Operations & Logistics
5 min read

A Deep Dive into US Healthcare Call Center Challenges
Ziv Gidron Head of Content, Hyro
A Deep Dive into US Healthcare Call Center Challenges

Are US healthcare call centers in need of a major overhaul?

 

If you ask the patients on the other side of the line, there’s no two ways about it. Our State of Healthcare Call Centers report revealed that 49% of patients are unsatisfied with the service they receive from their healthcare provider’s call center.

Patient Satisfaction With Us Healthcare Call Centers
Source: Hyro's State Of Healthcare Call Centers Report

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

 

There are more significant and costly challenges lurking beneath the surface that have driven this crucial segment of the US healthcare industry into a precarious position, including agent burnout, outdated technologies, and constant internal pressure to prove value and ROI.

So, how can healthcare call centers transform themselves to deliver better patient experiences, retain their agents, and boost operational efficiency?

 

In this piece, we’ll dig into the core of these issues and shed light on possible solutions. Let’s jump right in.

Patient Satisfaction on Hold

“Your call is important to us.” 

 

Well, not quite, especially when you consider that the average hold time for US healthcare call centers currently stands at 4.4 minutes, as our report shows.

Average Hold Time For Us Healthcare Call Centers
Source: Hyro's State Of Healthcare Call Centers Report

The frustration is palpable too. Nearly one out of every six callers (16%) simply hangs up before getting a chance to speak with an agent.

Source: Hyro's State Of Healthcare Call Centers Report

According to Accenture, 50% of healthcare consumers believe that a single negative digital experience can significantly impact their overall perception of their healthcare provider.

Not only do longer hold times lead to poor patient experiences, but they also place increased pressure on call center agents, who oftentimes work understaffed and are bombarded with a deluge of inbound calls. 

Research shows that 74% of call center agents are at risk of burning out. The culprits? Surging call volumes, monotonous tasks, inadequate training, and constant pressure to meet monthly performance targets.

But here’s the catch: How can call center leaders invest in technologies and systems to automate workflows and routine processes when they don’t have the internal support needed to succeed? 

Call Center Leaders Are Under Pressure To Prove Roi
Source: Hyro's State Of Healthcare Call Centers Report

“The call center is that power steering fluid in the car that no one thinks about until they lose the value of it. But the minute you don’t have it, then you realize the value,” said Julian Ammons, Chief Director of IT Digital Cloud Development Ops at Baptist Health, in our recently held live fireside chat digging into the current state of US healthcare call centers. 

“The call center is that power steering fluid in the car that no one thinks about until they lose the value of it. But the minute you don't have it, then you realize the value."

Julian Ammons

Our report found that the average annual cost of operating a healthcare call center lies in the ballpark of $13.9 million, with nearly $6 million or 43% allocated to labor costs alone. 

Total Cost Of Operation Of A Us Healthcare Call Center
Source: Hyro's State Of Healthcare Call Centers Report

But what about technology to help streamline workflows and prevent agent burnout? 

Not exactly a priority.

We discovered that only 0.6% of annual operating budget is spent on technologies to prevent agent burnout and turnover, pointing at a costly missed opportunity when it comes to agent retention. McKinsey estimates that attrition costs contact centers $10,000 to $20,000 per agent.

Bridging Technology Gaps

Outdated technologies such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) lack the capacity to provide personalized interactions and extract valuable patient journey insights, resulting in negative patient experiences and higher abandonment rates.

Julian Ammons even referred to IVR systems as “menu jails” and for good reason. 61% of American consumers believe that IVR makes for poor customer experiences. What’s more, this technology comes with a hefty price tag, costing organizations approximately $262 per customer every year.

But these technology gaps extend beyond just managing inbound calls. It appears that the biggest hurdle facing call center leaders in demonstrating their call center’s ROI lies in having the appropriate technology to measure and quantify results effectively.

“We don’t have tools to track the patient journey and experience from the point of inception that can really allow us to quantify and show the value in a centralized center. We don’t have that information to demonstrate value,” pointed out Omar De La Cruz, Former Director of the Customer Care Contact Center at Adventist Health, who joined Ammons as a panelist.  

Neglecting to adopt modern call center technologies puts healthcare organizations in danger of falling behind. However, there’s a silver lining: today’s market offers tools and solutions that can help bridge these gaps without necessitating a complete overhaul of existing infrastructure. And at the heart of these solutions lies the power of AI.

The AI-Driven Future of Healthcare Call Centers

Here’s just a short list highlighting the advantages of integrating AI into healthcare call centers:

 

  • Faster Response Times: Call center AI solutions can swiftly assess patient needs, route patients to the appropriate point of care, and deliver answers instantly, resulting in quicker response times and better patient outcomes.  

  • Scalability: As call volumes fluctuate, AI-driven systems can scale to accommodate increased demand without compromising service quality.

These are just glimpses of the advantages an AI-powered call center brings.

 

So does that mean AI going to replace call center agents? 

 

Not anytime soon says Julian Ammons.

“People still require that warm human interaction. There is something about a human being that cannot be replaced. I think a lot of people are nervous when they start talking about ChatGPT and that type of technology. Oh, it’s gonna replace me, it’s gonna take away my job. ChatGPT like all technology is a supplement to a human being,” Ammons passionately pointed out.

“People still require that warm human interaction. There is something about a human being that cannot be replaced.

Julian Ammons

But change is not something that is going to magically happen overnight in an industry as complex as the healthcare industry. Budget constraints, concerns about compliance and patient data privacy, integration with existing technologies, and other risks have held healthcare organizations back for ages.

“We’re probably looking at a five-year project plan,” said De La Cruz semi-pessimistically. 

Can US healthcare call centers be repaired? 

Discover key findings that can help redefine your call center strategy in The State of Healthcare Call Centers 2023. Download the full report today.

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About the author
Ziv Gidron Head of Content, Hyro

Ziv is Hyro’s Head of Content, a conversational AI expert, and a passionate storyteller devoted to delivering his audiences with insights that matter when they matter most. When he’s not obsessively consuming or creating content on digital health and AI, you can find him rocking out to Fleetwood Mac with his four-year-old son.

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