Human Connection Creates Meaningful Patient Interactions

There’s a profound comfort in knowing you always have a listening ear available when it comes to your health. In times when you’re feeling scared, frustrated, angry, or sad, a meaningful connection with a person ready and willing to step in and help is invaluable. A significant, positive shift can take place within a matter of minutes, all in just a simple phone call.

Commit to Answering Every Call Live 24/7/365

Often, a patient’s first interaction with a medical provider is by phone before they ever see a doctor. There is a high level of trust and reliability that’s expected and must be established from the get-go. The person answering the phone sets the tone for the patient experience.

Similar to customer expectations for any type of service, healthcare system customers want the 1:1  attention and experience of talking with a real person. Partnering with a patient call center can ensure your patients get that personalization and attention any time they call, day or night, holidays, and weekends.

Great patient contact centers work as an extension of your practice, ensuring a patient experience that reflects the high-level of service and medical expertise your organization provides. Being accessible to patients is a great first step, but there’s more to consider when creating meaningful patient interactions.

Build a Team That Makes a Difference

Creating an impactful human connection starts by hiring people who have excellent customer service skills. It requires actively listening to each caller and interpreting the sensitivity and urgency of what the caller is saying. Anticipating needs is just as important as answering patient questions.

Whether you depend on your own internal front desk team or your patient call center partner,  hiring the right people is important to being able to create meaningful patient interactions. When evaluating a candidate, look for an innate drive to help others and a sincere ability to show empathy. They must also be able to think outside of the box and go off script when necessary to deliver a personalized level of service and care. No two situations are exactly alike, which means the ability to adapt and still provide a premium level of service is of great value.

If partnering with a patient call center, ask about their hiring practices. Does their recruiting experience and employment opportunity mirror your organization’s values? Are they evaluating the traits that help ensure a meaningful patient experience for the people they serve on your behalf?

Empower Your Front Desk Beyond Transactions

Meaningful patient interactions are built through caring exchanges. Empowering patient call center associates with ongoing training, access to resources, and supporting them with great technology helps them fully address each patient’s unique needs.

For example, while you have the patient on the phone, take a minute to check their profile and see if there are any outstanding tests or orders. You can save the patient from having to make another call, and it lets them know someone is wholly focused on their well-being.

After all, healthcare is personal. Patients seek those who are attentive to their problems and questions in real-time with empathy and urgency for the situation. Positive patient call experiences are an extension of the bedside manner of your providers.

With such a deep understanding of what a day-to-day looks like, it’s easier to step in and support where needed to create an optimal patient experience. LYP Health Management is led by executives well-versed with practice operations and healthcare systems. This institutional knowledge serves as a strong foundation for the type and quality of service provided.