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The Healthcare Call Center industry is not easy because people rely on your expertise to live better lives.
Understanding the dynamics of a Healthcare Call Center is crucial for healthcare providers seeking to enhance their patient services.
Providers consider healthcare call center outsourcing companies one of their most trusted companions. Healthcare call centers help them reach out and provide medical care to patients.
However, not all healthcare BPOs are equal. Not everyone can provide high-quality service and have the best agent in their lineup.
So, in this article, we will discuss the skills you need to outsource to get the most out of your healthcare call center partner.
Healthcare Call Center in a Nutshell
Everyone is conscious of their health. No wonder healthcare is so valuable to people.
Amidst the pandemic, patients are going beyond their means to have the best service. However, most of them are afraid to go outside to find it. That is where Healthcare Business Process Outsourcing or Healthcare BPO comes in.
A Healthcare BPO swoops in to help patients get the best service they want. Through phone calls or emails, they offer these people care without them leaving home.
However, a healthcare call center cannot function without the assistance of a healthcare provider such as a hospital or clinic. So to meet the customer’s demand, they must work together.
Besides call centers, here are the most common services businesses avail of:
1. Medical Transcription
Medical Transcription is when a person types medical reports from dictated audio files. These medical files usually come from physicians, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare providers.
A medical transcriptionist should know most of the well-used medical jargon. That’s why people who usually do this job are medical professionals or have experience in the medical field.
2. Medical Coding
Medical Coding converts healthcare diagnoses, procedures, medical services, and equipment into universal medical codes.
People who are usually involved in this kind of job review medical records. Physicians and hospitals depend on accurate medical codes to receive proper reimbursement for services.
As a medical coder, you have to ensure that all medical codes are correct. One mistake can have heavy repercussions, and you would not want that to happen.
3. Medical Billing
We need a billing claim to receive payment for services rendered by healthcare providers. A medical biller follows up on claims to ensure that services are paid.
Money is necessary for you and your patients. So why hire anyone that can potentially mess it up for you? Why not hire a dedicated team to handle it instead?
6 Key Advantages of Having a Healthcare BPO for Your Business
On the business side of things, this Healthcare BPO helps providers and businesses in a variety of ways, such as:
1. Enhanced Profitability
Let us face it: you need financial capabilities to serve your patients better.
Since healthcare has always been a competitive industry, organizations are keen on minimizing expenditures and maximizing profit. In this context, outsourcing becomes a valuable asset.
Healthcare companies can trim their expenses by outsourcing certain parts of their business process to BPOs. Instead of hiring additional employees, why not partner with capable firms? The number one reason for this is because it’s cheaper.
It is a good decision since it helps you save on extra expenses such as training, salary, space, and equipment.
Because healthcare BPOs specialize in a particular function, they can perform it more efficiently than other employees.
2. Access to Skilled Workforce
Outsourcing allows you to hire skilled professionals adept at carrying out specialized tasks without breaking a sweat. A business process outsourcing firm will do the hiring for you.
This way, you can ensure that someone can cater to your customer needs. Professionalism and manners are not huge concerns since they will undergo training before holding a phone.
This access to skilled workers also saves you a lot of paperwork.
3. Focus on Patient Care
Specialized partners help your company remove distractions and focus on patient care.
In a healthcare company, outsourcing allows you to delegate administrative functions to them. By doing so, you can concentrate on providing your clients with the best quality of service.
It elevates healthcare standards throughout the company, and it also plays a role in increasing trust and goodwill.
4. Enhanced Accuracy of Tasks
Health is wealth. Since people rely heavily on providers and organizations to help them stay fit, they need to operate with the utmost accuracy.
Just think of it. A small mistake can put someone’s life in grave danger. According to a recent study, the healthcare sector loses $125 billion each year due to poor billing and practices.
For this reason, healthcare institutions are opting to contract out functions like data entry, processing, and cleansing to avoid unnecessary loss.
5. Increased Service Offerings
Many players in this sector capitalized on their BPO partners to increase the number of services they offer.
Since a healthcare BPO handles most non-core functions, the organization can focus its time and energy on providing high-quality service.
It also allows them to be competitive. And to drive more offerings to their clients in local and international markets.
6. Efficient time management
Healthcare companies can avoid wasting time on routine tasks by partnering with a suitable BPO company.
By assigning skilled workers all of the repetitive and minimal tasks, you can eliminate all the time-consuming activities bestowed on your key employees.
7 Call Center Skills You Need to Outsource
Hiring a healthcare BPO will only work if you get the right partner.
Below are the crucial skills you need to look out for:
1. Deep Knowledge of a Company’s Product or Service
Always note that call center agents should understand the products and services you offer.
They should be able to provide the perfect service that the patient needs. Moreover, they should be able to recognize their names and talk about them in-depth with the customers.
Arrange with your BPO partner how to test your agent’s knowledge about your product. This is a wise decision that will ensure you are hiring the best.
2. Attention to Details
Your agents should have strict attention to detail.
They should listen and take notes to give patients the best solution. They should also be able to pass important information to other teams and departments promptly and precisely.
Details are important. A medical call center agent should always be the first one to take in and disseminate information.
3. Clear and Effective Communication
Call center agents need to be outstanding communicators. Some companies even employ call centers with agents capable of speaking several languages.
They need to undergo hours of training to speak clearly and listen intently. This is because they will be on the phone with people who have questions about their health care, and part of their job is to be calm and listen.
Besides, how can they work effectively?
After meeting your team, talk to them. Make sure that you are satisfied with their manner and speed of speaking.
4. Adaptability and Creativity
Logically, agents must have creativity and flexibility to meet customers’ demands.
Each day and night will be different at the call center. Patients will be asking for many things about a wide range of issues. So agents need to adjust accordingly to be effective.
5. Empathy
Empathy is a skill that you cannot teach. And customers notice when an agent is empathetic. And once they do, they will be more comfortable speaking and working with your business.
So get an agent that, you think, genuinely cares about what you do.
Also, agents should always be respectful and show concern about their customer’s needs. They should listen and ask questions to make the caller feel important.
6. Speed
Call center agents should work efficiently and quickly.
But what we mean by “speed” is not rushing the customers. This means that the amount of time he devotes to listening to and assisting them should be justifiable.
As a healthcare professional, he should be able to use his time efficiently. He must be able to satisfy the customer and spend no time doing so.
7. Patience and Staying Calm Under Pressure
Medical call center agents must also know how to remain calm and collected.
As front liners of your company, there will be times when callers are in a bad mood. But if your agent can manage them, this is an opportunity for them to trust your service even more.
Your customers will need that, especially when they feel frustrated and afraid.
Healthcare Call Center Solution
Raise your health call center standards and choose the best among the rest!
Magellan Solutions is a BPO company based in the Philippines. With over 17 years of industry experience, we offer high-quality call center services to all industries. We guarantee the quality of service, and our company is ISO 27001:2013-certified and HIPAA-compliant.
At Magellan Solutions, we train our agents to become customer service experts and ensure that they have the necessary tools, equipment, and knowledge to serve customers efficiently. We want to extend our services to small and medium enterprises, so our rates are highly flexible and competitive.
Contact us today for a comprehensive consultation on expert healthcare call center solutions.
