Case Study: Healthcare
Driving increased efficiency in appointment booking
Centralized model for patient inquiries for a major hospital system allows for flexibility
97%of 5,200 daily calls answered
1,196 appointments booked daily
85%service level score achievedThe solution
The Sagility solution focused on improving operational efficiencies in the client’s patient engagement system. Here are a few ways in which this was achieved.
Appointment booking efficiency through centralized model and client CRM
Sagility adopted a model that centralized all the units and centers of the hospital chain to drive better resolution and efficacy. The newly centralized model directed all customer calls to an Sagility operated appointment desk. Sagility applied a phased approach for the onboarding process to build trust and ensure smooth transition. The first phase was on-boarded in March 2017 with more units added every month, and the onboarding process was completed in 5 months. Due to the phased onboarding approach, the call volumes were initially low, but once the onboarding process was completed, the volumes increased in relation to the initial numbers.
The CRM suite was used to store doctors’ information, for appointment booking, rescheduling, and cancellation. Customer calls from all numbers were routed to Sagility, enabling a single point of interaction, which helped in ruling out overlaps and information accuracy issues. Sagility deployed the CRM to ensure that all the relevant customer data was hosted on one platform.
Improved call answering with reduced call drop percentage
The same team also handled outbound calls to improve agents’ utilization. Appointment bookings were also conducted through other portals. One View (a performance automation tool) reduced dependency on Excel sheets for doctors’ availability. These measures increased accuracy in booking appointments.
Established process flow by inquiry type
Different processes were established for each inquiry type: new patient, existing patient, health check package inquiry, service inquiry, and appointment booking. Quick value-add opportunities were identified at a process flow level, with agents adhering to the specific workflow depending on the type of inquiry. Sagility also developed an agent knowledge base with doctor’s details, hospital addresses, doctors in each department, and scripts for different scenarios.
Handling seasonal surge in call volumes and increased efficiency in call drops
Language requirements under the centralized model needed reliable predictions to handle customer requests for different languages during interactions. There was also a seasonality aspect to the call volumes based on certain time periods in a year when the customers were more likely to experience weather-induced illnesses. Call volumes were also affected by the numerous health camps conducted by the client with more customers calling the toll-free number to book appointments after attending the health camps. With clarity on peak call volume periods and enhanced knowledge of the client’s health camp schedule, Sagility was better equipped to handle fluctuations in call volumes.
Systematic and comprehensive training to agents to increase efficiency
Agents were first taken through the induction, which included an orientation about the client and Sagility. The foundation of the training included soft skills, communication specifics, and quality customer care. Agents were taught product, system, and certification. Their skills were kept current through training need analysis, coaching and feedback, upskill training and management updates. High performers were rewarded through the rewards and recognition program.
Efficient managing and scaling of solutions provided
| Adding Units | Headcount | Services | Answering Calls | Call Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Began by catering services to two hospitals and two clinics | Began with 35 FTE servicing patient calls | Began with inbound services | Began with 1000 calls with 80% answering capacity | No call trend available at the beginning |
| Multiplied service offerings to 16 hospitals, 8 clinics and 6 heart centers in 5 months | Scaled up to 135 FTEs | Current service offerings include appointment calls and TPA bookings | Increased answering capacity to 5200 calls/day, 97% of calls in queue | Ability to set the call trend by recording and analyzing the call volume |
| Additional head count helped to increase answering percentage along with reduced AHT by Implementing One View | Call forecasting accuracy has improved month-on-month against client lock forecasted volume Mar – 25% June – 41% Sep – 60% |
Results
The client is confident of Sagility’s capability in handling surge in call volumes and quality performance. They are now looking to run more health campaigns. Here are a few key results:
97% of 5,200 daily calls answered
1,196 appointments booked daily
85% service level score achieved
94,000 calls answered every month
100% outbound calls placed for dropped calls
5% call abandonment rate
Healthcare LLC, doing business as Sagility™). All rights reserved.
