P’o
Case Study
UST's Conversational AI solution helped U.S. healthcare system accelerate call resolution by 63%
CLIENT
This hospital system, located in the southwestern region of the U.S., operates more than a dozen hospitals and clinics serving a population of nearly 5 million people. The healthcare system has received accolades for providing top-notch patient-centered care.
CHALLENGE
Needed innovative technologies to enhance phone support for patients and providers
The healthcare system staffs two support teams to answer inbound calls when patients have questions about services and medical information, like scheduling appointments and checking test results. The support teams also field inquiries from providers, typically with questions about functionality in the electronic health records (EHR) system.
Because support teams must understand the health system’s clinical operations, across nearly 20 distinct healthcare facilities, as well as the navigation and capabilities of the organization’s integrated EHR system, support personnel require specialized skills and training. Depending on the complexity of the inquiry, call resolution timeframes may take longer than the patient or caregiver deems appropriate, causing frustration.
With those issues in mind, the healthcare system’s IT team wanted to explore new, innovative ways to improve support operations, increase the efficiency and productivity of support staff, decrease operating costs, and enhance experiences for patients and providers.
TRANSFORMATION
Conversational AI solution provided frictionless service desk support for most common healthcare calls
UST Contineohealth experts implemented a Conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution based on a long-standing relationship between UST and the organization. The project team mapped end-to-end call center processes and created personas corresponding to about 80% of incoming call scenarios. When patients and caregivers call the support center, the solution uses natural language processing to route calls to a voice AI application that can answer the most commonly asked questions. When the caller needs additional help, the automated solution provides options to escalate the call for more specific self-service information or to a human support person.
The Conversational AI solution was initially designed to resolve 80% of inquiries. The UST Contineohealth team monitors real-time call analytics and deploys additional self-service AI call scenarios to optimize service desk processes and address the changing support needs of patients and providers.
IMPACT
Streamlined support processes enhanced patient and provider experiences
By augmenting the support teams with an automated Conversational AI solution, the healthcare system:
- Accelerated call resolution by 63%—from 120 to 45 seconds
- Increased first-call resolution by 25%—from 65% to 90%
- Improved its Net Promoter Score by more than 60 points—from the 20s to the 80s