“Prove it!” you say.
OK, let's talk about handling patient phone calls. That's pretty basic. We've been answering the telephone for more than 45 years since we opened in 1969. But, until we obtained the Avaya phone system and its robust data analytics, we didn't know how many patients were calling in, which is actually more than 80,000 on a monthly basis. Installing the system improved access on the telephone and resulted in no more busy signals, but it was a bit of a wrench thrown into existing operations.
With the newly available data, we could see a clear need for adaptation to improve our service. Please see the graph below.
We measure the following three things:
1. Abandon rate
2. Average time in queue
3. Top Box Score on Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey question regarding ease of getting clinic on the phone
We are showing great improvement in all areas, and we are not done yet! I give special thanks to all of our wonderful employees who answer the phone either as their main job in a call center or as a portion of total duties. We would like to reach the target of an abandonment rate of 5 percent for the practice.
Our success so far with the phones must be hardwired into our work processes and sustained. We thank those who have been involved in this performance improvement project in every clinic. James Carlson, our phone expert, is available to help. I'd like to take a moment to congratulate those who have helped us get to this point. Then, ask yourself what you can do to help us get to the ultimate goal in the next 90 days!
