In hospital call centers, doctors and other medical staff take
calls from patients and assess the harshness of their symptoms and guide
them accordingly. Demographic data such as age, gender, height, weight
can also be analyzed. Hospital call centers assist to determine the
course of medical action, based on the various symptoms. Hospital call
centers also give technical and customer support for medical
emergencies.
Hospital call centers answer phones, make physician
referrals and register callers. People generally want to speak with a
live person. Internet is an effective means that avoid dumping of
telephone calls. It is less expensive than hiring a live person. Some
hospitals have introduced 'live chat' on their websites. Through the
Internet, a consumer can talk live with a hospital representative.
Sometimes customers can request specific times from hospital
representatives for live telephonic conversations. Normally, answering
phones is not a business of hospitals. Hospitals can also outsource
these services to outside companies. Lots of companies provide call
centre facilities to hospitals. They boast an array of trained medical
men who specialize in medical services.
Hospital call centers can
handle outpatient scheduling and then integrate it with the hospital's
in-house database. A hospital call center can also make post-discharge
calls to check on patient status, in order to make sure that patients
follow post-discharge instructions. Thus,
hospital call centers assist
in post-therapy and post-surgery services for the hospital.
Most
hospital call centers are equipped with scalable, state-of-the-art
computer systems, backup power supply and data management/messaging
programs specifically designed for the healthcare environment.