Behind the API: What it takes to integrate with GEMINI
Welcome to the latest instalment of an ongoing series of blogs revealing the hidden workings of the DOCOsoft Support team. In this one, we consider how the DOCOsoft claims management system (CMS) integrates with the GEMINI external expert appointments solution provided by Ecliptic.
Integration sounds simple enough, but a quick glimpse behind the scenes shows there’s more to it than you might think. For those of us on the DOCOsoft Support Team there’s always work to be done to make sure every GEMINI expert appointment and its associated claim information gets to GEMINI.
For those of you less familiar with GEMINI, here’s a bit of background. If you know all this already, please feel free to skip ahead to the next paragraph. An early version of GEMINI, inspired and funded by the LMA, was first introduced to the London market in 2018. This provided a much-needed central database of commonly used external experts. Then in 2020, Phase II saw the creation of the GEMINI Expert Appointments API. Focusing initially on Lloyd’s claims, this enabled the appointment and payment of fees to experts, using an automated settlement facility, while capturing structured data and MI on expert spend, performance and claims leakage and sending regular updates to carriers. The API integration piece has proved so successful that GEMINI is currently working with vendors and carriers on expanding it to include ILU and LIRMA claims.
Yes, yes, you may say. But what about this integration between the DOCOsoft CMS and the GEMINI API? What does that do? Glad you asked! Here’s a quick summary. Overnight, every night, DOCOsoft’s integration solution retrieves the GEMINI panel of approved experts into the DOCOsoft CMS via the GEMINI API. This enables claims handlers using a DOCOsoft CMS to appoint any of those GEMINI approved experts to any claim they’re working on, record the budget and reserves, and track their overall expert spend. Relevant information captured within the DOCOsoft CMS is also gathered and fed back to the GEMINI platform, via the API. This happens throughout the day, enabling payment of invoices raised by appointed experts. We receive experts’ invoices via a parallel UCR created by Ecliptic through DXC Writeback into the DOCOsoft CMS, where they tie back into the appointment within the DOCOsoft CMS. This keeps reserve figures up to date automatically.
As you would expect, if any of the API calls to GEMINI fail, the DOCOsoft CMS has a built-in monitor that sends email alerts to the DOCOsoft Support Team. Why might they fail? Again, thank you. You’re asking all the right questions. Here are a few examples of the error messages we receive:
- Adjuster email not present
- Company with ID not present
- Unable to change lead role
- Carrier code not present
- More than one claim present
- If present claim carriers must match.
Email alerts like these come into the DOCOsoft Support Team all the time. Where applicable, they will include the UMR, UCR and TR of the claim impacted. When such errors arise, the DOCOsoft Support team immediately logs a support ticket. We then contact the relevant claims handlers, providing details of the claim and/or appointment impacted – along with details of the support ticket. Depending on the error, the issue will typically be resolved with Ecliptic, who provide the GEMINI service, or with the carrier. As with everything the Support Team does, we’ll keep you fully informed on how this is progressing.
Now, I suppose you’re probably wondering how DOCOsoft monitors the parallel UCRs. So many questions! Well, since you’ve asked, it works like this. Once Ecliptic has created the parallel UCR on EFC, these messages come in via the DXC Writeback service. If you want to know how we look after these Writeback messages, may I cordially refer you to our previous blog on this topic.
As with any integrated system, the GEMINI service has certain limitations, depending on system boundaries. For example, if an update to a fee reserve is successfully submitted to GEMINI, but the parallel UCR has not been entered on ECF, this lies beyond DOCOsoft’s sphere of influence. But, if you have any questions or concerns, the best thing to do is email the DOCOsoft Support Team and we’ll be happy help you resolve any issues as quickly as we possibly can.