The Healthcare industry has changed drastically within the last decade. There are constantly new regulations created to provide safety and security to all patients. With these changes, a new set of needs for the industry such as: accurately collecting information, providing support, and staying within budget. All these requirements must be met- all whilst having a unified brand voice. The solution? IVR also known as Interactive Voice Response is a technology that can be utilized throughout all healthcare fields. Here are 4 ways that your Healthcare business can use IVR.
24/ 7 Support
Since the IVR system is a computerized system there will be no need for a huge number of operators. Your current operators will find more time to take on additional tasks and will be more pleasant with the limited amount of calls. In addition to less operators, you’ll be eliminating the distance caused by time zones.
Many pharmacies have adopted the IVR system for prescription refills. Callers can utilize the IVR system to refill their prescriptions. Callers can call at any hour of the day to refill their prescription. By using the keypad on your phone the caller submits the refill number for the prescription and it can be sent to the Pharmacy computer system. This frees up the available representative in the pharmacy to complete more tasks and fill more prescriptions.
Privacy
In today’s world everyone is running in different directions, so providing private information over the phone on a crowded train is the last thing you want to do. Whether your refilling a prescription or you’re looking for additional resources for abused victims – IVR is the solution. Due to the anonymity of IVR systems it is easy to provide assistance to people who have a need for information about sensitive issues. Some of these sensitive situations can include: drug and alcohol abuse treatment, sexual abuse, and risk related behavior. Callers will be more likely to get the help they need through an IVR system then by speaking face to face with a doctor. The caller can call from the comfort of their own home, thus providing a feeling of safety. The IVR allows the caller to feel safe and still receive the information, guidance, and advice necessary to keep them healthy. The IVR system can share information about symptoms, diagnosis, testing, local clinics, and other useful resources in their area. IVR provides the caller with a sense of security and privacy to help them begin getting the help they need.
Provide Treatment
In addition to assisting callers with sensitive situations it can provide diagnosis of behavioral disorders. IVR has been previously used to access clinical symptoms of the caller and provide a diagnosis. The assessments are as follows-
- The Hamilton Anxiety Scale
- The Hamilton Depression Scale
- The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale
- Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale
In addition to providing diagnosis for behavioral disorders it can provide patient specific information and reinforcement. Clients can be designated a private code. When a client is suffering from something such as anxiety attack they can contact the right number and use their private code to hear prerecorded treatment information directly from their doctor. This information can be used to help treat those with such diseases as: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Depression, and drug and alcohol abuse.
Budget Friendly
With so many possibilities as how to use IVR it would appear as though it is unattainable or very expensive. Staying within budget is one of the most important parts of any business. IVR if done properly shouldn’t break the bank. With employees now having the ability to complete higher priority tasks there will be less overtime needed and less employees needed. Since you’ve lowered the cost in other areas of your business there will be more available money left in your budget to create the IVR that is needed. IVRs can be costly if they aren’t mapped out first. It’s important to stay in contact with your phone vendor throughout the entire process. You may even want to consider first recording it in your own voice until you’ve updated and tweaked the application. Once you have the best possible IVR setup get your scripts professionally recorded, so callers don’t have difficulty understanding the instruction and you can share information in a comforting and professional manner.
Technology such as an Interactive Voice Response system can be most effective when utilized in private industry sectors, such as Healthcare. IVR can benefit multiple parties involved including the healthcare staff, patients, and budgets. In an industry constantly changing IVR can help limit the number of changes that need to be made.
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Sources- *Interactive Voice Response Systems in Clinical Research & Treatment