27th Annual Conference Of Healthcare Call Centers 2015 Healthcare Call Center Survey Results Executive Summary of Findings, Insights and Ideas June 11, 2015 Healthcare Call Center Times Corporate Healthcare Group ND&P
Overview of Research and Methodology Nationwide benchmark survey of healthcare call centers conducted every three years ( 06, 09, 12, 15) Measure trends and issues impacting call centers today as well as their strategic role and future within the healthcare organization Web-based, opt-in survey instrument with over 80 (qualitative and quantitative) questions Promoted via magazine, newsletters, email and word-of-mouth 77 healthcare call centers participated in the 2015 survey Jointly sponsored by Healthcare Call Center Times, Corporate Health Group and ND&P
Profile of Respondents Title VP (4%) Director (52%) Supervisor (7%) Manager (35%) Years in Position Less than 1 (17%) 1-5 years (28%) 6-10 years (28%) 11-15 years (9%) 16-20 years (7%) 20+ years (11%) Reports To CEO (8%) VP (46%) Manager (6%) Director (40%) Planned Tenure 1-3 years (19%) 4-6 years (25%) 7-10 years (26%) More than 10 years (30%)
Type of Organization 17% 3% 3% 4% 4% 14% 21% 34% Multi-Hospital System Academic Single Hospital Medical Group Practice Health Plan/Managed Care Independent Outsourced Other Organization type that best describes where your call center is based
Focus of Organization 16% 13% 6% 42% Medical/Surgical Other Specialty Health Plan/Managed Care Physician 23% Focus of your healthcare organization
Type of Call Center 19% 32% 49% Clinical and Non-Clinical Non-Clinical Only Clinical Type of call center operation
Number of Years in Operation 18% 15% 7% 11% 28% More than 20 yrs 16-20 yrs 10-15 yrs 7-9 yrs 4-6 yrs 1-3 yrs 21% How many years has your call center been in operation?
Call Center Management 7% Managed In-house Combination All outsourced 93% Call center set-up
Inbound Call Volume 70% 53% 35% 61% Less than 5,000 5,000 to 10,000 More than 10,000 18% 0% 18% 21% Average total inbound call volume per month
Outbound Call Volume 40% 30% 20% 10% 25% 39% 36% Less than 1,000 1,000 to 5,000 More than 5,000 0% Average total outbound call volume per month
Staff Size 50% 38% 25% 13% 20% 41% 12% 10% 17% 1-10 11-30 31-50 51-100 100+ 0% Staff size (in FTE s). Chart grouped for reporting purposes but survey more detailed.
Inbound Call Center Services Physician Referral 66% 73% Appointments 50% 66% Physician-to-Physician 48% 55% Scheduling Nurse Triage 54% 50% 48% 63% 2015 2012 Health Information 46% 58% Class/Event Registration 46% 50% Answering Service 30% 35% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Inbound call services offered through your call center
Inbound Call Center Services (continued) Patient Transfers 35% 38% Post-Discharge Clin Support 32% 31% Patient/Customer Satisfaction Switchboard Pre-Registration Patient Care/Navigation 17% 19% 19% 23% 25% 25% 34% 32% Note Increase 2015 2012 Disease Management 13% 15% Other 11% 29% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Inbound call services offered through your call center
Outbound Call Center Services Post-Discharge Clin Followup 58% 69% Appointment Reminders 42% 41% Pre-Appt or Admissions 16% 24% Note Decrease 2015 2012 Patient Satisfaction 21% 44% Patient/Care Navigator 21% 22% 0% 17.5% 35% 52.5% 70% Outbound call services offered through your call center
Internet Involvement and Web Support Support/Respond to Email 62% 67% Call Back Link on Web Site 16% 31% None/Nothing Monitor Social Media 2% 10% 25% 36% 2015 2012 Respond to Social Media 7% 10% 0% 18% 35% 53% 70% Please indicate which Web and other online services your call center is involved with
Internet Involvement and Web Support (continued) Live Text Chat 4% 7% Live Voice Online Video Chat Online 2% 2% 2% 4% 2015 2012 Other 7% 10% 0% 3% 6% 8% 11% Please indicate which Web and other online services your call center is involved with
Scheduling Services Physician Practices (Owned) 62% Community Physicians (Non-owned) 19% Ancillary Services 38% 2015 Behavioral Health Services 3% Home Health 3% 0% 18% 35% 53% 70% For which services does your call center handle scheduling?
Transfer Centers No, not at this time 40% Yes, clinical and non-clinical 32% 2015 Yes, clinical only 23% Yes, non-clinical only 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Do you offer a transfer center within the call center or somewhere else?
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Integration Yes 61% 84% Note Increase No, and no plans to 7% 8% 2015 2012 No, planning in the future 9% 31% 0% 23% 45% 68% 90% Does your call center have access to or interface with your organization s EMR?
Management Challenges 4 3 2015 2012 2.86 3.38 2.94 2.91 3.07 3.59 3.83 3.30 3.96 2.58 2 2.23 2.29 1 0 Resources (People, Capital) Integration within Org Valued for Contributions How to Support the Org Senior Commitment Lack Strategy Management challenges: (1 being most challenging to 5 being least challenging)
Strategic Importance (Organizational) Note Increase 40% 30% 20% 10% 2015 2012 2009 2006 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 How would you rate the strategic importance of the call center to the organization? (1 being lowest importance to 7 being highest importance)
Strategic Importance (Senior Management) 40% 30% 20% 10% 2015 2012 2009 2006 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 How would you rate the strategic importance of the call center to senior management? (1 being lowest importance to 7 being highest importance)
The Strategic Importance Gap 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Importance to Management Importance to Organization
Strategic Plan Integration Strategy 15% 28% Tactic 13% 13% Both 50% 67% 2015 2012 Note Increase Other 6% 9% 0% 18% 35% 53% 70% How is the call center included in the organization s strategic plan and initiatives?
Business Plans 60% 57% 45% 49% 30% 29% 2015 2012 15% 21% 21% 14% 9% 0% Yes No No (But Plan To) Don t Know Do you have a CALL CENTER business plan?
Measuring Value Caller Satisfaction 76% 81% Department Satisfaction 70% 70% Return-on-Investment (ROI) Cost Savings to Organization 36% 45% 50% 57% 2015 2012 FTE Savings to Organization 21% 24% None 2% 6% 0% 22.5% 45% 67.5% 90% How do you measure VALUE for the call center? (Mark all that apply)
Return-on-Investment (ROI) 60% 53% 45% 44% 30% 36% 28% 2015 2012 15% 20% 19% 0% Yes No No (But Plan To) Do you measure Return On Investment (ROI) for the call center?
Measuring ROI 60% 45% 60% 2015 30% 36% 40% 32% 15% 0% Track Actual Revenue Estimate Based on Volume Expense Reduction Reduce Readmissions Other 4% If so, how do you measure ROI? (check one)
Marketing the Call Center Internet Advertising 29% 33% Print (newspaper or magazine) 15% 23% Television 17% 21% Social Media Direct Mail 17% 16% 21% 22% 2015 2012 Radio 14% 20% Outdoor 12% 12% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Rate the value of each marketing channel (only very important shown)
Other Challenges Peak Times 71% 70% 75% Managing Pgms 56% 66% 63% Hiring Staff 38% 35% 55% Technology Staff Retention Other 2% 15% 14% 23% 24% 38% 42% 49% 58% Note Increase 2015 2012 2009 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Other challenges do you face in operating/improving the effectiveness of your call center?
Accountable Care 47% 53% Yes No Is your call center currently involved in any medical home or accountable care initiatives?
What the Future Holds
Future Services 100% 94% 91% 89% 89% 75% 50% Increase Stay the Same Decrease 25% 0% 6% 0% 9% 0% 8% 3% 10% 2015 2012 2009 2006 1% What do you see happening to your service offerings in the next two years?
Future Staffing 80% 77% 72% 60% 60% 40% 47% 45% 39% Increase Stay the Same Decrease 20% 19% 28% 0% 4% 2015 2012 2009 2006 9% 1% What do you see happening to your staff in the next two years?
Future Budgets 70% 66% 53% 57% 55% 35% 36% 41% 41% 41% Increase Stay the Same Decrease 18% 25% 19% 0% 9% 6% 2015 2012 2009 2006 4% What do you see happening to your call center budget in the next two years?
Future Importance 90% 68% 74% 85% 74% 81% 45% More Important Remain the Same Less Important 23% 0% 26% 24% 19% 15% 2% 2015 2012 2009 2006 Over the next two years, will the call center be
Two Long-term Themes Emerge in the 2015 Study: Automation and Care Management
Automation More virtual, texting, telehealth More patient directed scheduling via e-scheduling-- less human phone interactions Much less human interaction-- patient self scheduling via e-portals; electronic appt confirmations standard Less based around a physical call, more self service I think there will be more virtual and online interaction and less phone I believe and hope that there will be more electronic means of communication, such as IM, Text, Video chat, etc.
Care Management More additional work from our center to support clinical practices; perhaps moving into population management More "virtual" call centers; more technology to enable more real time monitoring; greater integration with the EMR Will be using video triaging Triage and Transfer center operation will become less of a focus with physician office services and discharge patient care roles increasing. Patient, family-centered care focused. More web-based and mobile-based encounters; fewer physician referrals; more care management
Preparing Our Call Centers and Ourselves for the Future Ensure existing technology can support an "e" environment Create procedures and policies so that the call center operates like well well oiled machine. Learn everything we can; remain open to new ideas Experiment. Start building services in these new areas as pilots then full services. Network with colleagues, research trade pubs, site visits, conferences. Identify opportunities for your dept. to shine. Integration with physician practices; more involvement with cost control Understand the need for patient driven healthcare, access to data analytics Remember that we are part of a "telemedicine" or "remote" medical solution versus just the traditional call center model. Flexibility; adaptability; open-minded can-do attitude
Questions & Discussion What new things have you learned from this year s survey? What are the implications for the healthcare call center industry? How will you use this data in your organization? What changes or improvements could we make to the survey?