Have you ever tried getting in contact with a certain physician or department with a hospital? What should be an easy task can quickly turn into a multitude of calls consuming hours of time. Many hospitals have relieved the stress of their patients by setting up a main answering service that can direct patients to a specific doctor's office or department. Another main function of these call centers is to schedule patients for various short procedures.
Let me share a typical scenario of a patient trying to schedule hospital services without a call center. A patient visits their primary care physician and is instructed to schedule a colonoscopy at their local hospital. The patient calls the phone number provided and is told that the scheduler for that doctor is on a break and will return in an hour. The patient calls back in an hour and is told that the scheduler is now busy and will have to return their call, which is missed because the patient was grabbing groceries out of their car. Finally, the patient connects with the scheduler, schedules their procedure and is instructed to call the Lab department for pre-surgical testing. The patient makes several attempts before finally connecting with the Lab department and scheduling their pre-surgical testing. This scenario is actually a moderate one that occurs frequently in healthcare.
With a Call Center in place, all of this inefficiency can be eliminated, along with increasing the satisfaction of patients. With healthcare reimbursement becoming very limited, patient satisfaction has become a key element in generating business for hospitals. A quality Call Center is key in enhancing a patient's experience and creating repetitive business.