Medical Call Center Industry News

October/November 2006

LVM Develops Hospital Transfer Module

Many university and tertiary care hospitals find themselves in the transfer business.   To address this, LVM Systems partnered with several call centers (both clients and non-clients) to develop a Hospital Transfer module to support this time-sensitive process.  The call-taker captures the sending party's information and logistics, and then conducts a brief interview regarding the patient's condition and needs.  If the receiving hospital has additional requirements associated with the service requested (such as orthopedics, burn unit, NICU), staff receive a visual cue so no items are missed.

Each unique communication within the transfer (often 8 to 10 calls) is tracked within the software's Contact module, with the series of interactions sharing a single Case ID.  The transfer status screen displays each milestone in the transfer process, including what has been completed and by whom.  Then the post-acceptance tracking accounts for all the details of the completed process, including the disposition, transport service, and times of patient departure from the sending hospital and arrival at the receiving hospital.  [Screenshots of the software are available at www.answerstat.com/papers.]

The Hospital Transfer module is an addition to LVM's E-Centaurus software and is now available.

For more information, contact info@lvmsystems.com or call 480-633-8200. 

1Call Announces Seminar

The 1Call Division of Amtelco announced that the next 1Call Administrative and Management Seminar will be held April 24-26, 2007, in Madison, Wisconsin.  As in previous years, in-depth training sessions will be held for 1Call managers, supervisors, and lead operators.  Amtelco Training Specialists, along with members of the Amtelco Innovation Development Team, will lead these sessions.

The 2007 seminar will also feature new sessions designed specifically for healthcare administrators, helping them learn more about the innovative ways other healthcare organizations are using 1Call equipment to simplify and streamline communications enterprise-wide, and prepare for emergency and disaster situations.  Healthcare administrators who use 1Call equipment at their organizations will facilitate these sessions.

1Call invites all 1Call administrators, managers, supervisors, and lead operators to mark their calendars now to attend this seminar, which will be held at the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace Hotel, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.

For more information on the 2007 1Call Administrative and Management Seminar, contact 1Call at 800-356-9148 or email info@1call.com.

Area Code Changes

The North American Numbering Plan Administration announced several recent developments regarding area codes:

An area code overlay is in progress in northern Illinois, currently covered by area code 815.  Once implemented, 10 digit dialing will be required for all phone calls.  Ten-digit dialing commenced on August 19 (permissive) and will be required by February 17, 2007 (mandatory).  The new overlay area code will be 779.

An overlay for the 706 area code in Georgia is also currently in the permissive dialing phase.  The permissive dialing time has been extended until October 3, after which time 10-digit dialing will be mandatory.

In Canada, schedule changes were made to plans relating to the 613 and 819 area codes, eventually requiring "ten-digit dialing for all local calls, from, to and within area codes 613 and 819."  Ten-digit dialing is currently in the permissive or optional phase, lasting until October 21, as which time, 10-digit dialing will be required for all of the above calls.

Using Time Tickets for Non-Call Activities

Efficiency, productivity, and utilization are common call center terms for measuring performance and capacity.  But for call center staff, there are many other tasks that fill the day which may go unaccounted.  LVM has recently added a Time Ticket module to its E-Centaurus software to help staff and call center managers understand where the time goes - and account for it correctly.

The time ticket function allows the user to end the call (recording an accurate call length), then add time to the transaction, either immediately following, or later on when time permits.  In this scenario, the time ticket documents additional time spent in fulfillment and categorizes the nature of the additional time for reporting purposes.

Using the Time Ticket function helps staff log additional time associated with fulfillment activities or special projects.  Also, it helps managers understand where time is spent when the software and phone switch reports offer different views of efficiency. 

For more information, contact info@lvmsystems.com or call 480-633-8200.

HealthLine Honors Georgetown University Hospital

HealthLine Systems, Inc. announced that its contact center Client Advisory Panel has selected Georgetown University Hospital (GUH) as the 2006 winner of the prestigious Client Recognition Award.  This award recognizes contribution to a health care organization through the use of Sharp Focus® or EchoAccess™ healthcare contact center software. Criteria for selection include interventions clearly related to the software, measurable financial impact, and applicability for other healthcare contact centers to raise the standard of practice for the industry.

Georgetown University Hospital utilized the Physician Consult Module in Sharp Focus to track the origin of patients transferred and to report on the downstream financial impact.  Dr. Joy Drass, Hospital President, remarked, "The referral center is a valued resource to connect patients with the vital care they require at Georgetown University Hospital."

Vivian Winter, Director of the Referral Center at Georgetown University Hospital, accepted the award.  She said, "With the resources of Sharp Focus and our referral team's passion for service, the results are extraordinary."

For 2006, the Cleveland Clinic Nurse On Call contact center was recognized with honorable mention.

Verint Announces Acquisition of Mercom Systems

Verint Systems Inc., a provider of analytic software-based solutions for security and business intelligence, announced the acquisition of Mercom Systems, Inc., a privately-held provider of interaction recording and performance evaluation solutions for small-to-midsize enterprises with contacts centers.  Mercom has approximately 60 employees and is headquartered in Lyndhurst, NJ.

This acquisition will enable Verint to more effectively bring actionable intelligence to the growing small-to-midsize enterprise contact center market, using Mercom's experience in developing, packaging, and delivering solutions to this market's requirements.  Through its global base of resellers, Mercom distributes its recording and performance evaluation solutions to contact centers across a wide range of customers.

"We believe that there is growing demand for analytical solutions that can help drive operational effectiveness in the small-to-midsize enterprise market," said Dan Bodner, President and CEO of Verint Systems.  "The Mercom team has a strong track record in this growing market and we look forward to providing our combined global channels with an expanded portfolio of value-added analytical solutions."

Westchester Medical Selects Beryl to Manage Referrals, Class Registration

Westchester Medical Center (WMC), an affiliate of New York Medical College with more than 1,000 beds, has selected The Beryl Companies to provide physician and service referrals as well as class registrations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  By dialing 877-WMC-DOCS, callers will be put in touch with call advisors from Beryl, a healthcare-exclusive customer interaction center. 

Through Beryl's customer interaction center, residents may also register for any number of the many community outreach and education programs provided by the hospital. "Westchester Medical Center is dedicated to providing local residents convenient access to our services anytime, day or night," said Kara Bennorth, assistant vice president of marketing and development. We want "to ensure that callers' questions and needs are addressed quickly and accurately."

IMCO Adds to Sales and Marketing Team

Diana Vistein has joined IMCO Technologies as a Senior Sales Representative.  "Besides Ohio, where she will be located, Pennsylvania will be the major focus of her sales efforts for IMCO," said Mark Schwartz, President and CEO. 

"Diana has an extensive background as a professional in the healthcare field as a Director of Radiology at Samaritan Regional Health System and at the Ashtabaula County Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic Foundation. 

For further information, email info@imco-tech.com.

ePLDT Acquires Leading BPO Provider SPi Technologies

ePLDT Ventus, a provider of cost-effective, offshore call center outsourcing, announced that its parent company, ePLDT, has acquired SPi Technologies, a global business process outsourcing company with over 6,500 employees worldwide.  The acquisition allows ePLDT Ventus to further expand into the healthcare, legal, publishing, and transaction industries.  With 26 locations throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, and over 150 global clients, the acquisition allows Ventus to deliver scalable and knowledge-based outsourcing solutions to its diversified markets.

"This acquisition enables Ventus to expand its global delivery network and to provide additional BPO services to our clients and strengthen our service offerings into other markets," said Rose Montenegro, President, ePLDT Ventus.  Additionally, the combination of Ventus' call center facilities and SPi's facilities in the Philippines, India, US, and China will further strengthen Ventus' positioning in the market globally and at the forefront of the call center industry.