Table of Contents:
1. Client Overview
A mid-sized, 350-bed regional hospital in the U.S. serving nearly 200,000 patients annually reached a critical point in managing its patient-facing support operations. With rising call volumes, limited staffing, and growing expectations for fast, empathetic service, the hospital needed a scalable and cost-effective solution to maintain patient satisfaction around the clock.
The hospital’s internal team was struggling to keep pace with:
• High call volumes during peak hours
• Long wait times during nights/weekends
• Inefficient in-house staffing costs
• Frequent abandoned calls and missed appointment requests
• Limited multilingual support
• Gaps in after-hours clinical coordination
To address these challenges, the hospital partnered with 31West Global Services, a trusted provider of 24/7/365 outsourced customer support, help desk, and back-office services for small and medium businesses in the U.S., Canada, UK, and Western Europe.
2. Challenges Before Engagement
1. Rising Operational Costs
Maintaining an in-house 24/7 customer support team required significant investment in staffing, training, management, and scheduling. The hospital was overspending while still failing to achieve consistent service levels.
2. Long Hold Times & Call Abandonment
Patients frequently waited 5–12 minutes during peak hours. Overnight calls would route to voicemail, causing frustration and delays in care coordination.
3. Limited Coverage & Scalability
The hospital lacked the operational bandwidth to scale support on demand—especially during seasonal spikes, flu season, and emergency surges.
4. Inconsistent Patient Experience
Service quality varied across shifts. Patients reported lack of empathy, slow resolutions, and difficulty speaking with someone knowledgeable.
5. Lack of Process Standardization
The hospital had no documented workflows for handling common patient inquiries, leading to inconsistent handling and low first-call resolution.
3. 31West’s Solution
31West deployed a fully managed, 24/7/365 customer support solution, leveraging its experienced healthcare support specialists, streamlined workflows, and robust quality monitoring framework.
Key Components of the Engagement
1. 24/7/365 Multichannel Patient Support
• Inbound calls
• Appointment scheduling
• Voicemail management
• Email triage
• Web inquiries & live chat
Support was available round-the-clock, including holidays, with guaranteed staffing levels.
2. Customized Patient Interaction Workflows
31West created clear, HIPAA-compliant, step-by-step workflows to streamline:
• Appointment booking and rescheduling
• Pre-admission instructions
• Post-discharge queries
• Insurance & billing questions
• Lab report requests
• ER line triage routing
3. Dedicated Support Team with Healthcare Expertise
A specialized team was trained extensively on:
• Medical terminology
• Patient empathy & tone
• Hospital’s EHR / scheduling system
• Insurance & billing processes
This ensured accurate, compassionate, and efficient patient interactions.
4. Real-Time Reporting & Metrics
Daily, weekly, and monthly dashboards helped the hospital track:
• Call volumes
• Average handle time
• First-call resolution
• Abandonment rate
• Patient satisfaction indicators
This transparency enabled continual optimization of service delivery.
5. Significant Cost Optimization
31West provided a fixed, predictable monthly cost that reduced the hospital’s overall support expenses while improving service quality. The hospital no longer had to manage recruitment, training, performance reviews, or night-shift scheduling.
4. Results Achieved
Within the first 90 days of transitioning to 31West, the hospital saw transformative improvements.
1. 40% Reduction in Operating Costs
Eliminating the need for in-house 24/7 staffing delivered substantial savings, reallocating budget to clinical and patient care functions.
2. Hold Times Reduced from 12 Minutes to Under 45 Seconds
Immediate response became the standard—patients were connected to a live agent promptly, regardless of time or day.
3. 65% Drop in Abandoned Calls
Round-the-clock availability dramatically improved patient satisfaction and trust.
4. 30% Increase in First-Call Resolution
Agents trained in hospital workflows handled most tasks on the first call, reducing backlogs and improving patient perception of reliability.
5. 24/7 Multilingual Support Improved Accessibility
Spanish-speaking patients saw service satisfaction scores rise significantly.
6. Better Clinical Coordination
After-hours triage routing and message dispatch ensured critical alerts reached the right clinical team on time.
7. Higher Patient Satisfaction Scores
Post-engagement surveys revealed a 27% improvement in overall satisfaction, with specific praise for agent empathy and clarity.
5. Client Testimonial
“Partnering with 31West transformed the way we support our patients. Their team is professional, compassionate, and incredibly reliable. Our patients now receive faster and more consistent service, and our internal teams are finally able to focus on clinical care instead of call management.”
— Director of Patient Services, Regional Hospital
6. Conclusion
By outsourcing its 24/7 customer support operations to 31West Global Services, the hospital achieved a dramatic improvement in patient experience while significantly reducing operational costs. With a dedicated, scalable, and expertly trained support team, the hospital now delivers faster, more empathetic, and more efficient patient service—even during peak demand or after hours.
This partnership reaffirms 31West’s position as a leading provider of high-quality, cost-effective call center and help desk services, helping healthcare organizations and SMBs across the U.S. and beyond deliver exceptional service every day of the year.