Healthcare call centers articles by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
The Advance of Call Center Technology The first issue of AnswerStat magazine rolled off the presses many years ago. Since then much has changed. Call center technology has advanced, customer expectations have expanded, hiring and training practices have evolved, and new service opportunities have emerged. The Internet exploded into a global phenomenon that altered everything. […]
Successful Operations Require Intentional Effort Most everyone who works in off-site customer service knows the importance of having a strong call center team. This is, perhaps, nowhere more important than in the healthcare industry, where a call center sometimes faces the life and death situations of its patients. Though a strong call center team is […]
Adopt a Counterintuitive Strategy to Address This Common Staffing Problem The healthcare industry has long suffered from labor shortages, which contributes to burnout. This forces otherwise competent staff into exiting the industry. Though we won’t solve this labor shortage dilemma, we can seek to minimize burnout. This includes burnout of our essential healthcare call center […]
Key Metrics for Evaluating Agent Performance in a Medical Call Center The impetus for call centers was to increase efficiency and save money. This was an admirable goal, and call centers did exactly that. The result is a model that most call centers operate under today. They use this in measuring call center success. Yet […]
Invest in Your Call Center Staff to Best Serve Your Patients Call center agents are often the first contact someone has with your organization. If they conduct themselves well, this establishes a positive first step for a long-term successful relationship. But if they fall short, it may be your last interaction with the caller. Given […]
Focus What You Do Based on What Matters Most to Your Patients Our call center platforms generate a myriad of statistics. The vast number of them is sure to overwhelm any manager, so we pick a few key ones to track. Common ones are average speed to answer, hold time, and abandonment rate. We also […]
Call Center Outsourcing Can Produce Significant Outcomes As healthcare facilities evaluate their effectiveness and efficiencies, they scrutinize every area. One such consideration is the call center. At some point they often consider the benefits of outsourcing their call center work to a specialist company that focuses entirely on providing call center and contact center services. […]
Tips to Hire and Retain Top Talent The key to success in any medical call center is people. Your staff is the backbone of your operation. But you know this. That’s why it’s essential to build a strong team. Here are some considerations to help you move toward this outcome. More Than Compensation The first […]
Think Like a Caller and Not a Call Center Manager In healthcare we talk about the needs of patients, and in call centers we talk about the needs of callers, that is patients who call on the phone. Yet both needs are challenging to fully attend to when we’re deep in the daily details of […]
Lessen Healthcare Frustrations Talk to just about anyone today about healthcare and they’ll voice frustrations. Providers are frustrated that they’re hampered from giving the best care to patients. Patients are frustrated with the complexities of navigating the healthcare system and receiving the care they want. They especially balk at automation that seeks to save costs […]