In an effort to improve both customer service and the bottom line, Doctors Community Hospital (DCH) recently installed an automated call handling solution that relies on voice recognition technology to accurately transfer phone calls. The overall goals of the new system were to improve service levels and manage the call load while at the same time containing the costs of their operator services.
"Our operators were frequently overburdened, leading to long hold times and poor service levels for doctors, family members and other callers," said Dale Savoy, telecommunications manager of DCH, a nonprofit, privately owned medical facility located in Lanham, Md. "Our operators also act as an answering service for 300 doctor's offices in surrounding communities, and needed more time to serve these revenue generating activities."
To streamline operations, the hospital installed the Parlance Operator Assistant automated call handling solution. Operator Assistant reportedly was able to automate 50-60 percent of DCH’s internal and public calls.
The key difference is the new system’s ability to directly connect callers with specific destinations, instead of the traditional phone tree method. Callers simply ask the system to connect them directly to employees, staff members or departments. If they need assistance in finding the right destination, they are then connected with a live operator for help.
Voice biometrics has huge potential in the healthcare industry, particularly in automating simple applications, such as automated call handling. The global automatic speech recognition market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.28 percent from 2013 to 2018 as voice biometrics technology matures, according to Reportstack.
DCH’s automated call handling system has significantly reduced hold times as well as provided a more consistent caller experience, according to the companies. As a result, DCH was able to reduce operator staffing costs annually by four times their investment in Operator Assistant.
"The Parlance service model and the dedication of their employees are remarkable," Savoy said. "They've delivered everything they've said they would, and they're constantly monitoring and refining the system to make it really work for us. Our callers are happy, our doctors are happy, and our executives and board members are happy."
Edited by
Cassandra Tucker
