“The reality is that today, in Brazil, there is an unnecessary overuse of health plans. This misuse ends up generating extra costs that make it impossible to offer other benefits to policyholders,” he explains. André de Barros Martins, vice president of benefits for the company that acts as an intermediary between companies and health insurance providers.
Named Dr. Alper, The platform works by teleconference, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A user who has, for example, flu symptoms or muscle problems, activates the tool and is attended to, from anywhere in the world, by a doctor. The professional assesses the conditions based on the patient's information, provides primary care and, if necessary, refers the patient to a specialist. "This way, the person doesn't need to go to the emergency room – the bottleneck of the system..." supplemental health "This avoids unnecessary exposure to risks and relieves the burden on truly emergency services," says the executive, clarifying that the initiative is unprecedented among insurance consultancies.
To provide the service – which will be offered to the entire Alper customer base, or approximately 450,000 people, across all plans and categories – the company has a multidisciplinary team of 500 doctors from 20 different specialties. For the past 45 days, the platform has operated as a pilot project for Alper's own employees and dependents, about 1,000 people. The observed result was a 15% reduction in emergency room visits. The executive emphasizes that, being a new service, people are not yet accustomed to it, but as companies begin to inform their employees of the advantages of the model, the benefits are likely to be much greater for everyone involved. "People are not educated to use their health plan the way they should," he says.
On a large scale, the conscious use of medical resources tends to reduce claims and, consequently, the cost of the service. "Today, medical inflation is very high due to overuse. With telehealth, this will certainly decrease."“
From a business perspective, Alper's goal – which states it will not charge for the service – is to build customer loyalty, becoming a benchmark in differentiated solutions. To achieve this, the company has invested heavily in... technology. In addition to the telemedicine platform, other plans include... predictive analytics with a complete tool of business intelligence and the management of social security benefit. In a second phase, the platform will include customer service focused on... mental health, This is one of the main problems in Brazil and the world today. With social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, the idea is to closely monitor cases of depression and burnout, for example. This technological "package" will consume approximately R$$ 5 million, part of an R$$ 80 million fundraising effort undertaken at the end of last year.
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Nokia and SoftBank conduct first 5G test in cars.
The future of connected car was demonstrated by the Finnish Nokia and the mega conglomerate SoftBank in a technology test 5G Successfully applied to vehicle operation. The pilot project, which the companies describe as the first of its kind, used equipment from Nokia's 5G portfolio, while SoftBank installed 5G networks suitable for connected vehicle testing at a research and development site. Honda in Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido, Japan.
Nokia believes that 5G will be able to provide the speed and capacity needed to ensure that vehicles can communicate and interact safely and efficiently on streets and roads. The company considers the deployment of 5G networks with greater bandwidth and low latency essential to bringing the benefits of the next generation of road vehicles, whether connected or fully autonomous.
Tinder seeks to bring users closer together with an interactive series.
For users of Tinder Bored with the same old conversations on dating apps, a new icebreaker has arrived: the company is bringing to Brazil... “"Swipe Night"”, a five-minute interactive miniseries with post-apocalyptic plots that, in some ways, resemble the series “"Black Mirror"”, from the Netflix.
Throughout the episodes, users will be able to decide what happens to the characters, and this will impact the creation of matches (possibly through a deeper mapping of the users' personalities on the app), helping to create conversations when the episodes end. "Swipe Night" will premiere in Brazil on March 14th with four episodes, released each following weekend.
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Booking opens applications for its sustainable accommodation accelerator program.
O Booking.com registration opened yesterday (12) for the Booking Booster 2020, the 4th edition of their program of acceleration for solutions of trips more sustainable. The initiative aims to bring together startups, social enterprises, non-profit organizations e accommodations of all types so that, together, they can think about sustainable accommodation solutions. Participants who present innovative products and services, including the accommodations themselves, will have the opportunity to receive grants from a €2.6 million fund from the digital travel platform. More information is available at https://booster.bookingcares.com/.
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FOREO aims to grow 150% in Brazil in 2020.
A FOREO, a Swedish skintech company that manufactures beauty and wellness equipment – such as Luna (photo), for facial cleansing – revealed that, for this year, the goal is to expand the portfolio in Brazil, Bringing global launches to the local market, betting on new retailers and regional distribution. "The presence in e-commerce platforms relevant to the cosmetics market will be combined with the brand's entry into local networks, such as Riachuelo e Venâncio, "Still in the first semester," he explains. Bianca Tavares, general manager of FOREO in Brazil. “Our idea is to double our growth in the country compared to 2019, increasing investments by 50%, focusing on influencer marketing – our main focus last year – but also on activations to bring the brand closer to consumers.”
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Abese selects startups with innovative solutions in electronic security.
A Abese For the third consecutive year, it launched a program to select startups in the sector of electronic security, or related to it, to identify and promote innovative businesses. The selected companies will participate in Startup Island at the largest trade fair in the sector in Latin America, the Exposec, which will take place between April 14th and 16th at São Paulo Expo. Startups that register for the program will also be able to participate in the actions of Startup Committee from the association, a core group that promotes interactions between companies, business rounds, mentoring, and other initiatives for companies with this profile. Interested startups can learn more at https://startup.abese.org.br.
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British government invests in accelerating patents in Brazil.
Yesterday (12) the government of United Kingdom launched an investment of approximately R$18.5 million in Brazil until March 2023 with the goal of accelerating the creation of intellectual property (PI) in the country. According to Maria Angélica Garcia, According to the British government's intellectual property attaché in Brazil, the idea is to "point out solutions aimed at reducing the patent backlog and increasing the efficiency of..." National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and position it as a benchmark in the global IP system.”
A bureaucracy node patent registration This is among the main obstacles to innovation in the country. In July of last year, Brazil joined an international patent registration agreement, which aims to reduce the costs and timeframes for companies based in Brazil to register their trademarks in the world's major economies. There is also an intention to reduce, within two years, the backlog of 160,000 patent applications awaiting evaluation at the INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property).
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Uber launches code of conduct for drivers and passengers.
Catcalls and threats, as well as racism and LGBTphobia from users of Uber Their days may be numbered. The mobility platform launched a campaign yesterday (12) about the courage to report inappropriate behavior.
In the lawsuit, the company presented a code of conduct for passengers and drivers listing unacceptable behaviors while using the service, such as touching people without permission or making jokes about race or gender. The company may remove accounts from its community of people who do not respect the rules.
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Mobile World Congress canceled due to coronavirus fears.
The epidemic of coronavirus that was the reason for the cancellation of Mobile World Congress (MWC), one of the biggest events of mobility of the world, which was to take place in Barcelona between February 24 and 27.
Announced yesterday (12), the cancellation is a bucket of cold water for the more than 100,000 visitors who planned to participate. However, holding the event became unfeasible after several large companies such as Cisco, Nokia, Facebook e Amazon They decided to cancel their participation, fearing that they would expose employees to contagion.
One of the reasons for the cancellation, although not confirmed, may have been the large presence of Chinese people at the event. Huawei It remained firm in its plans to participate, as did other Chinese manufacturers such as ZTE e Xiaomi, who planned to be there as well, even if with a reduced presence.
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