Case Study
Encryption/Decryption Service for Health Carriers
Business Challenge
Encrypt daily health data files using PGP
encryption and make them available for Health Carriers via FTP.
Traditional Approach
Place password protected files on tape media and send using a delivery service
that offers tracking capability.
What Middleware Enables
Lights out, near real time processing of files. User notifications at
several steps within the project. Audit trail capability. Web access
for users to review audit trail. Error notification to support staff of problems.
Brief Description of the Project
Files are swept from internal FTP directory
locations, encrypted using the carrier’s public key and delivered
to external facing FTP locations for
retrieval by the carriers (encryption).
Files are swept from external FTP directory
locations, decrypted using internal,
private key and delivered to internal
FTP locations for retrieval by the internal
applications (decryption). E-mail notification
upon completion of the file delivery.
Archiving of the original input file.
Cleanup of processed files and “aged” files.
(Files not processed before the expiration
time). Utilizes an existing middleware
framework and logging service. Can be
extended to include additional business
processes with no code modifications.
All new business processes are added
by making new entries to the parameter
file.
Cost to Maintain
1-2 hours per week to monitor.
Estimated Annual Maintenance Cost for the Traditional Approach
Cost of creating tape file, cost of shipping
cost using messenger service, cost of manual handling of files daily.
Points of Failure – Solution Reliability
24x7 uptime, only goes down for planned system maintenance, runs
on existing production middleware server. In production for 8 months,
no unscheduled downtime to date.
Enabling Future Solutions
Originally funded to accommodate the edi834
encryption of files to health carriers, but designed and built to
be extensible to the entire enterprise. Since production, it has
been extended to provide the following additional encryption decryption services;
E-sec Lending:
Inbound and outbound encryption/decryption of files from several trading partners.
Daily processing 7x24.
Data Warehouse:
Outbound encryption of large, monthly health
data warehouse files to an external service
that provides cost evaluation services
to the Client. This data is used to compare
costs charged by individual health carriers.
Medicare Part D:
Outbound encryption of monthly data files
to health carriers that support Medicare
Part D payments.
Prime Broker:
Daily processing of inbound position and
cash files from prime broker.
Other:
Daily and monthly outbound encryption
of data files to another State agency
and to the print vendor.
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