Medical Call Center Industry News

October 2005

LVM Solves On-Call and "Insurance Accepted" Updates

For healthcare call centers, maintaining accurate physician profile information is paramount.  For call center managers and staff, two data elements seem to cause the greatest frustration:

• "Insurances accepted" for practices participating in physician referral, and

• On-call schedules, whether used in association with triage or answering services.

Bad data means unhappy patients, callers, and physicians...and disgruntled call center staff.  Call center managers dream of a Web interface that would allow physicians (well, their office staff, anyway) to update their profiles and on-call schedules, shifting the onus to the practices themselves.  However, with this vision comes an aftermath of IS concern, Web security, and firewall protection issues.  Plus, on the physician practice side, would they be able to access the Internet application?  Also, how much training would be required?

LVM Systems has a solution with their E-Centaurus software; it produces a simple Excel form that clearly displays the insurance data or on-call schedule for each physician.  For participating practices, the export process is fully automated and can be scheduled to go out via email in a batch routine.

The practice simply opens the Excel file, reviews the information, edits it as necessary, saves the changes, and sends it back to the call center.  The Excel spreadsheet can be reviewed first by staff, or saved directly into the data directory.  The E-Centaurus software then automatically updates the on-call schedule or insurance information for each physician. 

For more information, contact LVM at info@lvmsystems.com or 480-633-8200 x232.

Telescan Introduces Desktop Activity Monitor

The Spectrum Messenger, Telescan's desktop communications tool, can now include the Desktop Activity Monitor.  This new optional software feature scans all desktops using the Messenger and delivers a visual representation of those desktops to authorized personnel.  Coupled with Spectrum Messenger's existing features, the Desktop Activity Monitor makes Telescan's desktop communications tool the ideal solution for any teleservices call center interested in instant desk-to-desk communications, email delivery, file transfers, and reminder notifications.

To find out more about Telescan's new Desktop Activity Monitor, call 800-770-7662 .

Make a Great First Impression with Dynamic Answer Phrases

Infinity can help call centers make a great first impression with dynamic answer phrases.  With this new feature, the answer phrase for each account is dynamically changed to insert the desired information, including:

• Operator's name - Customize the answer phrase for each operator by inserting their name in the answer phrase.  For example, "Thank you for calling Dr.  Smith's office, this is Lisa, how may I help you?"

• Time-sensitive phrases - Automatically add "Good Morning," "Good Afternoon," or "Good Evening" to the answer phrase, based on the current time of day. 

• ANI name - Include the caller's name in the answer phrase, such as, "Good morning, Dr. Johnson's Office, how may I help you Mr. Wilson?"

• ANI number - Insert the ANI number into the answer phrase.  For example, "Thank you for calling the Pediatric Department, I see you are calling from 555-4567, how may I help you?"

• Status - Include the physician's current status with the answer phrase, such as, "Good afternoon, Dr. Julien's office; Dr. Julien is currently out of the office, how may I help you?"

For more information, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148 or info@1call.com. 

SHUG and SNUG Merge

Startel National Users' Group (SNUG) announced the completion of the merger with the Startel Hospital User Group (SHUG).  SNUG president Dennis O'Hara said, "We're excited to have SHUG join us as this will result in a stronger, more diverse user group bringing more resources to the table."  

Tanisha Threats, president of SHUG added, "We are energized about the opportunities that merging with SNUG presents to the healthcare group.  It affords us the chance to exchange ideas and concerns with a larger group."

 SNUG is a not-for-profit professional association serving the membership of education needs of Startel equipment users.  For more information, call 800-317-8529 or visit www.teamsnug.com. 

1Call Infinity Completes Integration Testing with Cisco

The 1Call Division of Amtelco announced that the 1Call Infinity system has successfully completed interoperability testing with the Cisco Call Manager version 4.1(3).  The interface between the two systems is Primary Rate ISDN running QSIG protocol.  The Infinity system and Cisco Call Manager function together to provide Intelligent Console solutions for healthcare and higher education organizations, a voice mail system for telephone carriers, and a commercial call center system.

Using Infinity and the Cisco Call Manager, Infinity receives called party, calling party, and calling party name.  For calls forwarded to Infinity, an additional QSIG forwarding message (such as no answer, busy, forward all) is included, along with the diverting party and diverting party name.  This makes it possible for Infinity to forward calls to operators with the identity of the forwarding station.

For more information on the 1Call Infinity system and the ISDN QSIG Integration with the Cisco Call Manager, call 1Call at 800-356-9148 or email info@1call.com.

Telescan Wins TAM Awards

The Business Marketing Association (BMA) of St.  Louis recently announced that Telescan has received two of their coveted Targeted Advertising and Marketing Awards (TAM) for their 2005 marketing programs.  The awards were presented to Telescan and their agency, Marketing Alliance, at a ceremony in September.  Telescan and Marketing Alliance received the awards for an article that appeared in Connections Magazine and for their ad titled, "How Well Does Your TAS System Fit?" which also appeared in Connections.  This is the third year in a row that the BMA has recognized Telescan and Marketing Alliance for marketing excellence.

"We are delighted that the Business Marketing Association has chosen to recognize our marketing efforts," said Robert Riggs, Jr., Telescan's Director.  "We believe that a strong marketing program is critical to business success."

To find out more about Telescan, call 800-770-7662.

Save Time Processing Calls with Auto ANI Routing

The 1Call Division of Amtelco announced automatic routing based on ANI (Automatic Number Identification, also known as Caller ID).  Using the new Infinity auto ANI routing feature, callers will:

• Hear a special greeting, letting them know their phone is forwarded

• Be sent to the voice check-in line, allowing physicians or staff to pick up messages

• Follow the behavior of another account, by having a particular ANI set to change to a different account

Some of the possible uses include:

• Eliminating calls to operators while simplifying check-in and check-out procedures for a physician's office staff

• Routing after-hours calls from a physician's home or cell phone directly to a dispatcher

• Sending calls from a specific patient to a particular operator or a supervisor

• Preventing unwanted callers from reaching an operator

• Directing a physician's call to the manager

The Auto ANI numbers and routing are set up individually per account, giving call centers the ability to customize the call routing for each physician or department.

For more information on Infinity and the new Infinity ANI Routing feature, call 1Call at 800-356-9148, or email info@1call.com.

NAEO Members Launch Numerous Katrina Relief Efforts

In the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the National Amtelco Equipment Owners (NAEO) group stepped up to offer assistance for the Gulf Coast area and the many teleservice employees left jobless.  NAEO has gone far beyond their "Members Helping Members" slogan to provide help to fellow industry members that were affected.

A number of NAEO members geared up their staff and call centers to handle the immense traffic load for relief agencies, logging donations, and assisting those in need.  In addition, NAEO members set up an Operator Relief Fund "to help those that say ‘May I help you?' hundreds of times a day."  According to Marci Imes, NAEO President, "As an industry, we immediately recognized that many call center staff members were impacted by Katrina and we needed to find a way to help those who have helped so many over the years."  Although contributions are not tax-deductible, $82,000 have already been contributed. 

Betty Bouchie, the NAEO Operator Relief Fund Coordinator, created a list of teleservice companies able to employ displaced agents, both near the Gulf area, as well as further away.  According to Bouchie, "We have a number of call centers who have offered to re-locate agents, often including housing as well as a paycheck, while the details of their new lives can be planned.  We have a team working closely to contact and locate call centers in the area.  We hope to reach as many call center workers as possible."