Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) and San-Francisco, California-based Sensely in December 2020 announced a strategic partnership to advance patient interactions through Artificial Intelligence and provide access to Virtual Health Assistants (digitized interactive ‘human-like’ characters or avatars) that respond to voice and onscreen commands through a multi-functional, cloud-based platform.

This strategic partnership brings together GEB’s leading network capabilities in the corporate sector and local market knowledge in over 118 countries with Sensely’s unmatched technology solutions. Linked by shared values of client-centricity, innovation and trust, this alliance ultimately empowers businesses to become more resilient by ensuring the provision of best-in-class health solutions.

Sensely helps clients and insurance partners to better support their insured members at a distance. Sensely does this by interacting with patients through a virtual health assistant. This digital ‘assistant’ interviews patients through an app, guiding them through a virtual medical triage process to help understand their symptoms and clinical concerns. Following this ‘interview’, Sensely then guides the patients to appropriate care, directing them to medical providers who are part of their local insurance plan’s network. This guided direction to care helps expedite treatment and guide patients to appropriate and cost-effective providers. This leading-edge technology was developed using algorithms based on the Mayo Clinic’s 30 years of nurse line experience. Leveraging artificial intelligence, chatbot automation and machine learning, this leading-edge platform accelerates patient access to relevant, timely and cost-effective care.  This clinical toolset will help GEB and its network partners to provide value beyond the policy for clients through supplemental services designed to improve patient access to quality care.

Considering the current scenario of COVID-19, supporting patient health at a distance is more important than ever.  On-site medical visits are extremely challenging to navigate, and this new virtual health solution can help to quickly triage and direct patients to clinical visits if/when appropriate.

Available in 32 languages, Sensely can assist large enterprises all over the world to deliver virtual health experiences that increase satisfaction and drive efficiency. With features such as symptom checking, direction to providers, and remote monitoring for chronic conditions such as Congestive Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Asthma, Diabetes, and Behavioral Health, Sensely’s capabilities help to support members at every stage of their health. Sensely’s conversation design team, can also turn common administrative workflows into interactive conversations to improve the healthcare application process and claims handling. The Sensely virtual assistant can be further customized so that insurers/employers can create their own unique “health ambassador” to interact with global users.

On Generali’s side, the partnership was initiated by Sergio Di Caro, Head of Strategy & Business Development department of Generali’s Global Business Lines, Eric Butler, Health & Wellness Director, Global Business Lines, and Paolo Ribotta, CEO Generali Employee Benefits & Global Health.

Global Business Lines includes Generali Global Corporate & Commercial and Generali Employee Benefits (GEB), which itself includes iPMI (International Private Medical Insurance) provider Generali Global Health (GGH).