In the healthcare industry, growth happens because of a positive and meaningful patient experience.
Yes, digital marketing and advertising help bring people in, but patient satisfaction develops after that first phone call.
Patients are real people who need effective communication during every stage of the patient journey. When ethical marketing efforts convince potential customers to pick up the phone and call your practice, the staff on the other end of that call must be ready to guide the person on a positive path.
We’ve written a lot about staff training and call strategy here on our blog. But today we’re focusing on call center strategy -- especially as it relates to enterprise and multi-location organizations.
Today’s top healthcare organizations are modernizing their call centers by moving from legacy, on-premises technologies to complete contact centers in the cloud. But the moving parts are complicated and can get confusing quickly for larger organizations.
To understand the strategy and requirements, I turned to Kathy Divis, president and co-founder of Greystone.net. Kathy specializes in healthcare-focused call centers and their integration with the web and other cloud-based solutions. She’s the expert people call to help migrate that old on-premises legacy system to the modern platform.
If you’re ready to glean the takeaways, I’ve listed here top tips for designing a successful healthcare call center with new patients in mind.
But before we get into strategy, here’s a primer on traditional call centers and why an upgrade should be in your 2021 budget:
Call centers have changed over the years. Today, they’re mostly called contact centers and can be tailored to the needs of your organization.
What is a modern contact center? It’s usually in the cloud or connected to the internet. It’s also integrated with email, web chat, texting, video, and core telephony functions, such as marketing and scheduling. The goal is for agents to engage with new and existing patients via their preferred channel.
Some companies go for a web portal added to their on-premises contact center, while others make the full transition from legacy to cloud.
What is your current technology? Is it working? What technology should you use, and how does it fit with the features you want?
Most companies are still trying to get their ROI on their legacy systems, let alone move to modern technology. If your organization is still giving push-back for upgrading your call center, we understand. This happens all the time.
Modernizing call centers in the healthcare industry always comes with politics from stakeholders, including doctors, staff, and leadership. If you find yourself in this category, you’re not alone. Understanding the benefits and features of a modern contact center along with the strategy tips below, will help you build a solid case for making the transition.
Features
Benefits
The idea to improve your patient experience isn’t new. But moving to a better and more cost-effective call center might seem new and overwhelming. If the competition wasn’t enough, the global pandemic has added urgency to this transition, as hospitals and multi-location physician practices scramble to make the switch.
Here are six healthcare call center best practices to consider:
A modern, healthcare contact center varies depending on the type of organization. In the podcast, Kathy shares how many organizations have barely started the migration from old legacy systems. In contrast, others have already embraced cloud contact centers that integrate with healthcare CRM, medical billing, and EHRs.
Regardless of where your organization is on the spectrum, there are important contact center features that all patients expect today.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can upgrade your call center's effectiveness, you can contact us or get in touch with Kathy directly.Marketing a healthcare organization can be challenging - even painful if you don't approach it with the right knowledge, tools, and guidance. By reading about mistakes and lessons others have learned the hard way, you can boost your marketing effectiveness and take a shortcut to success. Discover how to avoid these "Seven Deadly Sins". Plus, join over 30,000 of your fellow healthcare providers with a free subscription to our Insight Newsletter.