-A for one of our clients, and due to the minimal availability of the state’s subject matter experts (SMEs), we were asked to conduct a business process evaluation ourselves. We conducted research and reviewed various documents, but it was not the optimal situation. While netlogx was able to do this on our own, having access to SMEs helps reveal pain points and opportunities of both the staff and their clients. 

A more thorough understanding and documentation of the state’s business processes would have helped in the development of the vendor MMISR (Medicaid Management Information System) RFPs. Providing those process documents to the offering vendors would have helped them determine how to best offer and implement services to the state.

Oftentimes in the professional world, there seems to be a time limit imposed from the outset of projects, but then if elements aren’t carried out correctly, organizations somehow find the time to do them over. 

Organizations are either going to have to take the time to outline processes now or pay the price later and potentially waste time and resources. This proved true for the previously mentioned MITA SS-A. In the end, SMEs were still needed, and an additional vendor and resources were utilized to conduct and document As-Is processes that could have been done earlier.

Let netlogx help you manage your processes and do it right the first time. Contact us today.