Every ring of the phone in the medical field signifies a potential patient who is in need of immediate medical attention, is making an important appointment, or is seeking care. But in the industry as a whole, a startling fact still exists: up to 24% of all the missed calls in healthcare are unanswered, which might be leading to a series of repercussions that go far beyond a simple miss.
65% of patients expect higher customer service from healthcare agencies than they did just a year ago
These seemingly insignificant instances of lost communication have hidden consequences that have the potential to severely harm healthcare organizations' operations, finances, and reputations. With this blog, we will try to understand the impact and cost of missed calls in clinics, and how voice AI agents are a countermeasure to avoid them.
What Constitutes a Missed Call in Healthcare?
Missed calls in the healthcare industry are more than just a phone call that goes unanswered. Calls that are dropped because of technical difficulties, sent straight to voicemail without any human contact, or left unanswered during peak hours are all included.
Due to healthcare receptionists overloading calls that arrive during peak hours, calls that arrive after hours when skeleton crews are handling emergencies, or calls that arise during shift changes when communication breakdowns inevitably occur are examples of healthcare communication failure. From a patient's point of view, a call can be functionally "missed" even if it is answered after several rings or transferred again before reaching the intended recipient. But the impact of unanswered calls in hospitals is showcasing something more serious: the loss of clients and potential revenue.
How Do Missed Calls Affect Patient Experience?
1. Direct Financial Impact
As an entity, people often underestimate the financial impact of missed calls in healthcare. Lost calls are lost appointment opportunities, whether a new patient is trying to establish care, an existing patient needs to schedule a follow-up, or someone is trying to reschedule.
Industry averages show that a healthcare practice misses 24% of 100 calls per day, or 24 opportunities per day. Even if half of those missed calls are for possible appointments, which average $200 per visit, the practice loses $2,400 daily, or $600,000 annually.
These long-term effects exacerbate the immediate loss. Over the years of treatment, a single patient can earn tens of thousands of dollars, according to the healthcare lifetime patient value model. An unanswered call from a prospective new patient ends a potentially decades-long relationship.
2. Impact on Patient Experience and Satisfaction
Every missed call indicates distress, worry, or an urgent medical condition. Mental anguish when patients can't reach their doctor goes beyond inconvenience. Patients are frustrated, abandoned, and doubt their doctor cares about them.
65% of consumers have cut ties with a brand over a single poor customer service experience, and 32% say phone calls are the most frustrating customer service channel.
This annoyance is universal. Patient complaints are shared with friends, family, and online review sites. In the healthcare industry, trust and reputation are crucial, and bad word-of-mouth may deter potential patients.
An unanswered call damages trust and increases patient churn. Patients who can't reach their doctor may switch providers, taking their money and loyalty. When a practice's patient base is vital, missed calls cause patient attrition.
3. Operational and Efficiency Costs
Healthcare operations are affected by missed calls beyond the initial call. Patients who don't get through to the practice on their first try often call back several times, straining staff and phone systems.
Administrative staff spends a lot of time returning missed calls, playing phone tag with patients, and handling complicated scheduling issues. This reactive approach to call management distracts staff, disrupts workflows, and reduces efficiency.
Resources needed to recover from missed opportunities raise operational costs. Staff time could be better spent on proactive patient care and practice expansion than follow-up calls, rescheduling, and damage control.
4. Clinical and Compliance Risks
Importantly, missed calls can affect healthcare clinical outcomes. When emergency calls go unanswered, patients may delay receiving necessary care, which could lead to health problems.
Imagine a patient calling with an urgent treatment plan, chest pain, or drug reaction concerns. The communication breakdown may result in hospital stays, ER visits, or worse if these calls are not returned.
Missed calls can cause critical communication and documentation issues that put healthcare organizations at risk of legal action. Medical regulators expect healthcare providers to maintain accessible communication channels, so missed call patterns may indicate a failure to provide adequate care.
5. Reputational Damage
Today's digital world spreads healthcare reputations quickly on social media, online platforms, and community networks. Communication accessibility is now seen as a sign of a healthcare provider's commitment to patient care, and unanswered calls are increasingly associated with poor care.
This perception hurts the company in healthcare markets with many providers. Potential patients often choose the first office that responds quickly and professionally when they call several to make an appointment. Regularly missing calls hurts practices' ability to attract new clients.
Lost calls can damage reputations for years but take seconds to start. One dissatisfied patient's review about unanswered calls can influence many prospective patients' care choices.
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Strategies to Reduce Missed Calls
- To address the missed call crisis, progressive healthcare organizations are putting comprehensive strategies into place. Even during peak hours or after regular business hours, patient calls can be promptly answered thanks to modern call management technology, such as an AI communication platform, your 24/7 answering service.
- Training for staff members that emphasizes workflow optimization for automated customer service can help current team members manage call volume more skillfully. This covers instruction on how to take appropriate messages, handle calls effectively, and escalate urgent calls.
- Frequent call metrics monitoring and analysis offer insightful information about missed call trends, assisting healthcare organizations in locating issues such as system bottlenecks, staffing shortages, and peak call times. By addressing the underlying causes of issues rather than just their symptoms, this data-driven approach enables focused improvements.
- In order to minimize hold times and transfer confusion, which frequently results in dropped calls, sophisticated call routing systems can guarantee that calls get to the appropriate person promptly. It is possible to expedite the appointment booking process and make it more effective for both staff and patients by integrating it with electronic health records and scheduling systems.
Conclusion
The immediate inconvenience of an unanswered phone is only one aspect of the true cost of missed calls in the healthcare industry. The long-term survival of healthcare organizations may be threatened by the series of monetary losses, operational inefficiencies, clinical risks, and reputational harm that result from these lost connections.
All missed calls are lost opportunities to help patients, make money, and build lasting relationships, which are essential to effective healthcare. The missed patient calls impact the core of healthcare delivery, which depends on patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and financial sustainability.
“Poor healthcare scheduling and customer service result in over $150 billion in lost revenue annually”
Healthcare communication failure leads companies to invest in comprehensive communication solutions and understand missed patient calls to succeed in a competitive market. Healthcare providers need a trusted ally like Dialora that can help them utilize the full potential of AI voice technology and virtually eliminate missed calls. To get your own AI voice assistant, click on the link here.