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Many BWH and BWPO ambulatory practices are seeing a reduction in no-show rates and the ability to redeploy staff resources, thanks to Televox HouseCalls automated appointment reminders.
In one month, the system places nearly 60,000 calls at a success rate of 96 percent. In February, patients confirmed appointments through approximately 23 percent of the automated calls, and 44 percent of calls ended with a reminder message left on an answering machine.
HouseCalls was rolled out to 81 practices with 143 scheduling locations in October and November of last year, and already it is demonstrating a significant cost savings potential.
“There are tremendous savings in terms of staff time and expense over mailing out paper reminders, and, more importantly, patients have raved about it,” said Kathleen Bertone, senior project manager for Ambulatory Services. “HouseCalls has a 98 percent patient satisfaction rate!”
Projected over a full year, HouseCalls could save BWH an estimated $200,000 by eliminating mailed reminders and more than 11,000 staff hours, she said. The system draws scheduling data from BICS, IDX and IDX Rad.
Staff in practices where HouseCalls was piloted quickly realized its benefits. Radiology reported a reduction in no-show rates, and staff were freed up and able to focus on other important tasks. Primary Care staff at 850 Boylston St. reported improved job satisfaction, and patients were appreciative of timely reminder calls.
In Otolaryngology, the daily reports of calls help staff manage approximately 2,000 appointments each month. The calls go to patients three days in advance of their appointment, and, when the patient opts to reschedule, it frees up a slot for patients on the wait list or those who require urgent care, said Robyn Gabriel, administrative director of Otolaryngology.
“With advance notice of an appointment cancellation, our practice secretaries can more efficiently manage the schedules for our physicians,” she said.
Phase two of the HouseCalls roll out continues this spring, and when complete, it will be utilized in 145 practices. At that time, Ambulatory staff plan to develop additional ways this tool could help with disease management; also under consideration is the development of an e-mail component.
“This has been an exciting project to see evolve from conception to implementation across so many practices with such a positive impact,” said Judy Walls, associate administrator in the Department of Surgery. Walls and Bertone were joined on the Televox HouseCalls leadership team by Anjali Sood, an applications analyst in Partners IS, and Sean Biggins, a project manager in Finance.