Alexander Forbes, a diversified financial services organization, is one of the major financial services organizations in Africa, providing financial solutions to individual and corporate customers. Their services include retirement planning, asset and wealth management,  edical insurance, and consulting. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company has operations in eight regions across sub-Saharan Africa and the Channel Islands, employing over 3,000 people. It reported operating income of ZAR 3,647 million (South African rand) for the year 2017–18.

In recent years, Alexander Forbes has embarked on simplifying the company structure to enable better collaboration across divisions. One of the structural changes was the separation of the technology function from the operations function to create an information technology (IT) function as a revenue-generating cluster. 

The IT function is responsible for modernizing systems to provide, among other services, a single customer view. This made it possible for Alexander Forbes to use IT as a strategic tool. One of the ways in which this is being achieved is the company’s health insurance services.

The company keeps track of its customers in an integrated database so that customer care representatives are able to handle queries and transactions for customers across all healthcare products. The database tracks all claims submitted by their customers, including visits made by healthcare professionals, medication, procedures, and treatments. In case of prescriptions for which cheaper options, often in the form of generic alternatives, are available, customers are immediately informed via text message to their mobile phones. However, it is often found that customers prefer the more expensive medication rather than the generic alternative. A record of co-payment is maintained on the database for such customers since the company does not cover the full cost of relatively expensive medication. All claims submitted by customers are digitized and can be easily retrieved if any queries arise. Customers can also access their historical records through the company’s website. Customers can install the company’s mobile application to submit claims and check their status.

REQUIRED
a. Why should Alexander Forbes collect data on the drugs that are prescribed? What could the company do with this data?

b. Although customers are informed of cheaper generic alternatives to expensive medication, many customers opt for the more latter even though they have to make a co-payment. How can Alexander Forbes use its AIS to persuade pharmacies to encourage customers to opt for the more affordable generic alternatives?

c. How does digitizing the claims add value to the organization? 

d. How does the mobile application add value to the organization?

e. Use the Internet to find other IT improvements that Alexander Forbes has introduced outside of their healthcare division. Write a short paragraph on each new application or other newsworthy item you find.