AvMed Deploys Conversational Voice Self-Service From TuVox and ScanSoft

CUPERTINO, Calif. - AvMed Health Plans, a Florida not-for-profit health plan, has deployed speech applications from TuVox and ScanSoft to enhance its customers' service offerings with voice-enabled self-service. By replacing its touchtone IVR system with a conversational voice self-service solution from TuVox and ScanSoft, AvMed now leverages speech applications to service its health insurance members and medical providers. Currently, 40 percent of AvMed's incoming calls are automated by TuVox speech applications. AvMed plans to add additional feature enhancements.

"As part of AvMed's effort to provide better self-service capabilities for our members and medical providers, we have already realized the cost and customer service benefits of replacing our touch-tone IVR system with a much more sophisticated solution from TuVox and ScanSoft," said John Higbee, CIO of AvMed. "Because of the application lifecycle management suite built into the TuVox premise-based solution, we are able to avoid costly professional service fees typically associated with sophisticated speech applications and can maintain the applications easily and cost-effectively with our internal resources, trained by TuVox."

The joint solution from TuVox and ScanSoft enables AvMed medical providers to bypass push-button mazes, and instead complete their transactions by stating requests like "I'd like to check member eligibility and co-payment," "I'd like to request new service pre-authorization," or "I'd like to obtain member insurance information." Likewise, health insurance members can interact with the speech application to confirm referrals, check eligibility and confirm insurance deductible information.