In order to offer a seamless patient experience, healthcare providers see patient concierge as a crucial service because it enables patients to easily inquire about a doctor’s schedule, the type of tests they need to submit before a consultation or inquire about the lab test schedule and corresponding fees. But how can providers continue to maintain excellent patient care through patient concierge?

Imagine this scenario: A patient requires post-treatment care and follow-up checkups after their surgery. Knowing their doctor’s schedule, they go to the doctor’s clinic, tests results in hand. Thirty minutes pass by only to find out that the doctor is out. Frustrated, the patient is forced to reschedule.

This could have been avoided if the patient was notified beforehand if the doctor would be in or out during their scheduled appointment. They would not have to spend all that time going to the clinic, only to be told that the doctor isn’t available.

This is where Patient Concierge plays a crucial role. It is one of the most effective ways to maintain quality patient experience while improving patient satisfaction. This type of service provides better access for patients who require information off-site and essentially gives them instructions before a lab test, like fasting before a blood test. Many healthcare providers invest in this service because it allows them to focus on high-quality patient service and eliminate long wait times, patient overflow, and low satisfaction scores.

In fact, a survey found that about 90% of patients are satisfied with their care through patient concierge, and around 97% mentioned that the healthcare provider they are in contact with takes a personal interest in their health than those in a traditional clinical setup.

However, with the numerous tasks, patient service representatives have, instilling an effective patient concierge system may be challenging, especially when the provider does not have enough staff to handle inquiries & attend to the patients’ and visitors’ needs. With the high influx of inquiries yet a low number of representatives, this leads to dissatisfied patients, and thus a poor patient experience.

This is where building a team with a global services partner comes in. How? Here are 3 ways:

1. Quality Patient Support

Global service partners build teams of highly-trained patient concierge specialists who may have a background in healthcare or allied health in order to provide patient support via EHR software like eCW, referral management systems like Par8o, and phone systems like Avaya.

It is the job of the patient concierge to assist patients during their check-in processes and answer any inquiries or concerns the patient might have during the course of their interaction. They are the first “touch” in a healthcare provider’s facility, so even by speaking over the phone, they already must show empathy and genuine care.

2. Operational Excellence

Healthcare providers often seek help from global service partners when they need to address patient complaints such as long wait times, be it waiting in line or on the phone for an average of six minutes. Patients even feel more frustrated when the line is busy. Expect these patients to complain and not return to the healthcare provider. An indifferent patient service strategy is really bad for business.

Your dedicated patient concierge team delivers top-notch results in decreasing wait times and managing calls, appointment-setting, and other administrative patient needs. For instance, outsourced teams have a daily volume of 500-800 outbound calls and 100-300 inbound calls, answered in less than 30 seconds. With this strategy in place, healthcare providers can expect improved patient experience and satisfaction.

3. Risk Management

Healthcare businesses deal with sensitive patient information, so they need a trusted partner that follows the right rules and regulations when it comes to data privacy, especially with patient concierge where individuals call in and give their important details.

Many service partners are HIPAA-compliant and take extra steps in ensuring that their teams work in a highly-secured environment where there are no data breaches. They set up the right equipment and install the right software to keep data in and cyberthreats out. A globally-trusted healthcare solutions partner treats your patients as theirs and works hard to take care of their information.

With a reputable service partner, you can build a team of patient concierge specialists that will eliminate long wait times, concretely address patient questions and concerns before and after consultations or procedures, follow up with patients regarding scheduled appointments and lab results, and contact providers to schedule appointments on behalf of their patients, further improving patient experience and satisfaction because patients can access their doctors and spend more time with them. High patient satisfaction leads to better trust and increased revenue.

Infinit-O is the trusted customer-centric and sustainable leader in Business Process Optimization to Small and Medium businesses in the Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology sectors by delivering continuous improvement through technology, data and people.

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