Tag: Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Vital Signs

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. You don’t need to spend much time in a call center before realizing agents enjoy sharing stories about their callers. This can be good: establishing community, providing a safe outlet, and building a collective understanding. (Conversely, venting about callers should be discouraged.) After such stories are shared, someone often says, […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. The label “call center” amuses me. First, most healthcare call centers process more than just calls, embracing many forms of communication. Second, call centers are becoming decentralized. The ironic truth is that a decentralized call center is an oxymoron. This decentralization of the call center was first manifested by linking […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. It’s been said that the only constant is change. Why, then, is change so hard? Call centers, especially those in the healthcare industry, go through frequent changes, perhaps more so now than ever before. These changes might include merging operations, moving locations, implementing revised procedures, adjusting to new regulations, or […]

By Peter DeHaan, Ph.D. Consider this: “ACE Healthcare Communications, the world’s leading provider of strategic convergent communication applications to leverage leading-edge technologies, announced today the worldwide release of its revolutionary solution, ACE WidGetiZer, which is uniquely guaranteed to grow organizations by slashing costs and boosting efficiency and revenues without increasing employee headcount.” This is a […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. We’ll never know if there was any connection, but when my son, Dan, was playing college hockey, he began experiencing lower back pain. The common advice to “take it easy and rest” was not helping, so we embarked on a more intentional course of action, pursuing every nonsurgical recommendation provided. […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. During uncertain economic conditions, it is critical for healthcare call centers to explore ways to bolster their revenue stream or insure their ongoing existence. One option is to collaborate with another call center or health organization towards their mutual benefit, such as a medical answering service working with a nurse […]

By Peter DeHaan, Ph.D. With allergy season upon us, I recall a strange realization from a couple years back – after I sneezed. I noticed my sternutation sounded just like my dad. Not that there was anything wrong with how Dad sneezed, just that it was distinctive. At first, I chalked this up to heredity, […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Having just returned from an industry convention, I, like every traveler, have many travel stories; here are three: Once, while awaiting my connecting flight to return home, an announcement grabbed my attention, “Now boarding all rows, all passengers; this is the final boarding.” That’s strange; I had apparently tuned out […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. With the unemployment rate remaining high, call centers find themselves in a “buyer’s market” when it comes to hiring agents and support staff. There are plenty of people looking for work, which results in more applicants to pick from for each opening. High unemployment also serves to limit the mobility […]

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Valuable lessons can be learned from many sources. For example, the demeanor of salespeople can provide insights for the healthcare industry and the call centers that serve them. A couple years ago, I was researching software specifically developed for magazine publishers. It promised to streamline and integrate operations, as well […]