Benefits of Contact Center Software for Healthcare Industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our life. Healthcare was among the first to bear the brunt, with the sudden spike in call volumes. The demand for contact center software shot up considerably. According to Gartner, over 40% of customer service and support leaders experienced increased service contact volumes compared to original 2020 projections due to the pandemic. 

The pandemic situation has changed the workings of the healthcare industry. In the early stages of the pandemic, telehealth usage shot up dramatically. A McKinsey study found that by April 2020, telehealth utilization for outpatient care grew over 78 times from February 2020. As the attitude towards telehealth improves among patients and care providers from the compulsion to convenience, the virtual healthcare adoption models will soar.  Healthcare call center software is set to become more sophisticated to keep up with the changing ecosystem and the need for a holistic hospital call center. 

Post-Covid Reality: Healthcare contact and call center software

Covid- 19 not only brought about a sweeping change but it opened Pandora’s box. Patients now focus on the whole, rather than fragmented experience. The need for personalization and transparency are at an all-time high. The disruption is evident. A  study by Gartner found that 63% of healthcare providers have faced severe disruptions owing to internal organizational changes, cost pressure, regulation and compliance, funding or shifting consumer demands, among others. Only the organizations which are able to adapt, communicate and personalize will thrive in the new normal. 

1. The shift in focus from “sick care” to health and well-being. Healthcare organizations can offer customized healthcare plans, mapping the patient’s concerns. 
2. Consumers expect healthcare services to be available anytime, anywhere, at their convenience, and in safe confines. Omnichannel contact and call centers will play a vital role in the service and delivery of the ‘new normal’. 
3. Healthcare service providers should invest in optimizing and replacing legacy structures and technologies. The modern contact center management software offers an efficient channel for optimizing patient care communication and delivery. 

Now, communication has become an essential part of healthcare services, especially in large, multi-department healthcare facilities. To make communication a seamless process, many hospitals are adopting healthcare contact center software. Today, healthcare contact center software can be deployed over the cloud. It has also made Work From Home (WFH) possible for contact center agents in the healthcare sector. Moreover, with the help of omnichannel contact center software patients and doctors can connect with each other over voice, video, chat, etc. for remote consultation and primary check-ups. The doctors too can interact with each other to discuss a patient’s treatment plan, share patient records, and consult each other about the right treatment for the patient’s situation.

Features of Contact Center Solution for the Healthcare Sector

Key features of the healthcare contact center software include:

• Unified Communication: This allows patients to use social media, websites, smartphones, email, or SMS for interaction.
• Recording and Displaying of Interactions: The recording and displaying of all interactions helps healthcare contact centers to reduce call abandon rates and allow agents to deliver quick assistance to the patients regarding their queries or complaints.
• IVR: As contact center solutions implement IVR for appointment booking and scheduling, waiting time for patients can be reduced to a great extent.
• Skill-Based Routing: Based on the type of query, the software can easily route calls to the right department or agent who can handle the patient’s query in the best possible manner.
• WebRTC phones: With WebRTC technology in the form of WebRTC phones, agents can easily communicate with the patients without the need to install any complex devices.
• Real-time monitoring and analytics: With real-time monitoring and analytics features, the hospital management can easily monitor and measure the employee’s performance, and response times and analyze the caller’s satisfaction level which will help them to implement better strategies for superior customer service.

Benefits of Contact Center Software for Healthcare Industry

With the contact center software, patients are no longer required to wait in hospitals for their turn. They can opt for a virtual healthcare experience with the help of this solution that allows them to communicate effectively with the doctors to discuss any health-related concerns. Some of the key benefits of contact center solution include:

Easy Online Appointments

Integrating the contact center solution with the centralized database can make online appointments easy for both the patients and doctors. The software can automatically book appointments, send reminders, handle cancellations, and much more. With this facility, patients can easily book a convenient time slot for online consultation. Even Doctors can easily manage their schedule with full access to the patient’s records. Starting from registration to post-treatment, everything can be managed easily with the help of a contact center solution.

Read Also: A Guide to Hybrid Workforce Technology for the Future of Work

Easy Access to Reports

With the help of an omnichannel contact center software solution, patients can easily access their medical reports on various channels including Email, WhatsApp, and SMS. This eliminates the need to go personally to collect the reports. With a contact center solution, patients can receive their reports quickly and that too at the comfort of their home. Patients can quickly connect to their doctors on chat, phone, or video for further assistance or virtual support.

Maintenance of Patient’s Records

By integrating the software with CRM, hospitals can easily keep and maintain patient records. It is also more secure without worrying about data theft. Moreover, they can access the data or patient’s history easily as and when required.

• After Treatment Service: With the help of a contact center solution, hospitals can maintain a strong relationship with their patients by creating a patient-centric platform. They can send health-related tips, and reminders for check-ups through Email, SMS, and various other channels.

Conclusion:

The healthcare sector can benefit immensely from call and contact center software. The age of digital transformation is already here. Customers and patients have lapped up new technologies and digitization. It makes sense for healthcare players to adopt these technologies. With telemedicine and virtual healthcare assistance, healthcare service providers can save a lot of their time, effort, and money while delivering a superior patient experience.

To know more about specific solutions and patient care contact center software, call us now on +91 886 672 8362 | +1 707 708 4638 or write to [email protected]