Electronic Health Reporter

By Tim Eyre, CMO, Aceyus.

The healthcare system was turned upside down when the pandemic hit, transforming the overall communication structure throughout healthcare facilities. As a result, contact centers became a critical beacon of hope to connect patients to their providers efficiently.

Many people shifted to using digital channels of communication as patients and their families sought to engage with their care providers in any way possible. However, with significant demand comes the inevitable challenges such as longer wait times, higher call volumes, and an increased need for enhanced customer service to ensure streamlined connections between patients and providers.

Having to check on the status of one’s health is stressful enough; patients shouldn’t have to deal with communication barriers, especially during these trying times. The time to make a digital transformation is now. The modern-day patient experience begins online or over the phone, not in person. Even though the way patients interact with healthcare teams has changed, the quality of service and care they receive shouldn’t have to. Contact center agents are still expected to handle high call volumes and provide patients with seamless service. With patients engaging with their providers through various sources, it is vital to have actionable insights and siloed data sources consolidated into an omnichannel platform.

Why is data so crucial for contact centers in the healthcare sector? According to statistics, businesses with robust omnichannel customer engagement strategies can retain 89% of their customers. This shows how important it is for healthcare leaders and contact center managers to utilize their data effectively to create better interactions for the patient, agent, and provider. During the current unprecedented health crisis, contact center agents are no longer simply liaisons between the patient and provider – they are lifelines.

As many contact centers continue to use outdated technology, providing quality service to patients is becoming increasingly more difficult. So, how do contact centers in the healthcare sector advance communication efforts and connect patients to their providers? By utilizing a technology management solution that uses real-time data reporting dashboards to leverage the power of contact center data. This allows healthcare providers to enhance daily workflows, customer and agent interactions, and real-time decision-making. The right technology and tools help contact centers create more positive experiences for people struggling to get answers on their health while saving healthcare facilities money and time through efficient communication.

Another powerful capability of increased visibility is that agents can refer to past patient communications to address the patient’s needs efficiently and without the need for the patient to reiterate the same thing to four different people. Additionally, real-time reporting dashboards simplify reporting by having the ability to integrate insight from disparate data sources, so all critical information is stored in one platform. As a result, operations are streamlined, and the relationship between an agent and patient is improved.

A robust reporting and analytics platform can be integrated into any existing technologies to provide contact centers with a centralized view of their analytics. Contact center managers also have powerful metrics and insights to monitor agent behavior remotely and in-person to streamline decision-making for potential improvements to ensure better quality patient communication.

To sum up, the pandemic has thrown the healthcare system for a loop over the past 17+ months, but with challenges come lessons and opportunities. A patient should be able to be connected to their provider efficiently by a contact center agent. The best way to conduct this is by having the analytics available to streamline communications and provide a better patient experience. Through technological advancements, care teams and contact center agents have been able to bridge the gap and provide quality service to patients when they need it most.