La Clínica launched the Contra Costa Call Center in 2017 with the strategic goal to provide assistance to the community that La Clínica serves, making it a gateway to all of our services and to a transformative client-centered experience.
A well-trained and highly motivated Call Center team offers a convenient central point of contact that aims to provide first call resolution to patients’ requests. Coordinated communication between the Call Center and the clinics’ service providers results in the best possible customer experience for our patients and a high level of patient satisfaction.
The Call Center is an integral part of the care team as patients connect with their health care providers beyond their visits. Patients are linked with health care services at their medical home with one phone call, maximizing their convenience to schedule, change and confirm appointments, request prescription refills, enquire about lab results and referrals, and have access to nurse advice. Focus on quality outcomes through use of technology for call monitoring and improving interactions ensures consistent positive patient experience.
Prior to implementing a Call Center for La Clínica’s Contra Costa clinics, Clinical Office Assistants at the front desk were inundated with answering phone calls while trying to check in patients for appointments and handling billing and other tasks. The Call Center has not only alleviated phone traffic in the clinic but also standardized the information patients receive and decreased wait times on the line as calls are answered on the first ring. Close monitoring and training of the Call Center staff has resulted in a high level of service that is both consistent and efficient. Centralizing this service for our patients has improved patients’ access to coordinated healthcare as well as clinic workflow.
As the Call Center Manager, feedback from patients and the community is rewarding for the Call Center as patients no longer have to come to the clinic to obtain information on their services. Patients are pleasantly surprised and very appreciative when their calls are answered quickly and efficiently helped by the staff. Quality of our service will continue to improve as we focus on our strategic goal of enhancing patient experience that will lead to better patient engagement. — Elizabeth Brasier, Call Center Manager