IBM Philippines is pushing the digital agenda in the local corporate sector by presenting its leading-edge solutions to the market.
On September 8 IBM announced that health management organization PhilCare chose IBM Cloud as a platform to quickly build and scale its customer-facing mobile app enabling them to provide customers with the best assistance on their health-care services needs anytime, anywhere.
“This is just one of our solutions available for the health-care industry. We definitely have a lot more to offer to help transform the way health care is delivered in the Philippines,” IBM Philippines President and Country General Manager Luis Pineda said in press statement.
Through the deployment of IBM Cloud and IBM Watson API, PhilCare Vice President for Information Technology James L. Indino Jr. said the company hopes to accelerate its time-to-market, innovate and transform the way it delivers exceptional experiences to its customers.
He said the reason PhilCare turned to IBM
Watson API is to update its Go!Mobile app into HeyPhil, a cognitive voice assistant that provides members with the best assistance wherever they are, whenever they need.
Just like its predecessor the Go! Mobile, HeyPhil is loaded with more features, such as BMI and calorie calculator, and rewards program—making it a real mobile wellness companion. Moreover, IBM Watson API gives HeyPhil users a human-like voice interactive experience. He said additional functions and features will be added to the app in the future, using analytics and Internet of Things (IoT), as well as partnerships with other apps such as transportation service.
“We have always been one to innovate because it is part of our mission to bring affordable and accessible health care to as many Filipinos as possible,” Indino said. “Part of our customer-centric service approach is to deliver technology-enabled customer experiences, and we want to make sure that every new technology we introduce to the market fulfills PhilCare’s commitment,” he added.
PhilCare, founded in 1982, currently has 350,000 members and is one of the pioneering HMOs and a front-runner in technological innovations in the industry.
In 2013 they created PhilCare Go!Mobile app, providing customers quick access to their health-plan coverage and benefits, availment of records and list of providers, among other things. PhilCare Snap, launched in 2015, is their Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled membership card designed to make hospital transactions faster, more efficient and almost paperless.
Last year they introduced PCare EASy (PhilCare Electronic Approval System), a faster and more convenient way for LOA issuance via member portal, allowing members to skip long queues. To strengthen their commitment further to providing technology-enabled customer experiences, they adopted IBM Cloud to be better equipped, while reducing the cost, in their digital transformation journey.
By doing this, PhilCare aims to empower its customers to achieve an ideal state of health through quality, effective and accessible healthcare services.
Meanwhile, IBM recently urged local banks and other financial institutions to embrace digital technology and the cloud environment to remain a relevant force in the future.
In a press briefing on September 8, Likhit Wagle, IBM global industry general manager for banking and financial markets, pointed out that traditional banks must be ready to compete with start-ups and financial technology companies (fintechs).
Since the two entities are more open in adopting new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cognitive learning, Wagle said traditional banks will be facing stiffer competition, and they have no choice but to adapt to the new environment. He urged banks to harness the power of analytics to deliver adaptive and personalized customer experiences. He said fintechs are giving traditional banks a stiff competition in this area.
Citing a recent IBM Institute for Business Value Study, Wagle said only 30 percent of the customers surveyed believe they are getting a personalized customer experience, while 45 percent of bankers interviewed believe they are providing one.
“We believe that robust predictive analytics based on big data are key technology enablers for banks to deliver personalized customer experiences,” he said.
Wagle pointed out that financial institutions must use cloud-based cognitive computing because it has the capabilities of analyzing data, understanding data and making the necessary recommendations regarding the information.