First Day of Senior Project ( May 16)

I arrived this morning at Compass health services eager to begin my senior project with director of operations Adam Johnson. Mr. Johnson before delving into the tasks of a busy day proceeded to explain the goals of Compass and the daily workings of the business. The goal of Compass is to act as a median between individuals with health care and the medical world, Compass services include quotes for procedure work, an ability to find specific doctors whether it be gender or language related, and to lower the cost of medical products.

Immediately Mr. Johnson shows me around the facility, and pulls up the company database that has every record of the nearly 100,000 clients who have requests that need to be dealt with by the agency. Mr. Johnson also delves into the economics of the business noting that the company is able to make a profit through monthly fees imposed upon either the individual or company purchasing Compasses services. He also furthers that Compass continues to get paid whether or not people access the individuals and resources available. However he strives to increase the total amount of client to use ratio to spread the word of the services and gain a good reputation. For example the company has had about a 17 percent ratio of individuals who use the company versus individuals that have the service. While some may not understand they are paying for the service as they indirectly receive the benefits the company strives to increase the percent to around 25 percent to further its reputation and make it a necessity in the market place. After this Mr. Johnson shows me around the office and introduces me to the various individuals who work there, most of whom are college graduates (a lot from SMU) who handle telephone calls and deal with the requests of individuals. As afternoon approaches Mr. Johnson and me go out to lunch further discussing the company and how it functions. In the afternoon MR. Johnson and I deal with problems with a newly installed phone system, a mistake with a client and how CPT codes work. We conclude the day analyzing productive of individuals, fixing problems with the new company, and a quick celebration is held for the CEO’s 35 birthday.

I learned a lot about health insurance, the economics of running a successful business, and how to oversee and measure the productivity of employees to maximize profits. I am excited and ready for another day at Compass tomorrow and enjoyed my first day with Mr. Johnson.