If you rarely want to answer your phone, you’re certainly not alone. Approximately 80 percent of Americans say they typically don’t answer their cell phone when an unknown number calls, and one-quarter of those aged 18-34 ignore the ringing altogether, no matter who is calling.
However, consumers calling a service provider often take exception to an unanswered call, even — and especially — in healthcare. The convenience ushered in by smartphones has resulted in patients expecting real-time responses from their healthcare providers.
Unanswered calls along with lengthy wait times are no longer tolerated, yet many small physician practices all the way up to large health systems sometimes miss out on these patient communication and engagement opportunities, even if not intentionally. Hospitals, for example, miss 24 percent of inbound calls.
Although healthcare call centers are designed to handle large volumes of patient calls, obstacles such as staffing shortages sometimes prevent them from answering inquiries immediately. Roughly 70 percent of business calls result in a hold time of at least 45 seconds, and about 60 percent of customers who wait on hold for too long will just hang up. That’s a missed opportunity to engage patients, ensure continuity of care and raise revenue.
High call volumes and abandonment rates aren’t the only challenges affecting healthcare call centers. Agents must navigate the complexities of ensuring patient privacy and security to comply with strict HIPAA regulations, something language barriers can make more difficult.
Another pressing problem for healthcare call centers is agent burnout. Burnout is a prevalent issue, with 74 percent of customer service representatives at risk, leading to decreased job performance and an average yearly turnover rate of 60 percent. The onboarding of new agents requires time-consuming training, further straining resources and delaying the deployment of skilled staff.
As with other areas of healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI) is being employed to improve operational efficiency, reduce the burden of tedious, time-consuming administrative tasks and meet patients’ expectations for convenience. The automation available through conversational AI is leveraged to streamline various tasks while improving the patient experience.
How Agentic AI Works
Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms are two of the core components that enable agentic AI solutions to understand and generate human language, facilitating more natural and human-like patient interactions. As agentic AI systems continuously learn and adapt, they become more adept at handling complex inquiries and providing accurate information.
Agentic AI can be utilized in various ways to streamline administrative tasks and automate patient interactions. Healthcare call centers can leverage these capabilities to offer a wide range of services, such as scheduling appointments, conducting patient outreach, providing patient education and answering common medical questions.
Benefits of Agentic AI for Healthcare Call Centers
A key advantage of agentic AI is its ability to offer 24/7 availability, ensuring that patients can access support at any time, regardless of regular business hours. When advanced assistance is needed, AI agents can accurately route patients to the appropriate medical professional, ensuring that their inquiries are handled by the right person or department. The technology improves the overall patient experience, reduces operational costs and boosts agent efficiency.
A More Positive Patient Experience
High call volumes often result in operational bottlenecks. By reducing wait times and providing instant responses, conversational AI platforms tackle a major frustration for patients seeking support. This immediate assistance ensures that patients receive the help they need without prolonged delays, enhancing their overall experience.
Curtailed Operational Costs
Through the automation of repetitive tasks, agentic AI solutions substantially reduce the need for agent intervention, resulting in significant cost savings. The technology also can save healthcare call centers money by optimizing resource allocation, an especially important perk with staffing shortages so prevalent, and negating the need for additional employees.
Enhanced Agent Efficiency
By handling routine inquiries, agentic AI enables human agents to focus on more complex queries, which not only improves operational efficiency but also enhances job satisfaction among agents. When they’re able to focus on tasks that require their expertise and judgment, it reduces burnout and bolsters productivity.
Providertech.ai for Healthcare Call Centers: Improving Productivity and Patient Satisfaction
With our agentic AI solution supplementing your team, your employees field fewer repetitive patient requests, allowing them to focus on more complex calls. The capabilities of Providertech.ai consist of 24/7 inbound call handling, appointment scheduling and rescheduling, appointment reminders, medication refill requests and more. Contact us today for a complimentary demo!
