In healthcare, phone calls often drive office operations. Between booking appointments, answering patient questions, calling in prescription refills, and managing referrals, call volume stays high. Handling these important calls efficiently while delivering compassionate service makes a difference. It leads to smoother daily workflow for staff and better experiences for patients.
Upgrade Telephony Systems
Maximizing technology capabilities bolsters efficiency. Robust phone solutions centralize communication channels for unified messaging between patients and staff. Intuitive dashboards present real-time information to optimize call routing. Built-in CRM tools track interactions while smart virtual assistants manage common requests to ease the burden on employees. Expanding line capacity ensures patients connect quickly without frustrating hold times. Automated appointment reminders and patient callbacks for unavailable staff also generate tremendous utility.Â
Empower Staff to Resolve Issues
Nothing slows telephone workflows more than restricted employee capabilities. Limiting access and authority to resolve common patient issues creates delays. Empowered staff act decisively to assist callers and troubleshoot problems. Clear understanding of services, care protocols and resources facilitates this autonomy, so does access to patient medical history and billing details right at their fingertips. Management must properly train reps and trust their judgement in simple resolution scenarios. Rather than putting patients on perpetual hold to ask around, let capable employees independently handle routine matters. This preserves team focus for elevated issues. State law and regulations define appropriate parameters, but most centers underutilize existing staff capabilities.
Identify Peak Call Times
Call traffic fluctuates by days of the week and hours of the day. So tracking trends provide insight where capacity gets stretched thin. Mornings often overwhelm with a flurry of calls needing same day appointments. Mondays also tend to see heavy call volume as patients schedule visits for health items noted over the weekend. Seasonal pressures like flu season add strain as well. Identifying peak periods helps offices appropriately staff phone lines to match demand. Whether 10 am on a Tuesday or Friday afternoon at 2 pm, tracking hourly, daily, and monthly call volumes makes staffing and resource allocation decisions easier. Patient wait times lower when call patterns get analyzed and capacity gets aligned.
Set Proper Patient Expectations
Transparency around wait times or delays sets the right expectations. After-hour messages should indicate when calls get returned and provide emergent contact numbers. Hold messages can share average times so patients better plan conversations. Required discharge steps should note pending test results may take up to X days rather than leave patients hanging. Setting appointment availability windows helps lower repeat calls from those seeking bookings too. Proper expectations minimize repeat calls from anxious patients following up. This helps preserve bandwidth for all patients rather than overburdening common requests. Just clearly communicating context helps callers understand realistic outcomes.
Implement an Answering Service
Designating an outsourced answering service as an overflow resource ensures reliable coverage. Comprehensive medical call centers have specialized expertise to screen and process patient calls without placing them on hold. Customizable call handling instructions regulate after-hour emergencies and appointment requests, prescription approvals and message intake as specified by clients. The experts at Apello say that by capturing calls that overflow standard office hours, medical answering services prevent patients from ever getting frustrating voicemail boxes. Around the clock availability and flexible scalability during times of peak demand provides immense value. They keep patients happy through live support.
Conclusion
Running efficient phone operations makes a difference in healthcare. Optimizing routines through proper planning, resources, and organization benefits staff operations and the patient experience equally. Tight call management ensures needs get met promptly and compassionately even during times of peak demand. Investing in telephony capabilities aligns with top medical practices putting patients first.
