New
MITEM IT Solution Gives Commonwealth of Virginia National
First
Use
of New Query Application Facilitates Interoperability;
Potential to Save
$20 Million,
Increase Citizen Satisfaction
MENLO
PARK , CA and RICHMOND , VA , April 12, 2005 – Today,
enabled through its partnership with MITEM, the Commonwealth
of Virginia became the first state in the nation to
launch and host an e-government solution that allows
local government users to simultaneously query multiple
state databases. It is projected to significantly
reduce case processing time, associated worker costs
and paper files for users while improving access, security
and citizen satisfaction.
The
new application, Human Services Interface (HSI), was
built by MITEM Corporation, a provider of integration
software solutions and business applications.
HSI, a Web-based query application, was initially created
for social workers in Virginia localities to verify
citizen eligibility for services. It is the first
enterprise interoperability solution to be hosted by
the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA)
under Virginia 's “G2G Enterprise Services Interface”
(GESI) initiative, to provide a vehicle for local governments
to efficiently retrieve data from multiple state systems.
A
request for assistance to VITA from the g2g-Virginia
group (www.g2g-va.org/index.html), a consortium of human
services and IT professionals from thirty local governments,
led to HSI's development and implementation.
“We
project time savings of 30 to 50 minutes per case reviewed
through the use of this significant new application,”
noted Branka Al-Hamdy, IT Strategic Pl ann ing for Arlington
County and chairperson of g2g-va. “This will lead to
ann ual state-wide savings for local users of 500,000
-720,000 hours in case worker time, or $15-19 million
dollars per year, and $1-1.8 million in ann ual paper
and ink savings. Just as importantly, HSI allows localities
to reengineer processing, allowing for even greater
benefits, not just in saving of worker time, but also
in better customer service.”
Previously,
a citizen application for food stamps, unemployment,
or other services required a local social worker to
verify eligibility by checking and then compiling records
from agencies such as Department of Motor Vehicles,
Virginia Employment Commission, and Department of Social
Services.
Now,
that same local worker will make one online request.
HSI formats the query to comply with a variety
of legacy systems and uses extensive business logic
to search appropriate data fields across departments,
producing a single integrated report and reducing review
time by up to 90%. HSI also makes it easier to
detect fraud or erroneous data. A search might
reveal two social security numbers related to a single
person, prompting an investigation.
“Our
goal at VITA is to make the Commonwealth the model of
information technology in government,” said Lem Stewart,
CIO of the Commonwealth. “We continually strive to improve
service and savings benefits for our citizens and customers.
HSI helps us achieve that vision by improving
services to the citizens of Virginia and saving taxpayers
money.”
“We
have worked closely from day one with state and county
agencies in Virginia in developing HSI,” noted Gale
Aguilar , president of MITEM. “This is a milestone
in the Commonwealth's stated commitment to being a leader
in bringing the benefits of technology to its citizens.
MITEM is proud to be a part of that effort.”
HSI
is built on MITEM's patented integration engine, MitemView.
This platform integrates with legacy applications,
middleware technology, application servers, web services,
and myriad vendor-specific interfaces and represents
over 20 years of testing and customer feedback.
About
MITEM Corporation
Founded
in 1985 by Aurel Kleinerman , MD, Ph.D., MITEM develops
software applications that integrate differently designed
systems to share critical data and automate business
processes. MITEM software has been deployed in
diverse markets including health care, government, public
utilities, financial services and manufacturing.
MITEM's government customers include: the U.S. Air Force,
the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Postal Service, the Virginia
Retirement System, the Virginia Department of Human
Resource Management, and Ramsey County , MN Sheriff's
Department.
Web
site: www.mitem.com
About
VITA
The
Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) was
established by the 2003 General Assembly as the Commonwealth's
consolidated, centralized information technology organization.
VITA's mission is to be a model of operational
excellence through delivery of enterprise IT services
and solutions that represent best value at lowest cost.
VITA's responsibilities fall into three
primary categories, including operation of the IT infrastructure,
governance of IT investments, and procurement of technology
for VITA and on behalf of other state agencies and institutions
of higher education.
Web
sites: www.vita.virginia.gov
, www.virginia.gov
Contact:
MITEM Corporation
Jon Wollenhaupt
Director, Marketing Communications
650.614.3428
jonw@mitem.com
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