The COVID-19 pandemic has put countless companies under pressure as they attempt to stay efficient, deliver positive customer service, and keep their employees safe. Perhaps more than any other industry in recent history, the healthcare sector has had to deal with a massive influx of telephone calls and other interactions, which makes this very difficult to achieve.
Tollring, a market leader in communications analytics, introduced an upgrade to their CallConnect GP healthcare solution (formerly Patient Assist), which provides telephony integration for clinical systems, as the coronavirus hit British shores. This CallConnect GP update has proven instrumental in telephone triage, helping medical practices to be better informed when managing calls and to help keep COVID-19 at bay.
I caught up with the Director of Sales Operations for Tollring, Simon Whatley, to discuss how CallConnect GP is positively influencing crucial health services today.
The Challenge of Managing Day-to-Day Interactions
Even before the stress of COVID-19 began to hit the industry, the healthcare landscape was under significant strain. The phone continues to play a significant role for GP practices and hospitals. Even where online services exist to book appointments, there will always be a large percentage of the population where a phone call is absolutely paramount. These environments are as fast-paced as call centres, without the technology or resources to deal with the large volume of calls. These calls range from a large influx in new patient enquiries and follow-up calls to appointment management and referrals. With such an increase in enquiries, medical practices need to have access to the right decision-making information as quickly as possible.
Simon explains “As the COVID-19 panademic has evolved, many surgeries have been forced to rethink patient interactions with the surgery, to ensure that the call handler, most often the receptionist, is armed with the relevant information to make the right decisions quickly, even when working on skeleton staff rotas.”
COVID-19 Update Helps Practices to Meet Evolving NHS Guidelines
Tollring working in partnership with Metier Integration Services, has fast-tracked an update to their software CallConnect GP in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new update enables medical practices to better manage the evolving requirements set by NHS England for identifying possible coronavirus patients. Guidelines on actions patients with symptoms should take are regularly updated and healthcare professionals need everyone in their organisation to be aware of any changes.
Thanks to the new update, when patients call their surgery, a pop-up safety alert displays the latest advice for receptionists, enabling the latest information to be shared amongst staff. This ensures that if a caller meets the case definition for a potential COVID-19 infection, receptionists will know how to handle the call in the safest way possible. The update is available immediately to all surgeries and is offered free of charge to those already using CallConnect GP. The update can be installed remotely with no site visit required.
According to Simon, “CallConnect GP screen-popping features provide today’s healthcare environments a more intelligent way to make decisions, which have a direct impact on patient care and employee safety in line with the government’s recommended measures in the current climate. For instance, you can see immediately if someone has been identified as possibly having, or confirmed to have had, COVID-19 – even if they are calling about an unrelated problem. This will affect how any ongoing appointments or recommendations are to be handled.”
“You are also informed of any suspected COVID-19 infection when different patients from the same household call in, alerting the receptionist so that they can handle the call appropriately”
The technology instantly matches inbound calls with the current patient management system so that call handlers can find patient details faster. Patients with conditions that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19 are flagged. Furthermore, new telephone numbers are captured quickly and added to patient records. Receptionists can access click-to-dial functionality, patient warnings and other vital information that may help them to deliver better care.
CallConnect GP helps clinical staff, receptionists, and practice managers to deliver more informed and responsible patient care. By linking patient management and telephony systems, CallConnect GP provides task alerts and saves both time and money. The result is an enhanced, and safer, experience for staff and patients alike.
How CallConnect GP Fits into the Tollring Portfolio
Tollring works closely with Metier Integration Services who are known for their ability to deliver and develop clinical system telephony integration solutions for the healthcare industry.
As GP practices continue to receive repeat calls and new requests from patients searching for assistance, the technology will help receptionists to remain vigilant and ask the right questions. The CallConnect GP application has been updated to serve the current landscape, having recently undergone re-accreditation with EMIS, a key clinical software system.
Simon explains,
“The healthcare industry needs more help than ever before. By linking with EMIS Web clinical patient database, CallConnect GP users accelerate patient verification and receive immediate assistance and guidance when calls are received”
“This even helps to save time and money, while freeing up crucial human resources during this difficult time.”
The efficiencies gained through CallConnect GP can be further enhanced using Tollring analytics and call recording. Practices can gain insight into patient communications, review the quality of the services they are offering, retain a record of interactions for follow up review, and understand the steps needed to improve customer experience, even amidst unpredictable demand.
