Central Scheduling Adds a Physician-Only Option
Premier Health central scheduling rolled out a new phone system recently. Among its many parts, the new system updated the phone tree operations, offering new choices to patients plus a private, physician-only option to prioritize calls from physician offices.
The updated phone tree allows Premier Health to set up skill groups to provide better responses to each option. For example, the system has a line for scheduling a mammogram or DEXA bone density scan. Since these exams are easy to schedule, the newest schedulers will be assigned to this line. For more complicated scheduling requests, such as an MRI, there is a designated line assigned to more seasoned staff members, resulting in a smoother process for staff and an improved experience for patients.
The new central scheduling phone tree options for patients are:
- Press 1 for mammogram or DEXA bone density scan scheduling
- Press 2 for MRI
- Press 3 for other diagnostic testing
- Press 4 to cancel or reschedule
Physician offices will simply press 7 after choosing central scheduling at the beginning of the call to be connected to an agent. This option will not be included in the phone tree choices for patients – it is a designated line to prioritize physician office calls.
An additional benefit of the new phone system is an agent call-back feature. If the wait time is greater than five minutes, callers will be notified at the beginning of their hold time and offered the option of being called back rather than waiting on hold. This feature will keep the caller’s place in line and automatically call the patient or physician office back when an agent is available. If the caller stays on the line, the call-back feature will be offered again three minutes into the hold time.
Coming soon, in the second phase of our phone system update, marketing messages will be featured during hold times that provide callers with information on MyChart and other Premier Health patient initiatives.
If you have any questions about the new central scheduling phone system, please contact Amanda Ricci at (937) 499-5267.
Call central scheduling at (937) 499-7364(937) 499-7364, or toll free at (855) 887-7364(855) 887-7364.
Back to the July 2017 issue of Premier Pulse
