Tuscany’s Health Authority Chooses Infobip to Manage COVID-19 Communications

MILAN, ITALY – December 2020: USL Tuscany North West has announced its partnership with global cloud communications platform Infobip to keep residents informed during the COVID-19 pandemic with an FAQ chatbot over WhatsApp.

With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to more lockdowns across Europe, and Italy’s regional guidance changing quickly, USL Toscana was faced with the challenge of providing local information, while also combating the spread of coronavirus misinformation.

Infobip, as a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, helped the healthcare authority build a simple, self-service chatbot within just 25 days. The service is designed to be as accessible and simple to use as possible. Contact with the chatbot is initiated over a publicly available number by entering (+39) 050 954666 into a contact list and messaging the word “Ciao”. This starts a dialogue with the WhatsApp chatbot where users can choose from a list of topics they would like more information on and get an immediate response.

Information accessible via the chatbot includes:

Maria Letizia Casani, General Manager of USL Tuscana North West, comments:

“Having seen Infobip’s work with the Milan Municipality earlier this year to develop a Coronavirus Information service over WhatsApp, we asked for their support in delivering our own local version of the tool in Tuscany. They turned the chatbot around quickly and worked closely with us to ensure it has all the necessary features and latest information. Citizens will be able to access key information about the pandemic without having to call by phone or write an email. This is the first and only experience of its kind in Italy in the context of local health authorities.”

The service launched on November 27 2020. People can also engage with the chatbot via live chat on the health authority’s website, and via Facebook Messenger.

Sanjin Korac, Enterprise Sales Lead – Italy, Infobip, concludes:

“As countries across Europe adjust to another wave of lockdowns, people are once again turning to WhatsApp to stay connected with friends and family. That’s why it’s a natural step for public health institutions to reach people on this channel to deliver trusted, critical information on COVID-19 – especially when in-person services are reduced. We’re delighted to support such an important cause.”

Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected customer experiences across all stages of the customer journey at scale, with easy and contextualized interactions over customers’ preferred channels. Accessed through a single platform, Infobip’s omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication security and contact center solutions help clients and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications, grow their business and increase loyalty– all in a fast, secure and reliable way. With over a decade of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to include 68+ offices on six continents offering natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and ‘things’ in 190+ countries connected directly to over 600 telecom networks. The company serves and partners with leading mobile operators, messaging apps, banks, social networks, tech companies, and aggregators.

USL Tuscany North West, which was established with regional law no. 84 on 28 December 2015, includes the former Local Health Department of Massa Carrara, Lucca, Pisa, Livorno and Viareggio. The company has more than 14,000 employees, 13 hospital establishments, 10 district areas and a resident population of over 1.2 million inhabitants.