Digital Strategies and the Changing Role of Call Centers: From Cost to Revenue Center
// By Robin Snow //
Call centers in health care used to be treated like the ugly stepchild of the health system, banished to the basement of some administrative building and populated with low-performing employees. Because it was seen as a necessary evil, most executives treated the call center as a cost center. Under this perception, most measures and initiatives related to the call center focused on cutting costs to increase the return on investment. And to be fair, staffing needs, technology updates, and equipment do require large amounts of capital.
But this is changing. Per A.J. Melaragno, president of Singola Consulting, health care should follow the lead of other industries and see call centers not as a necessary evil but as an integral part of a sales and revenue chain.
As the overall health care industry shifts toward preventive care and population health strategies, a funny thing is happening to the world of call centers: With the right strategies and changes, a call center can be transformed into a revenue generator that not only increases the ROI and produces a better bottom line but also improves customer service and results in happy patients and physicians alike.
The Omnichannel Contact Center
A.J. Melaragno, president of Singola Consulting
As this change happens, old-fashioned call centers no longer have a place in the health care industry, Melaragno argues. Instead, technology upgrades, process improvements, and staff development result in an omnichannel contact center. This new contact center is much more than a traditional call center. It acts as a central hub and provides patients with a single place to navigate to receive services across the enterprise. With this new structure in place, patients no longer must repeat information over and over to schedule services across departments. A fully functioning omnichannel contact center gives patients, physicians, and the community-at-large the freedom to choose how and when they interact with their health system. This drives customer satisfaction as well as increased engagement, a prime goal of your digital strategies.