Independence Blue Cross Launches New Mobile App

PHILADELPHIA, Sep 13, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Independence Blue Cross (IBC) announces the launch of IBX Mobile, a new smart phone application that helps members manage their health plan when they need it most -- whether at home, at their doctors' office, or on the go -- with a touch of the fingertips. 

"Smart phone use has risen dramatically in recent years, making mobile applications particularly effective in reaching people and helping them make smarter health care decisions," said Michael Yetter, director of IBC's eBusiness development. "We're giving our customers the ease and convenience of managing their health plans with some of our most popular online tools -- right in the palm of their hands." 

IBX Mobile, available for free at Apple's App Store and the Android Market, gives immediate access to personalized and relevant tools and resources whenever and wherever they're needed. IBX Mobile provides a streamlined view of the IBC's member portal, ibxpress.com, and allows users to quickly and conveniently:

          --  View their Personal Health Record. Access your health history anytime
              and manage your health.
          --  Find a health care provider. Use the Provider Finder to search for a new
              doctor by specialty and location. You'll even be able to download
              driving directions.
          --  View open referrals. Don't have time to call your doctor's office? You
              can use your smart phone to confirm your referral to a specialist with
              IBX Mobile.
          --  Check their Health Savings Account balance. Maximize your health savings
              account and track your balances on Bluesaver Health Solutions with IBX
              Mobile.   
        

Test pilot users who have downloaded the app to their smart phones have told us they appreciated the convenience of confirming referrals are active and the unique ability to access health and prescription history information from the Personal Health Record. 

"I don't have my records on me and they're not fresh on my mind when I go to the doctor's office. Instead of guessing at my health information, I can give information that's more accurate and useful for my doctor," said an IBC member who tested the pilot earlier this summer. 

IBX Mobile also allows users to reach Customer Service; get a quote for individual health care coverage; and log on to ibxpress.com to compare the price of prescription drugs, check the status of a claim, view benefits information, and access health care ID card details if the card is lost. 

There's no additional registration required for those who have already registered with ibxpress.com. IBC members need only login with their username and password to access their health coverage 24/7 through IBX Mobile. Members of the public can also download the app for free, although they will not have access to some member-specific tools. 

IBX Mobile is the latest mobile capability offered to Independence Blue Cross members. In July, Independence Blue Cross launched the GPS-based IBX Healthy Steps pedometer application as part of the company's mobile development strategy to improve and enhance the lives of the people and community it serves.

MOBILE APPLICATION: To help persons report corruption cases

Artas Bartas, a former employee of the United Nations Development Prograame (UNDP) and his team have developed a mobile application called the Bribespot which will help ordinary people report on instances of corruption they witness in their daily lives.

Users can download the mobile app and can then use it to submit specific instances of bribery.  The device is not intended to identify specific individuals, but rather to help visualize the extent of corruption, and to provide a basis for anti-corruption agencies and others to follow up, according to developers.

Bribespot was developed in March 2011 and the World Bank and other development agencies are now beginning to pay attention and get involved in these types of activities, says Shanthi Kalathil, a World Bank blogger.

The app can be download for Android and an iPhone version is expected in October 2011 but people can also submit reports on Bribespot’s website and instances are plotted on a map using Google maps API.
So far, the app is being used mainly in Lithuania and Romania.

Credit to: Ekow Quandzie

iPhone within 5 time to add new features, 4G, T-Mobile, hybrid

The iPhone 5 is facing the prospect a fall release after having seen its four predecessors all seeing the light of day during the summer. If Apple is indeed holding back the iPhone 5 for an extra season, there must be good reason for the delay. And that extra time gives the company the opportunity to add a host of features to the iPhone 5 which weren’t a part of the iPhone 4 era and might not have been a part of the iPhone 5 era either if not for the fact that Apple now has additional time to do something behind the scenes. 4G networking, a hyper-compatible hybrid model, and a T-Mobile rollout are among just some of the potential benefits from an iPhone 5 delay.

4G iPhone 5:
The earlier the iPhone 5 arrives, the lower the odds it includes 4G networking, and the reason is simple: Verizon and AT&T, the iPhone’s two U.S. carriers, are just barely getting their 4G feet wet. At present, a 4G iPhone 5 would be of use to almost no one who bought it, with most users having to instead rely on the older networks (3G GSM, CDMA) built into it for backward compatibility. But a fall iPhone 5 would come at a time when the two biggest carriers at least have some meaningful 4G presence, making Apple more likely to pull the trigger.

Hybrid iPhone 5:
It’s always just been a matter of time until Apple was able to pull off a single iPhone model which can talk to both the Verizon and AT&T networks, allowing customers to change carriers without having to change phones, as is the case with the current pair of incompatible iPhone 4 models. More time before the iPhone 5 launches means more time for Apple to pull it off.

T-Mobile iPhone 5:
This one feels like it’s more about politics than technicals. AT&T’s impending acquisition of T-Mobile sounds like a slam dunk for the latter offering the iPhone eventually. A later iPhone 5 release date means the merger will be further along, and increases the odds of the iPhone 5 coming to T-Mobile at launch.

Sprint iPhone 5:
Simply put: the greater the odds of a T-Mobile iPhone 5, the resulting greater odds of a Sprint iPhone 5. Regardless of what Sprint says, it doesn’t want to be the only U.S. carrier without the iPhone while also being the smallest post-merger.

iPhone 5 specs:
Apple’s battery life advancements appear to be as much about figuring out how to use the available juice more efficiently at this point as they are about packing more juice into a device. So the more time between now and the iPhone 5 launch, the more opportunities Apple will have to fine-tune the iPhone 5 experience such that it uses less power – and viola, more battery life to go around. Same thing goes for iPhone 5 storage capacity, as the prospect of a 64 GB iPhone has likely always come down to component availability. The further away the iPhone 5 launch date is from the iPad 2 launch, which used up 64 GB chips in abundance, the better.