News

New health care apps will operate on 'any' device

November 29, 2011

Kony Solutions Inc., a mobile application platform provider, has launched Member Mobile, an app designed for health insurers and health plan providers to more quickly and easily launch their mobile presence and engage with members across mobile, tablet and kiosk channels, Aaron Kaufman, general manager of Kony's healthcare and life sciences division, said in a press release.

"Kony delivers capability to reach 99 percent of a mobile target audience, including every major smartphone operating system and nearly all mobile devices," he said. "When customers want to add features or modify their offering, the Member Mobile solution allows them to 'change once, change everywhere.'"

He said that all major and regional health plans, including employer-directed HSAs, HRAs, FSAs, and Medigap programs, face continued pressure to offer the highest-quality service in a highly competitive landscape.

"Keeping costs low and leveraging the latest mobile technology channels for presence helps drive satisfaction and member stickiness," Kaufman said. "Kony's Member Mobile can make ROI a reality, even for plans that did not budget for mobile earlier this year."

Member Mobile features include medication management, health plan and provider communication, and health and wellness initiatives. It also allows the plan to leverage existing back office systems. Health plans use the Kony environment to personalize via reskinning/rebranding, utilizing connections to back-end systems and leveraging custom functionality in rapid time with the highest return on investment.

"Kony mobile apps support health plans seeking to differentiate themselves by bringing interactive health information to the fingertips of their members," Edward Gross, director of product development for Kony's healthcare and life sciences division, said in the release. "Our turn-key offering is a branded, quick-to-market solution that delivers a superior user experience on all devices—iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, feature phones, tablets, kiosks and more. The Kony Platform is highly customizable and scalable, as well, and is proven to future-proof a health plan's mobile investment."

Member Mobile provides current and prospective members with:

• ECommerce - browse plans, purchase coverage and complete online registration
• Card Management (on-device availability) - retrieve and send member cards (fax, email, etc...)
• Care Location - use geo-location to find providers and facilities (physicians, urgent care, pharmacies, etc.)
• Appointments - request appointments
• Benefit status - monitor benefit and claims information
• Prescription management - manage over-the-counter and prescription medications (Rx reminders, Rx refills, brand to generic conversion, pricing comparisons, mail order facilitation, etc.)
• PBM workflow - benefits, mail order conversion, etc.
• Contact - administrative and clinical representatives
• PHR - access personal health records
• Wellness - engage with wellness initiatives, case and disease management, seminars/events, etc.
• Health plans can also leverage Kony's mobile apps to meet specific needs for sales force automation and customer relationship management (CRM) as well as member fitness programs.

Read more about self-service in the health care industry.