As an example, patient access is a strategic differentiator. Modernizing the call center isn’t just about operational function, but it allows healthcare organizations to see and engage with their patients. Patients should not have to wait months to be seen because there’s not enough support. The call center represents the largest volume of patient interaction compared with any other department of the hospital. That’s why this matters now.
Optimized care centers also have proven ROI. They can reduce emergency department readmissions. If a patient is discharged from the ED and comes back for the same concern within a month, insurance might not pay for that new visit, and the hospital may have to absorb the cost. An effective care center can help with patient outreach to reduce readmissions, which can also result in lower provider burnout.
The Difference Between the Call Center and Care Center
In a traditional call center or contact center, staff rely on a legacy phone system that routes calls manually through extensions. There are no integrated systems and no data captured beyond the call log. Getting information about the call means relying on the operator’s documentation. Ticketing is manual, as are agent transfers. The call center doesn’t have access to clinical systems such as the electronic health record (EHR), meaning that it can take staff longer to answer questions.
The Level 1 call center is reactive, manual and voice centric. Ultimately, the healthcare organization doesn’t see it as a business value driver.
A Level 5 care center, on the other hand, is predictive, omnichannel and experience oriented. It has a fully orchestrated digital ecosystem including an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system, EHR, AI and analytics. These tools allow staff to access the data needed when they need it.
The omnichannel portion means that there are multiple ways for patients to be helped, whether it’s self-help, a chatbot or a phone call. With integrated analytics, the healthcare organization can staff up or down based on anticipated call volume.
In short, a care center is an enterprise strategy that is completely aligned with the patient digital experience and facilities access to care. Since it’s focused on care outcomes and plays a major role in the patient experience, CEOs and boards begin to care about it and the value it brings the health system.
CHECK IT OUT: CDW’s latest research report dives into how to build a frictionless enterprise.
What Technologies Are Needed for a Successful Care Center?
There are several tools healthcare organizations should have in place to create a true care center. First is the actual telecommunications platform. There must be multiple ways for people to access the health system to engage in two-way communication: phone call, text messaging, chat, email or patient portal messaging. Intent detection and intelligent routing should be baked into those communication methods.
CRM and EHR integration play an important role in the predictive nature of a care center. The CRM helps manage outreach campaigns and social determinants of health tracking. It can also track patient preferences and communication consent, whereas the EHR enables staff to do scheduling, referral intake and eligibility and benefits verification. This can be useful if a patient calls to ask questions about whether generic medications are available.
A unified data platform provides real-time data ingestion from the EHR and CRM. It can make identity resolution more efficient by creating a single, trusted profile. It also provides a longitudinal patient record, which tracks patient journeys over time, from first contact to ongoing care. These platforms also track triggers for outreach such as missed appointments, care gaps or ED visits, reducing manual intervention and increasing speed to action.
Interest in AI and automation is growing in healthcare, and call center use cases are among the most adopted. Natural language processing can be used for intent recognition in calls and chats. Predictive routing then gets the patient in contact with the appropriate person. Virtual agents can automate rote tasks, such as prior authorization workflows.
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