Patient Satisfaction and the Role of the Call Center in a Consumer-driven Healthcare Marketplace

In recent years, rising premiums and an increase in out-of-pocket expenses have pushed healthcare into a consumer-driven marketplace. While traditional patient relationships were fueled by familiarity and loyalty, the modern patient is more motivated by value, convenience, and personalization. This competitive environment puts pressure on providers to offer a superior patient experience—

Enter the healthcare call center.

Patient Access Coordinators are the initial point of contact that set the tone for the patient journey. For new patients, this is an opportunity to make a lasting first impression. Beyond that surface experience, care taken during the registration and scheduling process reverberates through every additional step of the patient journey, from attention to requests at the time of service to the ease with which insurance and billing are processed afterward. With 88% of healthcare appointments scheduled by phone, your healthcare call center has a significant responsibility to perform and perform well.

The only metric that matters…

There are many metrics used to rate patient satisfaction, but they all funnel back to one key aspect of the patient experience: effort. “Effort” is more than just “ease of use,” it is the amount of energy a patient must expend to get treatment. Typically, patients aren’t seeking medical services when they are feeling well so any extra effort can feel burdensome. A positive patient experience seeks to make that critical first step in the patient journey as quick and painless as possible. Confusing phone trees, long wait or hold times, and multiple transfers add to the perceived effort required to get service. Organizations must aim for first-call resolution, anticipating and handling all the patient’s needs in a single personalized encounter. An efficient patient access experience lends to all other metrics which could impact patient satisfaction by improving the overall quality of the interaction.

Gartner identifies this metric as the most impactful in terms of loyalty.

The role of the healthcare call center cannot be overlooked in today’s competitive market. Health systems that struggle in this department due to process or staffing issues should seek the help of an experienced engagement partner. Envera Health creates customized call center solutions based on the unique needs of your practice, ensuring a better patient experience through tested methodologies, advanced technology, and the application of specially trained Patient Access Coordinators who function as an extension of your own team.

Schedule a consultation today.