AZ Damiaan

Success Story

Improved patient service was the main objective in the AZ Damiaan hospital’s decision to switch both its outpatient clinic appointment booking service and the Operational Management ICT helpdesk to the Atos Unify OpenScape Contact Center solution.

The goal for the AZ Damiaan hospital in Ostend, Belgium is to be a best practice in healthcare. Keeping up to date with technology is part of that mission. To provide better service to its patients, referring physicians and medical staff, AZ Damiaan opted to implement the Atos Unify OpenScape Contact Center solution.

The Task

In 2012, AZ Damiaan’s two sites were merged and the hospital administrators wanted to improve the appointment and ICT helpdesk service offered to patients and medical staff, while streamlining the task for its reception desk agents.

Before, calls were answered at the registration desk in a cascading order, which often led to long wait times and to an unequal work load balance between helpdesk agents. Without any way of monitoring calls, the hospital had no idea of the number of patients lost due to long wait times, and staff resource allotment was based on anecdotal experience rather than actual data.

The Solution

  • Atos Unify OpenScape Contact Center Enterprise to reduce wait times, drive first-contact resolution of appointments and monitor calls and peak times
  • Atos Unify OpenScape Contact Center Manager to separate call flows between outpatient clinic and ICT helpdesk
  • Agent Desktops to provide a better view into the purpose of the incoming calls as well as the state of the agents and queues
  • Callback to reach patients who choose not to wait
  • Call Director to direct calls to the right department
  • Email Management to assemble a database in order to send appointment reminders
  • Combination of Atos Unify OpenStage 40 desktop phones, with wireless headsets and DECT

The Benefits

By separating the patient registration and call center desks, employees in both areas can fully concentrate on their tasks, reducing wait times for callers and work stress for staff. The callback function helps to avoid caller frustration. Atos Unify OpenScape Contact Center Enterprise also allows for a priority line for referring physicians and internal specialists. Thanks to the real-time and cumulative reporting, managers can anticipate peak times and adjust staffing resources accordingly. The average wait time for patients calling is 20 seconds, while the average time to handle a call is typically limited to 57 seconds.

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