This article was written by Jessica Levco, a freelance healthcare writer who covered the 32nd Annual Healthcare Contact Center Times Conference held in June 2023. 

Recently, Kathy Divis, President, Greystone.Net, moderated a panel discussion at the Healthcare Call and Contact Center’s 32nd Annual Conference in Atlanta. She was joined by Patty Riskind, Chief Executive Officer of Orbita; Jonnita Pleasant, Director, Patient Access of Baylor College of Medicine; and Melissa Shipp, Vice President, Digital Experience of OSF OnCall.

Not only do their career tips apply to contact center leaders, but we think that healthcare marketing leaders could make some tweaks and borrow them, too:

Know Your Vendors

Shipp has a big say in selecting vendors that can bolster her organization’s efforts for improving the digital aspect of her organization. Before selecting a technology tool, she encouraged attendees to ask themselves these questions:

• What is your organization’s vision?
• What are your organization’s guiding principles?
• What problems are you trying to solve?

“Technology is changing so quickly,” Shipp says. “But technology isn’t going to solve all your problems. When you talk to vendors, ask them where they expect their company to be in five years. Can they grow with you? And don’t forget: You can always ask for a trial or do a pilot program to see if the product works for you.”

Figure Out What to Automate

Do you know what patients routinely call you about?

If you effectively collect patient call data, you can see what questions tend to be the same — like, “Where do I park?” Then, figure out what can be handled by a virtual assistant, instead of a human, Riskind says.

“Take all the content you’re collecting and see if you can tell the story,” Riskind says. “Turning the data into a visual can help you identify what area you need to focus on.”

Go on Vacation (Really, don’t check your email)

Pleasant was going to hop on a plane to St. Lucia after the conference — and let everyone know she was not planning on checking her email.

“I encourage my leadership team: When you’re on vacation, be on vacation,” Pleasant says. “It’s important to take vacations because you need work-life balance.”

It’s also important that everyone on the team — from directors to agents — get the chance to take a vacation.

“If my workforce management team members are planning their vacation two to three months ahead of time, why can’t my staff? We have to give them the same latitudes that we have and let them know we want them to take their vacation time, too.”