“We’re excited about it,” said Pam Tirao, vice president of business systems for KPS. “This is all new functionality.”

The system, dubbed “My KPS,” will include personalized portals for each entity, allowing secure, 24/7 access to important health information. For example, subscribers will be able to access and download forms, order temporary ID cards, view FSA information and so on. Providers will be able to perform eligibility inquiries, check on the status of claims and more.

“This gives the subscriber massive benefits,” said Cathie Valentine-McKinney, KPS’s interim communications manager. “Just hitting that one button gives you all this information.”

My KPS will also include a significant customer service component, allowing subscribers and others to contact KPS’s customer service department through secure messaging functionality.

This is a significant technology advancement for KPS, as its current Web site functionality is limited mainly to online quotes, provider searches and some pharmacy and prescription services through third-party provider MedImpact. And although these kinds of online portals are not unusual in the health care industry, KPS wanted to wait to implement an online system until it could find just the right one.

“KPS is a very customized health insurance plan,” said Elizabeth A. Gilje, president and CEO of KPS. “We wanted something very personal and customizable. There were pieces available in the past, but we needed the full package.”

The underlying system is built by a third-party software developer that is working with a KPS implementation team — made up of representatives from virtually all areas of the company — to ensure that the system is customized sufficiently to meet the health insurance provider’s needs.

“We’ve been working very intensely on it since July,” said Tirao.

A significant portion of work on the system has been to ensure that patients’ private information will be protected. For example, when a subscriber is logged in and sends a message to customer service, a customer service representative is alerted via email that a message is waiting for them in the system. The customer service representative must then log into the system to receive the message and send their reply. Once the reply is sent, the subscriber will receive notification that new messages are waiting for them and they can log on to read them.

“All messaging is contained in the portal,” said Tirao, “to keep all that kind of information private.”

Developing the customer service component of the system has also received significant attention during implementation, said Tirao.

“Online customer service has taken a lot of energy to make it right,” she said.

Tirao and Valentine-McKinney are quick to point out that, while the new online system will bring a new level of self-service to providers, subscribers and others, it is intended to enhance, rather than replace, KPS’s current customer service offerings.

“It’s still a local, community thing,” said Valentine-McKinney. “The customer service reps subscribers are used to talking to will be the same customer service reps answering inquiries.”

My KPS will make managing information more efficient, said Tirao, both for users of the system and for KPS’s customer service department. The system will reduce or eliminate the need for providers and subscribers to call in for answers to relatively straightforward questions regarding items such as eligibility and claims status, freeing customer service representatives to spend more time assisting callers with more complex issues.

“The high touch service will not go away,” Tirao said.

Currently in the final testing stages, KPS anticipates unveiling phase one of the system out to subscribers sometime this fall.

“We’ll roll it out to KPS employees first for testing and feedback,” said Tirao. “We really want to run it through the ringer.”.