Every healthcare provider wants to deliver satisfactory experiences and build healthy relationships with patients. However, they literally struggle when they are asked to employ the appropriate call center practices and improve retention rates. Hence, they look for optimum call center solutions for medical services that can elevate their quality of service.
An introduction to healthcare call centers
Healthcare call centers exist to help multispecialty hospitals and clinics improve their bottom line. They utilize innovative and emerging technologies to automate complex tasks and deliver peerless patient experiences across all communication channels. In addition, their exclusive features and tons of benefits encourage healthcare providers to seriously consider healthcare customer support outsourcing.
According to a recent report by Markets and Markets, the global healthcare BPO witnessed a market value of USD 296.4 billion in 2021. In addition, the market size is projected to hit USD 468.5 billion by 2026. This shows how rapidly healthcare businesses have accepted the potential of medical answering services in call centers.
The 4 Ms of Healthcare call center practices
Healthcare organizations outsource their non-core activities to call centers so that they can take care of their core competencies. However, not every contact center turns out to be effective. Those using superior call center practices and leveraging the right tools generate high ROI for healthcare businesses.
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Multiple communication channels:
An ideal healthcare contact center provides multiple communication channels to interact with patients seamlessly. Some popular mediums include phone calls, social media, live chat, and email. By offering patients the flexibility to choose among the communication options, they offer convenience and improve the patient experience.
Patients these days do not just rely on phone calls to interact with healthcare agents. Instead, they switch between channels and expect integrated communication throughout their journey. As a result, healthcare BPO agencies supporting the omnichannel engagement strategy succeed in attaining high patient satisfaction.
Therefore, it is important to look for an omnichannel contact center while searching for healthcare customer services. This will help you build a good rapport with patients.
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Manage patient feedback:
Agencies offering call center solutions for medical companies are good enough in managing patient feedback and conducting surveys. This is one of the most crucial practices that let call center managers learn about patient experiences and gain better insight into their services.
Many modern contact centers use AI-driven tools to conduct real-time survey programs. Gathering this feedback helps call centers evaluate strengths and weaknesses and eventually stay consistent in this industry.
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Monitor call center metrics:
Besides generating patient feedback, call centers also spend time monitoring their KPIs or key performance indicators. They keep track of their performance parameters so as to offer mutual benefits to patients and healthcare brands. Some popular key metrics that require special attention include –
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- First contact resolution rates: This measures the number of patient queries resolved in the first interaction with agents.
- Average handling times: This calculates the time spent by a patient on a call, hold time, call transfers, and after-call work.
- Customer satisfaction rates: This defines the number of patients who are satisfied with the services.
- Agent response times: This defines the time agents take to respond to a patient query.
Likewise, multiple other metrics are there that help contact centers improve their operational efficiency.
Experts say that healthcare customer support agencies that maintain high call quality can exceed patient satisfaction. Patients appreciate these quality services and are more likely to stay engaged with such healthcare brands. This leads to high patient retention rates and creates a better experience.
Every effective contact center takes this step seriously. Therefore, it is crucial to keep a note of this practice before signing a deal with a third-party outsourcing agency.
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Maintain HIPAA-compliant processes:
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is a federal law that lays down a few standard rules and guidelines to protect patient data and other health-related information. This ensures the security of protected health information whenever it is transferred, shared, handled, or stored by healthcare organizations.
A reliable third-party agency that offers call center solutions for medical companies maintains HIPAA-compliance standards. These HIPAA-compliant contact centers ensure businesses that all their patients’ data is always protected from any unauthorized access. These contact centers even train their agents so that they never miss out on any HIPAA rules.
Moreover, many modern contact centers use data encryption to prevent security breaches. This prohibits the transaction of confidential information publicly and simultaneously helps contact centers avoid costly settlements and high risks.
Any random healthcare contact center may not be able to maintain HIPAA-compliance standards. Reaching out to these agencies may have a negative impact on business ROI. You must only hire HIPAA-compliant contact centers for efficient security of patient data.
More about healthcare call center practices
Effective call centers are experienced enough in handling patient queries and maintaining good rapport. They have trained agents to listen to patients’ concerns, understand their priorities, and display empathy. Moreover, their comprehensive knowledge of the medical facility and their efficiency in delivering appropriate answers to questions make them more proficient in delivering incredible experiences.
The Bottom Line
While planning to outsource medical answering services, it is better to note the above-mentioned practices. Besides, it is equally important to consider a few things before opting for any call center solution. These include –
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- Years of experience in this domain
- Team of experts
- Access to advanced technology and tools
- Cost-effective packages
- A comprehensive range of services
These are a few tips to reach out to an ideal contact center for your healthcare business. If you follow these considerations, you can undoubtedly maximize the professional services of the healthcare contact center company to achieve more significant results.
