Conduent Teams Up with Buoy Health and IBM Watson Health to Help its Clients Manage COVID-19 Related Workplace Challenges

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Sept. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (Nasdaq: CNDT), a business process services and solutions company, today announced a collaboration with and to integrate both companies’ cutting edge technologies and timely health care resources onto Conduent’s platform.  Conduent clients can now use the HR platform to access Buoy’s full digital navigation product portfolio, which includes artificial intelligence (AI) driven tools that help people get the right care at the right time, and IBM Return-to-Workplace Advisor, a data and AI-driven application that can assist companies in managing a safe and effective return to the workplace.

Conduent designed the Life@Work platform to offer clients and their employees easy access to the most comprehensive suite of digitally-enabled HR offerings in the industry.  The digital platform allows every employee to manage the complex landscape of employment, health, wealth, career and retirement choices through a personalized experience.  This personalized experience leads to improved employee productivity and reduced costs.

“The COVID crisis is challenging our clients and their employees in ways never imagined," said Tracy Amabile, Global Head of HR Services at Conduent. “Whether it’s helping employees triage health problems because health care resources are overwhelmed with COVID-19 or enabling employers to bring their employees back into a safe workplace, Life@Work, integrated with the exceptional offerings from Buoy and IBM, is providing clients and their associates with advanced solutions when they need them the most.”

Meeting the Challenges of Return to Work in the Midst of COVID-19

Employers are challenged to have policies and procedures in place to minimize risks and ensure employees’ safety when returning to physical workplaces. Through Life@Work, Conduent is working with the two organizations to complement the Life@Work platform with advanced technologies that assess an employee’s risk for COVID-19 and enable a structured and safe return to the workplace.

Buoy Health: Digital Navigation Solutions

Buoy Health’s digital navigation product portfolio includes , an AI chatbot that helps individuals self-diagnose and triage their conditions to determine appropriate care, taking into account the employer-selected benefits and health insurance. It provides an employee with a personalized care plan based on self-reported symptoms and shares recommendations for next steps, such as self-treatment or a visit to an in-network provider. Buoy data shows that this collaboration can help employers reduce non-emergency visits to the ER, lower costs and improve overall employee engagement. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Buoy developed a to help consumers self-assess their risk for COVID-19 infection, and , a digital solution which helps employers ensure safe returns to the workplace in the context of COVID-19.

“Through this collaboration, we’re able to offer Conduent’s clients digital solutions that are infinitely scalable, user-friendly, and accessible 24/7," said Andrew Le, MD, CEO and cofounder of Buoy. “Pandemic or no pandemic, our job is to help the consumer navigate their healthcare journey. To date, we’ve screened half a million Americans for COVID-19. And thanks to our cloud-based technology’s ability to help people find the right care right when they need it, we’ve been able to save the industry more than $12 million and healthcare workers nearly 1000 days’ worth of their time."

IBM Return-to-Workplace Advisor: Helping Organizations Reopen Worksites Leveraging Data and Analytics

IBM Return-to-Workplace Advisor is designed to assist organizations in assessing worksite and community risk data in near real time – helping to identify company locations where conditions have been met to return to the workplace and remain at work as conditions change. It also provides individuals with an employee support application designed to answer questions about COVID-19 through a Watson virtual assistant, self-report symptoms and receive notification of return-to-work status. IBM Return-to-Workplace Advisor is a key component of the IBM Watson Works solution, a set of products that embeds Watson artificial intelligence (AI) models and applications designed to help companies as they navigate many aspects of the return-to-workplace challenge.

“During uncertain times, knowing when to ask employees to return to work and remain at work, can be a very complex decision for employers,” said Barbara Hayes General Manager, Payer and Provider, IBM Watson Health. “With IBM Return-to-Workplace Advisor we can help employers across industries track symptoms and other data, including localized data on infection rates and trends, so employers can use this information to aid in their return-to-the-workplace decisions. We’re pleased to collaborate with Conduent to help employers through the critical issues related to returning to the workplace.”

Leveraging a combination of digital-first process excellence and human-centered design principles, Life@Work is underpinned by smart automation (RPA, AI, Chat Bots, and Analytics) that, together, create a seamless digital experience to meet the individual needs of each user at critical moments and in daily life. Life@Work members can access and utilize their benefits plans, tools and resources regardless of device — desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone — or telephonically, keeping pace with the proliferation of unique devices and personal connection preferences.

About Conduent

Conduent delivers mission-critical ​services and solutions on behalf of businesses and governments – creating exceptional outcomes for its clients and the millions of people who count on them. Through people, process and technology, Conduent solutions and services automate workflows, improve efficiencies, reduce costs and enable revenue growth. It’s why most Fortune 100 companies and over 500 government entities depend on Conduent every day to manage their essential interactions and move their operations forward.

Conduent’s differentiated services and solutions improve experiences for millions of people every day, including two-thirds of all  in the U.S., 11 million employees who use its , and nearly nine million people who travel through  daily. Conduent’s solutions deliver exceptional outcomes for its clients including $17 billion in savings from medical bill review of workers compensation claims, up to 40% efficiency increase in HR operations, and up to 40% improvement in processing costs, while driving higher end-user satisfaction. Learn more at .

Conduent Media Contact:

Duane Brozek, Conduent, ,

Conduent Investor Relations Contacts:

Alan Katz, Conduent, ,

Rebecca Koar, Conduent, ,

Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit . For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit , or .

Conduent is a trademark of Conduent Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.