Even as we have possibly crossed the mayhem unleashed by the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the pertinent question lingering every Indian’s mind is whether or not our healthcare is equipped to handle any more unforeseen crisis of such magnitude. While we gradually return to normalcy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already set the tone by asserting that the focus must be on repairing and preparing the healthcare for future challenges. Fact, however, remains that while industries across the globe are engaging technology to create unprecedented inventive solutions, the healthcare continues to lag behind. Till a few years ago we discussed how technology offered unique medical solutions, the focus now on how technology could transform basic practices like patient services and patient engagement.

The evolution of customers

Healthcare services are essential services, and if one needs the service, the seeker will connect with a nearby health institute. While this is how one sees the scenario, healthcare is developing at multiple levels corresponding to the evolution of its customers. Thanks to the internet, today, search engine platforms and teleservices are the first facilities a smartphone user would leverage to find the answer for anything. This has further taken a solid shape after the COVID-19 outbreak has forced people to stay inside their homes. The virtual world was the only place people would connect with other people or connect with brands and others.

According to Mr Nishant Gupta, founder, Medharbour Hospital, “Contact centre solutions can play a very vital role in bolstering the first line of communication between patients and hospitals. For instance, people often keep wondering about the initial symptoms of Covid, wherein contact centre solutions can be leveraged to help the patients get the right medical advice at the right time. Apart from suggesting right primary medication to advisory pertaining to quarantine can also be enabled this way. ​This doesn’t just reduce time and expenses, but also saves hospitalization to a greater extent.”

He added that “even apart from Covid, right medical advice would save major other health issues. Instead of ignoring the first symptoms, such new-age solutions can be a great enabler of primary healthcare assistance for all”.

However, the implied rules of customer service change drastically when customers and brands meet online. A brand’s online presence means being accessible to customers 24×7, and the same goes for dedicated customer care numbers. And so, the role of the online customer care team and call/contact centres have changed to become a more vital function than before. The only difference is the contact centres faces the patients directly, and response is expected on a real-time basis- Making them the front and centre of the new-age customer service strategy.

Technology to the rescue

On the bright side, the Indian healthcare industry can leverage contact centre support for better customer service as well as patient satisfaction. Various IT-focused players are already working in this direction. NovelVox, a Delhi/NCR-based software product house, has enormous tech-driven contact centre solutions that Indian healthcare players can leverage to renew patient service and win their confidence. In fact, many hospitals have already incorporated contact centre solutions in various parts and are benefitting from the same.

NovelVox’s founder and CEO, Amit Kumar Gandhi says, “The number of customer touchpoints across channels has increased drastically, our AI-powered solution unifies and streamline customer engagement across channels. AI-based contact center solutions can help hospitals dwell into any information with the right insight, which the agent can leverage to have a meaningful conversation.”

He further said that “today a patient calling a healthcare center expects fast response to its queries, and hence it is important to have a team of confident agents who can handle the distraught patients with ease. This is powered by contact center solutions that are just not integrated with the EMR and EHRs, which are patient health records and database, but also empowers agents with all information on the same screen so that patients’ medical history, diagnosis, medication, previous appointment, etc are readily available with the agent for effective communication”.

Building a robust, tech-driven team

The golden rule – happy employees, happy customers (patients) is still applicable. Patient satisfaction is primarily driven by how the health institute employees are engaging with the patient and if the company representative is well-informed about the needs of the patients; And internal communication forms a major part of how the health institute’s team collectively engage with the patient. Here technology-forward contact centre solutions can help calling agents collect all the relevant information in one place as they walk the patient through their queries with well-thought solutions or actions as necessary. With the right technology in place, calling executives can collaborate with the rest of the team to offer instant solutions or action plans to the patient, winning patients’ trust and confidence. Hence, technology can help health institutes drive employee as well as patient satisfaction effectively.

Patients’ experience is a vital aspect of a health institute’s overall performance, and a systematic approach to strengthening it will go a long way. By leveraging the right contact centre solutions, health institutes can drastically improve their communication and services quality. A well-managed communication and quality of the service provided empower a patient to trust the institute and enable them to take centre stage of all their developments.