Medical practice administrators, practice owners, and IT managers know that handling calls well is important for smooth operations. Call centers often act as the first contact point for patients. They give important information, book appointments, and deal with patient questions. When sudden events, like the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, cause a big rise in calls, normal call center methods may not work well.
Houston Methodist had to deal with a 300-400% increase in phone calls about the COVID-19 vaccine. Some days, they got as many as 14,583 calls. On weekdays, their call centers expected to answer over 9,000 calls, and on weekends about 4,600. This large increase risked overwhelming staff, causing calls to go unanswered and delaying patient care. Hiring more staff was not possible because of time limits, budget issues, and the risk of exposing extra workers to COVID-19 during the pandemic.
To manage the high call volume, Houston Methodist worked with Syllable, a company making AI phone systems and receptionist services. They used an AI voice assistant made to answer questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. This AI system could understand what patients asked, give quick answers, help schedule appointments, and send harder questions to live staff.
The AI helped Houston Methodist keep operations running and manage calls without overloading people. During the first month, about 91% of patient requests were handled by the AI. Only 9% of calls needed to be sent to live agents, which greatly lowered staff workload. Patients could quickly check vaccine eligibility, make first or second dose appointments, or register for future vaccine slots.
Using this technology, Houston Methodist answered all calls on the first ring, 24 hours a day, every day. This stopped any calls from being dropped, which helped patient satisfaction and made healthcare delivery more efficient.
For administrators, owners, and IT managers, AI in call centers brings clear benefits in several ways:
Using an AI voice assistant requires several steps. Healthcare administrators should think about these to get the best results:
Automation in healthcare is more than just answering calls and booking appointments. It helps improve daily work for patients and providers. Using AI voice assistants with other digital tools can help in many areas:
For example, Houston Methodist’s AI helps route calls properly. Patients with vaccine questions get sent right to specialized lines. This keeps other calls without COVID-19 issues moving smoothly.
Houston Methodist’s AI work shows how more US healthcare places are using AI to handle growing patient needs. In places where call volume can change fast, AI helps fill service gaps and gives timely info.
Administrators and IT managers see AI phone systems as tools to lower costs, improve patient satisfaction, and meet healthcare communication rules. Since healthcare often has limited resources, AI tools help get the most from existing staff and reach more patients.
AI can also help with future healthcare challenges. For example, it can manage questions about new treatments or react fast to public health alerts. These systems can be turned on quickly when there is unexpected high demand. This helps healthcare providers keep services running smoothly.
Before using AI, medical practice administrators and IT managers need to think about several things:
By thinking about these, healthcare places in the US can better plan to use AI voice assistants successfully.
Houston Methodist plans to use their AI voice assistant beyond just COVID-19 vaccine questions. They want to add the AI to more departments and services in their hospital system. This will help them manage more patient requests and handle call volumes all the time.
This shows how AI could become a key part of healthcare communication systems. It can support patient access while not overloading staff. As technology develops, AI voice assistants might handle harder tasks, like sorting symptoms or giving personal health advice linked to electronic records.
The Houston Methodist case shows how AI voice assistants can help medical practice administrators, owners, and IT managers in the US. AI can make healthcare call centers work better during busy times without lowering patient service or raising costs. As more healthcare places use these technologies, the mix of automation and human help will keep changing. This will bring better efficiency and patient satisfaction in the future.
Houston Methodist anticipated a significant increase in phone calls related to vaccine inquiries, predicting a volume rise of 300-400%. They needed a solution to manage this flood without affecting usual operations while expanding call center staff was time-consuming and financially unfeasible.
They partnered with Syllable to create a phone-based vaccine delivery system utilizing an AI-powered voice assistant. This system provided answers to vaccine-related questions, facilitated self-service appointment scheduling, and connected patients to live agents when necessary.
The AI solution streamlined patient interactions by enabling 91% of calls to be resolved through the voice assistant, allowing patients to quickly check vaccine eligibility and schedule appointments, thus enhancing overall patient satisfaction.
The hotline included an adjusted greeting system to direct patients with vaccine inquiries straight to the specialized contact, ensuring efficient handling of COVID-related calls while preserving operations for other inquiries.
In the first month, the program handled over 9,000 calls per weekday and 4,600 calls per weekend on average, with a peak of 14,583 calls in a single day, maintaining high efficiency.
The AI solution achieved a 91% automation rate across all patient intents, significantly reducing the need for human intervention and enhancing response times.
By providing actionable information, 75% of patients could quickly check their vaccine eligibility and either schedule appointments or get in line for future contacts, improving overall engagement.
They managed more than 9,000 calls daily, with peak times reaching up to 3,500 calls per hour, effectively eliminating call abandonment and ensuring every call was answered on the first ring, 24/7.
The hospital reduced labor costs by minimizing reliance on temporary staffing, eliminating the need for additional telephony hardware or increased software seat licenses, enhancing fiscal prudence.
Houston Methodist aims to continue partnering with Syllable to expand the AI voice assistant’s use across the hospital system, further managing call center volumes and addressing patient requests more efficiently.
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