Harvard Pilgrim announced today that it will be implementing Wellframe’s mobile-enabled care management product for its members. With the service, nurse managers will be able to more easily communicate with members through their smartphones, thereby enabling real-time interventions and improved engagement.

“We’re very excited to expand the way we offer our services to our members to give them more immediate support for their healthcare needs or the questions that they have, [and] to give them direct access via digital technology — specifically an app on their phone — to nurse care managers that work for Harvard Pilgrim,” April Greene, VP of population health and clinical operations at Harvard Pilgrim, told MobiHealthNews. “We also feel like it helps us enable a more holistic approach because there will be bidirectional communication within the technology and the app, and also [helps us] continue to modernize our services, where consumers are really looking for the convenience of apps that connect them immediately to the information that they want.”

So far the two groups have held kickoff discussions for the collaboration, and plan to implement the service to a select population of members over the next two months.

“The goal is to provide the level of support to members that’s challenging to achieve exclusively through the telephone or through live interaction, and to help provide more diverse options that make getting support more convenient for members while also achieving more value through health management programs,” Jake Sattelmair, CEO of Wellframe, told MobiHealthNews.

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Voice and conversational healthcare AI company Orbita today announced a collaboration with the AARP to investigate remote patient monitoring and social isolation. These efforts will specifically focus on the 50-plus population and how best to develop new digital experiences built on natural language processing technology.

“Imagine if people could manage their care using the power of voice,” Andy Miller, AARP senior vice president of innovation and product development, said in a statement. “We know that loneliness can contribute significantly to health decline. Digital assistants can provide greetings and positive affirmations and, beyond this, deliver daily reminders to take medications and perform important care tasks. Our work with Orbita supports AARP’s mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age, including through products and services.”

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Health Navigator has partnered with DataArt, a global software technology consultancy firm, on a prototype speech system for physicians that combines speech recognition, natural language processing, and clinical decision support systems into a single tool, according to a statement. The goal of the new system is to save time, reduce costs, and improve the patient-doctor experience.

“Health Navigator’s API allows other partners to use the robust Health Navigator clinical content in their applications,” Patty Maynard, SVP of business development at Health Navigator, said in a statement. “We’ve been impressed with how quickly and effectively DataArt accomplished this, and now are happy to see them in the list of our development partners.

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Online medical image library VisualDx has announced a licensing deal with the UK’s National Health Services to provide the company’s AI-powered visual diagnostic tool to six clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across southeast London. Thanks to the one-year contract, clinicians in these areas will be able to use their mobile device to take a picture of a patient’s skin and review a guided set of diagnostic options and suggestions.

“We believe that quality care begins with an accurate diagnosis,” Dr. Art Papier, CEO of VisualDx, said in a statement. “This agreement with NHS CCGs in southeast London helps patients and clinicians alike to share in the decision-making process to optimize patient-centered outcomes in the pursuit of clinical excellence. We are excited to collaborate in this important effort.”

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Mental health technology company Medibio has inked a deal with Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering to offer 8,000-plus Asia Pacific, Middle East, and European employees mental health support. These employees will have access to confidential mental health check-ins, while Jacobs Engineering will receive a employer dashboard for managing its de-identified workforce’s well-being.

“We are thrilled to extend our pivotal agreement with Jacobs Engineering, a long-term supporter of Medibio and a leading corporation in driving the way mental health care is delivered to their employee base,” Medibio CEO and Managing Director Jack Cosentino said in a statement. “By leveraging our proprietary technology, in conjunction with Jacobs’ strong corporate advocacy, we look forward to establishing a long-term relationship to enable real change in the area of corporate mental health.”