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How Healthcare Customer Service Can Be Improved Upon

 

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The healthcare industry has been under major strain in the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a shortage of nurses and a further 29% of RNs plan to leave the workforce entirely.

Dealing with employee shortages requires healthcare customer service to be at its best. Patients have to be kept up to date and clear communication is required to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need.

Chatbots and Emojis

The healthcare industry can benefit from further utilization of chatbots and AI-led communications. Healthcare providers can use chatbots to complete menial-but-time-consuming tasks, like triage allocation during times of resource and staff shortages.

Chatbots can replace some patient-provider interactions, too. Many patients already surf the web in search of a self-diagnosis which may result in faulty readings. A triage chatbot can help patients get the help they need by asking a series of questions about the patient’s symptoms and the severity of their condition.

Unfortunately, healthcare literacy is relatively low in the U.S. This makes it harder for healthcare providers to communicate clearly with patients who need help. Fortunately, emojis are here to help. Triage chatbots can use emojis to improve healthcare by following up questions with medically accurate emojis that symbolize things like kidneys, hearts, or limbs. This will ensure that patients understand the topic of conversation and improve diagnoses.

Emojis may even find their way into the treatment room itself. As Harvard Medical School instructor Dr. Shuhan Heanguage explains, emojis can help providers “ask the fundamental question, ‘How do you feel?’” as many patients may find it easier to pick an emoji rather than describe their condition through words.

Training

There are more patient portals and points of service today than ever before. As a result, healthcare providers need to be trained to deliver great customer service even if they aren’t seeing a patient in person.

Training physicians to use applications like virtual meeting software and real-time chat services ensure that customer service remains effective across all platforms. Professionals who don’t know how to utilize the programs they are using are unlikely to give patients the level of care they are looking for.

There are plenty of HIPAA complaint customer service workshops to choose from. However, the best workshops today should teach healthcare professionals how to maintain a positive, friendly persona while working through a range of patient portals and points of service.

AI Applications

AI is revolutionizing CRMs around the globe — healthcare CRMs should be no different. Healthcare CRMs that utilize AI can automate time-consuming processes, spot trends in patient data, and improve healthcare customer service for all.

Data collected by the American Medical Association shows that 70% of physicians spend 10 hours or more weekly on paperwork and administrative tasks. Filing paperwork requires a healthcare professional’s time and energy, which may lead to poorer patient service.

AI can be used to streamline the paperwork process, too. HIPAA-compliant medical CRM software uses AI to reduce the need for human input without jeopardizing the standard of care that patients expect. AI-driven CRM software also makes use of data analytics, so providers can get the insights they need when they need them.

Data Analytics

Healthcare CRMs are designed to help healthcare professionals get the information they need as quickly as possible. However, when looking at large data sets, it’s easy to get analysis paralysis and miss important customer service details.

Using CRMs that are capable of analytic process automation (APA) is key. APA allows organizations to share and automate data, this can unlock insights that are both prescriptive and predictive, meaning healthcare providers can spot trends and identify issues before they impact patients.

APA also makes it easier for providers to find relevant data. This improves day-to-day efficiency and allows healthcare professionals to focus on the basics of excellent customer service like maintaining friendly body language, using simple terms to demystify medical jargon, and actively listening to patients’ complaints.

Streamlined Communications 

Automated CRMs may also streamline communications between departments and improve the patient experience. Rather than relying on manual inputs, automated healthcare CRMs require minimal input from providers and will do the rest of the work on their behalf.

This is particularly important in hospitals where resources are still strained. Shortages can be addressed much quicker if patient care and release are automated for maximum efficiency. This may even save patients money, as they won’t be taking up a bed when they are fit to be discharged.

Virtual queuing can also improve patient-to-provider communications. Call centers are usually understaffed during busy periods, like patient enrollment times. However, hiring new staff would result in higher overheads down the line. Instead, healthcare insurance providers can use virtual queuing to reduce wait times and improve customer service without overstaffing.

Conclusion

The healthcare industry is under strain. However, healthcare professionals still need to provide an excellent level of customer service to ensure that all patients get the treatment they need. Healthcare providers can support workers by utilizing AI-integrated CRMs and HIPAA-compliant data analysis techniques to improve efficiency and provide all patients with a high standard of care.