HealthPartners Licenses Diversinet Mobile Application

HealthPartners’ 1.3 million subscribers will gain mobile communications capabilities with their care managers on smartphones later this year, the company says.

Minneapolis-based HealthPartners, a nonprofit health insurer and provider, has licensed the MobiSecure platform from Toronto-based vendor Diversinet to build its portfolio of mobile member services.

Under a renewable multi-year agreement, HealthPartners will use Diversinet's platform to support applications such as secure, two-way messaging on a range of MobiSecure-supported smartphones and devices, including the Apple iPhone, Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm devices.

With goals including avoiding premature births and reducing hospital readmissions, the first users will be women with high-risk pregnancies, as well as patients with chronic illnesses who have been recently discharged from hospitals.

"The new Diversinet-powered applications will enable us to extend our commitment to use technology to reach our members how and when it's convenient for them," Scott Aebischer, HealthPartners SVP of customer services and product innovation, says in a statement. "We know we can rely on Diversinet's proven ability to provide secure, two-way communications for the healthcare industry. The MobiSecure platform also surpasses other solutions in delivering broad device support, wide functionality, and easy-to-understand features."

Other insurers improving their mobile member services recently include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Travelers and USAA.

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio