Medical Call Center Industry News

August/September 2006

2006 National Pediatric Telehealth Conference Registration Materials Available

Children's Physician Network (CPN) will hold the 2006 National Pediatric Telehealth Conference, "Reach for the Stars."  This third annual conference will start Thursday afternoon September 14 and conclude Saturday afternoon September 16 in Bloomington, MN.

The conference is for an audience of office and call center triage nurses, physicians, and administrators.  This year, the conference will feature continuing education credits for physicians and nurses.  Featured speakers include Barton Schmitt, MD; David Thompson, MD; Nina Antoniotti, PhD, RN, MBA; and Carol Stock, JD, MN, RN.

Children's Physician Network (CPN) is a Minnesota non-profit organization.  The mission of CPN is to "enhance the value of care to children by improving services, supporting health care professionals and adding a pediatric voice to health care."  CPN is affiliated with Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

For details of future conferences including agenda, speakers, registration information, and accommodations, email childrenstriage@childrensmn.org call 952-931-3599.

HealthLine Systems Releases Physician Liaison Solution

HealthLine Systems™, Inc. released its Physician Liaison Solution, a component of EchoAccess™, a web-based contact center software solution.  This solution enables healthcare organizations to manage physician contacts, administer continuing medical education, eliminate the cost of redundant systems, and document physician relations program impact through a user-friendly interface. 

"Our goal is to provide our clients with the tools they need to compete in the evolving healthcare marketplace," explained Dan Littrell, Chief Executive Officer.  "For over 20 years, our success has been built by leveraging technology to deliver superior, flexible software solutions that anticipate both changing client needs and marketplace trends."

HealthLine Systems' Physician Liaison Solution recognizes provider data as the lifeblood of the healthcare information system and is the result of interviews with industry leaders, physician relations managers, and physician representatives, as well as HealthLine Systems' national Client Advisory Panel. 

For more information, contact Rick at RStier@HealthLineSystems.com.

1Call Holds Management Seminar

The 1Call Division of Amtelco hosted the seventh annual Management Seminar, June 6-8, 2006, in Madison, Wisconsin.  Attendees learned about many aspects of their systems, including account setup tips and a bonus session on using Infinity IS, as well as Red Alert Emergency Notification.  Several breakout sessions allowed attendees to pick topics best suited to their specific needs.  Guest speaker Betty Bouchie, System Analyst at Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, shared information on Web On-Call, National Amtelco Equipment Owners (NAEO), and operator training aids, including tests and exercises used at her call center.

Comments from seminar attendees included, "Presenters kept it educational and fun." "The seminar was very well done.  I got some great ideas." "Awesome job." "Great conference and great support from Amtelco.  Pleasure to see the ‘team' that they have." "This seminar was an exciting experience and very detailed.  Tom [Curtin], please be proud of your team.  They are like family, which means they care.  This is important!"

Next year's 1Call Management Seminar is scheduled for April 2007.  For more information, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148 or info@1call.com. 

Wake Forest University Physicians Win Award

Wake Forest University Physicians (WFUP) were presented the ‘Best Practices in Contact Center Operations Award' by Noble Systems Corporation.  The award recognizes WFUP for outstanding achievements in its patient services contact programs.  Since implementing an automated contact center technology solution and fine-tuning its operational processes, the organization has quadrupled dollars collected.  It has grown outbound contacts by more than 170% and inbound contacts by over 120%.  The group has also improved customer satisfaction, increased cash flow, and reduced operational expenses.  The award was announced at the Select Noble Users Group (SNUG) 2006 Conference.

"Noble Systems has enabled Wake Forest University Physicians' Business Operations to operate more efficiently, effectively, and economically," stated Denise Fetters, Associate Vice President, Business Operations.  Wake Forest University Physicians is the clinical practice entity of Wake Forest University Health Sciences.  It is comprised of 500 physicians who are the medical school's faculty and also serve as the attending staff of North Carolina Baptist Hospital.

For more information about Noble Systems, contact Lee Allum at 888-866-2538 x538 or lallum@noblesys.com.

Cosmopolitan Medical Earns Certification

The Association of Teleservices International (ATSI) announced that Cosmopolitan Medical Communications has received the Gold 24/7 Call Center Certification Award.  The Certification indicates that Cosmopolitan Medical Communications has met or exceeded high standards in the following areas: business practices; life safety; operations, including normal and emergency procedures; personnel hiring; training; and ongoing evaluations through a peer review program focusing on 99.9% annual run time.

ATSI is an international trade association for the TeleServices industry. 

MSB Appoints New Director of Sales

Austin-based Medical Service Bureau (MSB) announced today that Thomas B. Bond has been appointed Director of Sales.  MSB provides call center and support functions to the medical community.  Bond will be responsible for implementing the company's sales growth plan.  Robert Donnelly, Chief Operating Officer, stated, "We are excited to have Tom join our professional team as we accelerate the introduction of new and existing services to our expanding medical markets."

Beryl Companies Named One of Top Places to Work

The Beryl Companies, a healthcare-exclusive customer interaction center located in Bedford, TX, has been selected as one of the five "Best Places to Work" in Dallas/Fort Worth by the Dallas Business Journal and one of the top 20 "Best Companies to Work for" in Texas by the Texas Association of Business.  This is the fourth consecutive year that Beryl has been included as one of the Dallas Business Journal's top ten "Best Places to Work" for mid-sized companies.

"Being selected a top employer in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the state is a high honor," said Paul Spiegelman, Beryl's founder and CEO.  "Treating employees well produces greater loyalty, productivity, and an all-around happier place to be.  And, most important, it's just the right thing to do."

Eight of 16 Top Hospitals Use Amcom Solutions

Half of the hospitals ranked in the annual "Best Hospitals Report" published by U.S. News & World Report use Amcom software.  Eight out of the top 16 "America's Best Hospitals" have installed Smart Center, Smart Web, Smart Speech, Smart Console, and/or Amcom's e.Notify automated event notification system.

"The most highly respected hospitals in the world depend upon Amcom software," said Jack Collins, CEOof Amcom Software.  "These organizations have eliminated manual processes by automating call-center functions with Web-based applications, speech technologies, and automated event notifications.  Our software enables the consolidation of facilities, processes, and personnel, proving to save hospitals millions of dollars in operating costs and efficiencies."

For more information about Amcom, call 800-852-8935.