Medical Information Call Centers Hamstrung by Wide Internet Use

According to a new report from pharmaceutical business intelligence company Cutting Edge Information, medical information call centers are facing a tough time.

 

As doctors and patients can easily find the information they are looking on the Internet, the number of people who call medical call centers is rapidly decreasing.

 

Over the years, Internet has become the preferred medium for many to find information they seek. Everything from latest happenings around the globe to information on any given subjects is readily available in the Internet, often for free.

 

A new report, titled “Evolving Medical Information Call Centers through Performance Measurement and Process Improvement,” focuses on helping the medical information companies deal with the changing environment. The report is available here.

 

“Medical information teams are facing challenging times ahead,” said David Richardson, research team leader and lead author of the project. “Call center leaders are responding by tightening their own ships through process improvement and performance measurement as well as branching into new areas where their expertise might mesh well.”

 

The report examines the steps that medical information professionals can take to remain an important part of the communications process between the patients and the doctors. The report examines call center performance measurement, process improvement, staffing levels and budgets. Apart from setting up benchmarks for top companies, it also offers key metrics.

 

The 94-page report consists of three parts, namely, Medical Information Structures; Call Center Performance Measurement; and Call Center Process Improvement.

 

In the report, the company stated that only 40 percent of the businesses surveyed check the satisfaction levels of the customers about their call centers. Companies mostly track customer satisfaction through surveys, both live and with response forms. Leaders use phone surveys, online surveys, and email surveys to gather satisfaction responses. For the most part, participants track satisfaction internally, without help from outside vendors.

 

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