Missed – or mishandled – calls represent missed opportunity and revenue.
And with call volumes rising to unprecedented levels, few contact centers are operating at peak efficiency or with optimal effectiveness. In fact, call volume is often cited as one of the top challenges facing healthcare organizations today.
Fortunately, solutions abound. But it’s critical for leaders to understand the issues that are driving call volume so they can choose the path that will deliver the greatest value and satisfaction.
Issue #1 – Routine questions Patients are seeking information about healthcare services and caregivers like never before. While the demand may be new, the questions they ask are not. Many, in fact, are routine. This provides a perfect opportunity for automation.
Truth be told, at least three-quarters of queries can be handled by a digital virtual assistant, rather than a live representative. While many healthcare organizations have balked at implementing a simple website chatbot or virtual assistant, now is the time to reconsider.
Why? Two reasons:
1. Patients are consumers, and consumers are used to getting information – and completing many other tasks – online. It’s what they want.
2. Costs have dropped precipitously. Not long ago, it took months and many staff hours to develop a virtual assistant that could respond in an empathetic and accurate manner. This meant they were expensive. But one of the benefits of current generative AI models is that digital virtual assistants can ingest content and be programmed very quickly, sometimes in just a few hours.
This means that healthcare organizations seeking to reduce call volume by deflecting routine inquiries about directions, visiting hours and other standard information can accomplish their goal in short order and without a massive hit to the budget. Accuracy and security are assured because the information processed by generative AI-powered virtual assistants reflects website content already approved by the organization.
Issue #2 – In-depth requests Sometimes patients seek information beyond what is easily presented via the website. Perhaps they are looking for a specific provider or location, or wonder if their symptoms justify a visit to the emergency department.
The latest generation of digital virtual assistants are valuable in these cases as well. They can interface with an organization’s existing provider directory, for example, or activate a symptom checker.
