Medical Call Center Industry News

December 2006/January 2007

RED Alert Adds Mapping Capabilities

The 1Call Division of Amtelco announced that the RED (Rapid Emergency Deployment) Alert Emergency and Event Alert System now features mapping capabilities.  This makes RED Alert the ideal system to use for triggering response to community disasters, biohazards, threats, evacuations, and even for campus-wide, severe weather-related emergencies.  

RED Alert System gives healthcare facilities a fast method for notifying personnel in disaster and emergency situations, and can also be used for event and meeting reminders.  RED Alert saves time for healthcare staff, reduces errors, and speeds the organization's overall response time.

To trigger an alert, the person issuing the alert simply draws around the designated area on a map, and RED Alert begins contacting the people responsible for emergencies in that area.  Alert recipients are shown on the map with pushpins, so the person triggering the alert instantly knows how many people will be contacted.  The map is real-time, so if a new recipient is added before the alert is issued, the new recipient also receives the alert.  RED Alert issues alerts by phone, mobile phone, SMS, email, pager, or fax.

For more information call 800-356-9148, 608-838-4194, or email info@1call.com. 

Interior Concepts Launches Mobile Desk

Interior Concepts Inc., a custom manufacturer of contact center furniture, released the Traveler mobile battery powered desk.  Traveler fully embraces the wireless environment.  With its built-in battery, there's never a need to stay within reach of an electrical outlet.  No wires, no cords, no cables are needed.  The battery is powerful enough to run a laptop for the entire work week, then recharge during the weekend.  Each battery has a 7-10 year lifespan, at which point it can be safely recycled.  Traveler is made of non-hazardous materials and is UL-approved.  Optional plug-in power is available.

"This is truly a unique product to the market," said Darby Straw, National Sales Manager for Interior Concepts.  "The Traveler Mobile Desk offers complete mobility in a wireless environment.  Movement is no longer restricted by access to a power outlet."

The mobile desk is the first piece of the Traveler furniture line.  Interior Concepts plans to expand the line with a mobile battery powered presentation unit.

Interior Concepts specializes in manufacturing custom furniture for contact centers that meets their space and application requirements.  They provide free space planning, on-site installation, flexible lead times, and 99.5% on-time delivery.

Apex Announces Addition to Executive Team

Apex CoVantage, a knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) company, announced that Christie Anderson has been promoted to President of Apex Contact Center Solutions.  Apex Contact Center Solutions offers near shore and offshore teleservices solutions.  As president of Contact Center Solutions, Ms. Anderson is responsible for leading the global contact center operations for a variety of clients, including those in the healthcare industry.  Solutions include customer acquisition and activation, revenue maximization, customer winback, and accounts receivable management.

Top Telephone Pet Peeve is Put On Hold

After 15 years of being the number one pet peeve, "being put on hold" dropped to third in the Telephone Doctor's "What Bugs You on the Telephone?" survey.  In the recently completed survey of telephone pet peeves, the automated attendant (AA) won hands down.  "Especially when there is no option for a human," said Nancy Friedman, President of Telephone Doctor.

"We hear from audiences all over the country and there's not a single program that we present where we don't hear grumbles about the automated attendant (AA)," Friedman said.  "We also found out that while AA is aggravating, the menus and the messages can often times be worse.  Saying ‘Your call is very important to me' sends callers up a wall.  Callers think, "If I'm so important, why aren't you there?"

Top Telephone Pet Peeves:

1.   Automated attendant

2.   Poor manners

3.   Being put on hold

4.   Speakerphones

5.   Cell phones

6.   Foreign accents, speaking too quickly, not speaking clearly

7.   Eating while on the phone

8.   Voice mail

9.   Transferring calls improperly

10. Background noise

11. Carryover conversation

12. Not returning phone calls

For more information, call 314-291-1012 .

Beryl Announces Josh Hall as VP of Client Services

The Beryl Companies announced the appointment of telecommunications veteran F. Joshua Hall to Vice President of Client Services.  "Josh brings a terrific blend of client management expertise and telecommunications knowledge to Beryl, which will benefit our 400-plus client hospitals," said Tom Panion, Beryl's Chief Customer Officer.  "We are excited to have Josh join our executive leadership team."

The Beryl Companies provides outsourced telephone and Web-based communications to the medical community. 

WRB Communications Receives National Certification

WRB Communications, Inc., specializing in medical information call center services, received national certification as a Women's Business Enterprise by the Women Presidents' Educational Organization (WPEO), a regional certifying partner of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

WBENC's national standard of certification implemented by WPEO is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection.  The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.

By including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier/vendor diversity programs.

For more information, call 703-449-0520.

Cambridge Health Alliance Selects Emergency Notification System

Cambridge Health Alliance announced that it selected e.Notify™ emergency notification software from Amcom Software to automate its emergency communications procedures for managing disasters across its multi-hospital network.  The new system is HICS-compliant (Hospital Incident Command Center-compliant) and supports emergency planning processes for this multi-hospital healthcare system, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.

"We needed an automated process to help us manage our organizational communications," said Bob Lewis, Director of Networks and Telecommunications for Cambridge Health Alliance.  "With e.Notify, we will have the tools for training and drilling, which will prepare us for various types of critical events, such as weather-related emergencies, bomb threats, or a health-related crisis.  In the event of a disaster, we'll be ready to communicate quickly and effectively to a mass audience and monitor and measure response."

Cambridge Health Alliance will install e.Notify in all three of its hospitals and will roll out emergency communications procedures across its entire organization. 

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

Permissive Dialing Extended for 762 Overlay of 706 Area Code

On October 3, 2006, the GA Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the request for an additional extension of the deadline for permissive dialing from October 3, 2006 to December 31, 2006 for the 706-322, 706-324, 706-327, 706-596, 706-790, and 706-796 NXX codes.  Contact the Georgia PSC for a copy of the Order issued October 11, 2006.