There’s no denying that telehealth has soared in popularity in recent years. Some experts say that telehealth usage has increased 38x from the pre-COVID-19 baseline. And medical offices are trying to keep up with demand – searching for the right call center functionalities to help them connect with patients. But sorting through all the options can be overwhelming – especially since many medical professionals are already swamped with day-to-day tasks.
That’s why we did the sorting for you. Our team at Axion has compiled a list of features every medical office should have to give their patients the long-distance care they deserve. Check them out!
Contact Center Feature 1: Easy Agent Login/Logout
When looking for a telehealth solution, make sure the call queues allow agents to quickly log into and out of a queue at will. Why? We’ve got three reasons:
- It helps you manage your labor costs. With agents able to log into and out of queues as needed, you don’t have to pay for expensive “on-call” agents who are always available. Instead, you can organize your agents into shifts based on their availability so you can cover your phones 24/7/365 without overspending.
- It reduces the time your patients spend waiting for an agent. Say one of your staff members takes a quick break. If they can’t log out of the system, patients will be on hold in their queue for who knows how long. But if your staff members log out, callers are automatically routed to agents that are actually available – reducing their wait times and increasing their satisfaction.
- It gives your agents more autonomy over their schedule. If an emergency arises, your agents can log out and deal with it! No need to scramble to find a substitute for their seat or worry about leaving dozens of questions unanswered.
Contact Center Feature 2: Queue & Agent Prioritization
This feature allows medical offices to create specific call queues for different types of patients, prioritizing urgent calls. For instance, your emergency department can set a queue for critical trauma cases so they can answer them ASAP. At the same time, other non-critical calls are placed in another queue.
Agent prioritization works the same way! Suppose a patient calls in with a specific – or highly specialized – problem. In that case, they are sent to the agent that knows the most about the problem or condition. Equipping the right person with the right task will save you precious time and put your patients at ease.
Contact Center Feature 3: Estimated Wait Time & Position Announcements
Few things are more frustrating to patients than not knowing when they’ll be taken care of. After all, they lead busy lives. They can’t afford to stay on hold indefinitely. That’s why estimated wait time and queue position announcement features are crucial parts of a telehealth communications system.
Estimated wait time announcements give the patient a sense of when their appointment will occur, helping them manage their expectations and plan accordingly. These announcements are usually determined by advanced analytics software built into the platform. It tracks call patterns and current service levels to estimate callers’ wait times.
Position announcements function similarly. It gives the caller confidence that they won’t be passed up for another patient while “in line” for their telehealth appointment. It’s basically additional reassurance that the line is dwindling, and they’ll receive attention very soon.
Contact Center Feature 4: Mid-Queue Menu Options
Mid-queue menu options allow medical centers to give patients more control over their telehealth experience.
Mid-queue menu options give your patients more control over their telehealth experience. By allowing callers to request a call back if they don’t want to wait, you’re helping prevent call abandonment. When you offer this call-back feature, you’re reducing the chance of lost business. If a patient abandons a call, they are more likely to look for another provider, but if they have the option to request a call back instead, they’re more likely to wait to hear back from you.
Mid-queue menus make the caller’s experience more accessible (and more enjoyable) and give you – the healthcare provider – to provide a stellar experience before ever even talking with them.
Bonus Feature: Granular Queue & Agent Reporting
Granular queue reporting allows supervisors to view specific attributes on a queue-by-queue basis, such as call volume, calls handled, abandoned calls, callbacks, average wait time, and much more.
The agent reporting displays statistics by agent, such as extension, department, talk time, missed calls, and more.
As an advanced analytics option, granular queue and agent reporting offers several different reporting metrics for queues and agents that supervisors can view to make smart decisions.
Boost Your Telehealth Capabilities with Axion Communications
At Axion Communications, we know medical providers need specialized communication solutions. This is why our communications platform includes call center level queue functionality, enabling agent login/logout, queue and agent level prioritization, estimated wait time and position announcement, mid-queue menu options for callers, and many other useful features – specially designed to support telehealth in all its forms.
Plus, our solutions are 100% HIPAA compliant, meaning you can protect essential customer data automatically. No additional solutions are required!
Are you interested in learning more? Reach out today, and we’ll happily give you an overview of our services!
