It’s the holy grail – a slick, fast, satisfying customer communication experience that differentiates organisations from their competitors and drives loyalty.
No matter what the vertical sector; in an omni-channel, always-on world, it’s a hard trick to pull off.
In healthcare, the key issues are a little more challenging than most.
Deploying the kind of powerful cloud-based technology essential to success brings with it security concerns around patient confidentiality.
Next there are pandemic-related specialist workforce shortage and/or burnout issues to contend with.
Then financial pressures bite too: the need to deliver more for less in order to demonstrate value for money or protect precious margins.
And, finally, there is increasing competition among healthcare providers – meaning quality of service is directly linked to that all-important customer loyalty.
Around the world, systems of primary healthcare vary hugely: some purely private or insurance-based, some state-delivered at taxpayers’ expense and free at the point of delivery, others a mix of the two.
Conversely, most countries’ secondary healthcare activities – such as elective or cosmetic surgery, dentistry, physiotherapy, ophthalmology, podiatry, etc. – are wholly commercial enterprises where consumers demand the same communication and service delivery experience they get in, say, the retail sector.
All of that spells an opportunity for Value Added Resellers, System Integrators and Managed Service Providers who partner with the right vendor.
“Regardless of the delivery model, healthcare consumers want the Amazon experience – they want the ability to interact with their providers 24/7, they want immediate and great service, and they want first call resolution,” says Roni Jamesmeyer, Senior Healthcare Product Marketing Manager at global provider Five9, whose ‘Intelligent Cloud Contact Center’ solution delivers on multiple fronts.
“In the US, for example, we are seeing the rise of 24/7 retail clinics where people can get medical treatment at any time, day or night. Not long ago, it was only available from 8am-5pm Monday to Friday.”
That dramatic evolution – and the resultant huge rise in omni-channel interactions between providers and patients – is now driving demand across the rest of the world for full-featured contact centre functionality.
The ability to deliver a better customer experience over the phone by automatically queueing calls and performing call-backs so you know when your call will be handled is just one easy thing to do.
Other ways like routing calls to qualified experts, processing repeat prescription requests, answering frequently asked questions, and providing otherwise basic information – all without the need to engage a human agent – can have a hugely positive impact on call handler efficiency and higher positive outcomes.
With more and more widespread adoption of smart tech and unified communications, people are increasingly content to interact via IVR and other interaction platforms like online portals, virtual agents or chatbots.
The returns on investment can be significant and makes the pre-sales conversation an easy one to start.
“Self-service and automation are both key elements to managing call volumes and routing calls appropriately,” says Jamesmeyer.
“People don’t need or even want to talk to a human for everything. Today, we are always on with our mobile devices; using chatbots and talking to Siri and Alexa every day in our homes.
“Of course, it’s inappropriate for automation to replace human interaction completely – particularly in healthcare where emotions can run high in stressful situations - but if provider organisations are able to deflect 5-10% of the non-urgent calls, it can free up time for those potentially lifesaving calls which can make a big difference to multiple aspects of their operations.