Managed and preventive care is playing an increasingly critical role, as technology is being thrust to the foreground, tracking and enabling care compliance. Technology's potential to enable preventive care and advance the outcomes of managed care, rather than simply being deployed as an administrative tick box, is a force to be acknowledged in the healthcare industry.

Payers and providers might say that healthcare would be simpler if it weren't for the patients. A new category of engagement communications technologies, which combines the advances in high-tech communications with a human touch, will benefit Medicaid, Medicare and commercial healthcare in service delivery and reduced cost. These technologies are poised to play an important role in the shifting responsibility of preventive care compliance, for example, by increasing patient accountability in proactive healthcare management.

Consumers are dealing with more competing priorities. This is compounded by the fact that they do not follow entirely rational paths. They will miss a colon-cancer screening because of fear or perceived embarrassment of the procedure. The irrational decisions not only negatively impact the cost of healthcare, but they can have potentially catastrophic effects on their lives.

The field of behavioral economics—which involves using social, cognitive and emotional factors in understanding the economic decisions of consumers, borrowers and investors, and its resulting effects on markets—has been around for some time, although mainly as an academic notion rather than a business application. There is early usage of it taking shape today in the form of advanced engagement communications applications.

Engagement communications blends advanced communications, such as voice messaging, SMS, email and Web portals, with a human touch. Together they create points of engagement. Getting in touch with a consumer might inform but it doesn't necessarily activate. Create engagement points, and the path is opened up for activation.

Healthcare is an example where engagement communications is now playing an important role. Engagement communications in the form of regular tailored communications, such as text reminders about smoking cessation or medication regimens, help create an early intervention. But they must also have an escalation alert that notifies health providers when a patient hasn't responded.

Such early intervention comprises, albeit primitive, behavioral economic technology applications. The outcomes improve health and well-being of people while reducing costs to healthcare—allowing funds to be directed to research and other patient needs.

Once a healthcare practice understands its patients' points of failure, it can take action to intervene and modify behaviors. For example, sending tailored reminders involving friendly automated voicemails the day before an appointment, which also presents the option to reschedule, pre-empts a no-show. This, followed up with a text SMS message a couple of hours before an appointment, further engages and activates busy patients to show up to their appointment on time, resulting in a significant reduction of no-shows.

The economics of intervening and creating positive actions in human behavior are far reaching. Connecting and engaging members with timely, relevant touchpoints, and leveraging advanced communication tools provide the healthcare industry with a high impact and cost-effective channel to engage and empower people to take a greater and more proactive role in their own healthcare.

Originally published in Managed Healthcare Executive, August 1, 2010

by Scott Zimmerman

Consumers are increasingly agnostic as to whether they buy their goods in-store, over the phone, or online. Often the only "human" experience a shopper has with a company's brand is in the product delivery. But here's the rub: Mobile and ubiquitous communications mean that customers are now constantly moving targets, and they expect service and delivery to accommodate their schedules. They want a text or a voicemail when a delivery or service appointment is 30 minutes away NOT a delivery window of between four to seven hours. Product and service delivery has not typically been geared around this thinking. It needs to be.

Advances in technology and communications -- from voicemail to mobile GPS to SMS to email -- mean that people are reachable most anywhere. However, few companies have the technology resources and capabilities to manage highly-scalable automated two-way communications of phone, voice, email, and SMS communications. This is why they are increasingly outsourcing to hosted engagement communications (EC) software and services companies that offer dedicated and secure T1 links, CRM systems integration, and specialized support and services to help deliver the final "brand touch." The payback is persuasive – improved delivery cycles, fewer missed appointments, better use of customer call centers, reduced overall cost of delivery, and increased customer engagement and satisfaction.

Engaging customers through automated messaging and communications can be highly personalized, massively scalable – and surprisingly interactive. Hundreds and thousands of delivery schedule and reminder calls can be made in a matter of minutes. Moreover, outsourcing and automating outbound scheduling significantly reduces the call volume coming into customer service teams, thus freeing them to answer more complex calls. The cost comparisons are significant: An inbound call to an agent can cost anywhere from $4 to $8 to address, compared to between 5 and 26 cents for an automated outbound call. When you begin to scale this to hundreds and thousands of calls a day, the business case speaks for itself.

A leading brand manufacturer of white goods uses a network of agents throughout the U.S. to fulfill home deliveries. Because they are outsourcing, it is critical to have a system in place that ensures a consistent quality of service and brand experience throughout the delivery process. To help satisfy this need, they use a customer engagement communications system for all agents to access. All customers, regardless of which agent is providing the delivery, now experience the same quality of engagement -- from personalized delivery reminders and confirmation messages to voicemails and text messages providing updates on status and any change to their scheduled appointment. So, even though the company outsources delivery, it still controls the brand experience customers receive -- right up to the last inch of delivery.

Proactively reminding and updating customers of delivery times through automated voicemail, email, or SMS dramatically increases the perceived level of personalized customer service. This can be enhanced further by including an option for customers to call or be routed to a live customer service agent if they need to reschedule. This approach allows delivery trucks to cover more visits in a single day and delivery times to be pinpointed and communicated within smaller windows -- something customers have been clamoring for across service and product delivery markets. Plus, it's a win-win for customer and business because the level of missed appointments drops significantly.

Consider, for example, PSE&G, a regulated gas and electric utility company that serves some 3.8 million customers in New Jersey. When the utility moved to automated schedule reminders, its level of missed home appointments dropped from 6.4 percent to 4.3 percent; an improvement of 34 percent, which goes straight to the bottom line. It has also realized improvements in the level of customer service and satisfaction it can deliver. The company uses a series of automated outbound calls to confirm appointments for appliance repair, to make thank-you follow-up calls within an hour of a customer scheduling an appointment, and to make an apology if a technician is running late, that includes the option to redirect to a customer service representative if the customer needs to reschedule.

Advances in engagement communications are creating new and innovative applications across the service and product delivery spectrum. For example, hotels and resorts are assessing the possibility of integrating their reservation systems with automated customer engagement communications. This will provide the means for customers, at point of check-in, to opt into receiving SMS, voice, or email messages to be notified about happy hour discounts, show tickets, or restaurant reservations. These timely and highly tailored automated engagement communications have the potential to drive up on-site revenue per customer by keeping them aware of and loyal to in-house services and facilities.

The business of automated notifications is entering a new phase. Engagement communications can now create automated but dynamic and two-way dialogue between a brand and a consumer on a massive yet personalized scale. It can, quite literally, deliver the brand promise.

Originally published in 1:1 Media, July 20, 2010

WebPlus clients with dental and orthodontic practices can take advantage of this powerful one-two punch to improve their online brand with expert services. BrandAwake offers an ideal extension for the initial SEO setup included with every WebPlus website. Once TeleVox creates a website using the latest search guidelines, ProKarma provides ongoing tailor-made natural and pay-per-click search consulting to help website owners reach more prospective customers, maximize revenue opportunities, eliminate wasted marketing spend and achieve business growth.

“ProKarma, is excited to offer our custom SEO and SEM solution, BrandAwake, for TeleVox WebPlus clients. Our focus on the dental and orthodontic professions and knowledge of the online search industry provides our TeleVox clients with a true online advantage for acquiring new patients," said Chad Bontrager, Vice President of Marketing for ProKarma. The team at ProKarma has been helping website owners achieve peak performance for more than seven years, and has earned distinction as being Google Qualified, a Yahoo Ambassador and a Microsoft adCenter Certified Partner.

“Our WebPlus clients are now able to take advantage of expertise that is simply unmatched in the industry,” adds Charity Mason, TeleVox Product Manager for WebPlus. “We know that each and every one of our clients has a unique brand, and with BrandAwake they will be able to reap the benefits of a custom-created, affordable SEO and SEM program that will drive not only search engine results, but business results.”

WebPlus clients interested in learning more about BrandAwake can contact ProKarma at www.brandawake.com,or at 1-877-832-8840.

TeleVox Software, Inc., a subsidiary of West Corporation, is the leading provider of customer and patient engagement communications (EC) services to healthcare and commercial markets. The TeleVox product and service portfolio includes personalized automated messaging and notifications, interactive website design and hosting, secure online communications portals, and customer engagement consultancy. TeleVox products and services help companies create optimal communications and engagement paths with their customers to increase customer satisfaction and retention, resulting in marked improvements in revenue as well as substantially decreased operating costs. TeleVox product and service brands include HouseCalls, LabCalls, T.LINK EC, Vox On-Hold and WebPlus. Supported by 24x7 customer care, TeleVox products and services are used by 17,000 healthcare and commercial enterprises throughout North America. The company is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama.

BrandAwake, Powered by ProKarma, has helped its clients gain visibility, gather leads and ultimately build successful businesses with more powerful online visibility. BrandAwake focuses on the client's search engine needs and gaining ultimate visibility for their products and services. Our unmatched customer support and honest approach and industry expertise makes us a great choice for your SEO and SEM needs. For more information, visit us online at www.brandawake.com,or call 1-877-832-8840 or e-mail info@brandawake.com.

Richard M. Dunn, DDS, and Nicholas J. Savastano, DMD, MS, jointly operate two busy orthodontic practice locations in the Central Florida area (one in Longwood, Fla, and one in Lake Mary, Fla). Dunn has been in practice in the area since 1977, and was joined in 2003 by Savastano after he graduated from Ohio State University. In their offices, patients are not assigned to one particular doctor, and each patient sees both Dunn and Savastano. Overall, Dunn and Savastano have more than 15,000 patients in active treatment, recall, and retention.

In an e-mail interview, the orthodontists tell Orthodontic Products about the ways in which two high-tech office solutions from TeleVox—T.LINK and HouseCalls™—have helped them manage the two practices and all of their patients.

Orthodontic Products: What was your process for delivering appointment reminders and other practice communication before implementing the TeleVox systems?

Dunn and Savastano: Our staff was responsible for confirming their patients for the following day. It was tough for our assistants to juggle this in-between seeing patients and taking care of their other chairside duties. Our office used mail recall cards, birthday cards, missed appointment cards, etc.

OP: Walk us through the process of communicating with a patient now that you have HouseCalls and T.LINK implemented.

Dunn and Savastano: First of all, potential patients have the ability to solicit our office through our Web site by filling out a new-patient form and/or e-mailing questions. Once a new patient has called and set up the first appointment, he or she is directed to our Web site, where several of the forms needed can be filled out prior to that appointment. New patients also have the capability to sign up and log in to view appointment information and sign themselves up for text-messaging reminders.

We contact patients using HouseCalls and an e-mail 48 hours prior to the appointment. When patients get a phone call, they are prompted to confirm the appointment or cancel simply by pushing a button. The e-mail also has a confirm button the patient clicks on, and their response is sent to our office via e-mail. There is also a button for patients to click if they would like to add that appointment to their Microsoft Outlook Calendar.

A report is e-mailed to our office that details the results of the phone call reminders. This report is very detailed and helpful when having to answer questions about any problems with calls being received by the patient. The report tells whether the phone was answered and the patient hung up on the call, if there was a message left on the answering machine, if a live person picked up and gave a response, or if that person canceled or confirmed the appointment. The e-mail report only takes confirmations, since patients are requested to call the office to cancel or change appointments.

Throughout treatment our office sends our patients newsletters and e-mails on upcoming office events and contests. Flyers, links, and automatic recall and birthday cards can be attached using T.LINK. T.LINK offers the ability to specify who receives the e-mails. You can select all responsible parties and patients, only patients, only responsible parties, one individual, etc.

OP: How do HouseCalls and T.LINK benefit you as orthodontists?

Dunn and Savastano: We feel the benefit not as a direct impact on us, the orthodontists, but through our staff. It reduces the workload of our staff members and gives them the capability of communicating directly to each patient in more than one way.

We do not have a need to have anything sync with our portable devices because our staff manages our scheduling and patient communication. However, our patients like the ability to use their portable devices to access T.LINK via our Web site. Patients especially like the e-mail reminders and text messaging reminders they can get on portable devices.

Having high-tech communication for the practice eases our minds. We do not have to wonder if our staff confirmed the patients for the following day. We can rest assured that the patients will get an e-mail and a phone call reminding them of their upcoming appointment, as well as recall reminders to those potential patients waiting to start braces.

OP: What was the implementation process like?

Dunn and Savastano: The overall experience was relatively easy. Our office had been using HouseCalls for more than 8 years when we decided to add T.LINK, which made it easy to incorporate. It took us about 1 week to get everything implemented. We had all our scripting on paper from previous systems and in our procedure manual, so we e-mailed it over to our representative, Holly Armentrout, and she did most of the legwork for us. Holly worked hand in hand with Dr Savastano. Most of the work to implement the system was done remotely or through e-mail.

OP: How does HouseCalls make patients more responsible?

1. Patients get a confirmation call, e-mail, and/or text message 48 hours ahead of time that prompts them to call if there is a conflict and they need to cancel. This gives us 48 hours to fill that appointment slot.
2. Patients can keep track of their appointments by logging in to verify time and locations through our Web site.
3. Patients can view their insurance ledgers to aid the office with making sure the insurance companies are paying on time.
4. With the Flex Reimbursement Accounts, patients can view and print their ledgers to submit for reimbursement without our office having to take the time to print and mail them. We do have to give the responsible party the appropriate ADA code they will need to use each month on their receipts.

OP: How much front-end work is involved with HouseCalls?

Dunn and Savastano: Daily setup for the calls to be made is a simple 30-second to 1-minute computer procedure handled by our scheduling coordinator. You can use a staff member’s voice; however, we decided to use the TeleVox voice to save time with the setup process. Additionally, the computer recognizes names without having to prerecord them as far as we know.

OP: What are the problems associated with relying on such high-tech practice solutions?

Dunn and Savastano: The only drawback that we have found is a prolonged power outage. We are dealing with computers, so if they are not working then the information is not being sent. We have only had one instance of this.

OP: Your office conducts regular T.LINK training sessions. What is covered in these sessions? Who conducts them? How much time do they take out of the workweek?

Dunn and Savastano: Currently, Savastano is conducting the assistant training program at our office. We set aside 1 hour every Wednesday during our lunch break for the training sessions so that it doesn’t interfere with our workweek and patient schedules. Having regular training sessions using T.LINK has been a great tool in our office by bringing the entire staff up to speed and making sure we are on the same page.

OP: What is the actual financial impact that your practice has experienced since implementing T.LINK and HouseCalls?

Dunn and Savastano: These systems save our office approximately $12,500 per year, which translates into nearly a 38% decrease in our expenses. Our goal this year is to increase that to 60%.

OP: What is the actual time-saving impact that your practice has experienced since implementing the two TeleVox systems?

Dunn and Savastano: Staff time is reduced by approximately 28% by using HouseCalls to confirm every patient that is scheduled (which can be anywhere from 85 to 110 patients per given day). Sending recall cards, birthday cards, and BA cards takes quite a bit of time to do each month, and we required our staff to handwrite each one of these because we felt computer labels were impersonal. Having mass e-mailing abilities with T.Link saves time for staff members on any of our promotions or events that we inform patients about as well.

OP: Did your practice find it necessary to continue with paper reminders?

Dunn and Savastano: Not really. We are able to make all patients happy with the several options that the system offers. For those patients who are not computer literate, the phone call works well.

OP: Is there a difference in how your younger and older patients or parents embraced the new systems?

Dunn and Savastano: Our younger patients enjoy the personal e-mails to them reminding them of their appointments (this helps as an added extra reminder for Mom or Dad), and they love the personalized birthday greetings they receive from our office. Most of them will comment to us at their appointment that they received our e-mail wishing them a happy birthday. They don’t realize that it is automated—they think we actually e-mail them ourselves.

Our older patients that are in the business world love the system. Sometimes it is a big selling point in the new-patient exam or even at the phone call. Our older patients that grew up on computers don’t know any other way. It’s a plus no matter what.

Originally published in Orthodontic Products, April/May 2010

MOBILE, AL — May 4, 2010: TeleVox Software, the leading provider of customer and patient engagement communications (EC) services to healthcare and commercial markets, today announced major enhancements to T.LINK EC. The upgrade from T.LINK EC to T.LINK EC is being rolled out immediately, at no additional cost, to TeleVox's thousands of orthodontic and dental practices throughout North America, and will be available to new customers beginning May 1, 2010.

Enhancements to T.LINK EC are designed to help dentists and orthodontists build and strengthen practice and patient communications through simple and powerful online tools, all of which can be accessed from a single web-based system. Enhancements include new practice marketing, patient referral, patient survey and social media tools.

Upgraded Interface Design: T.LINK EC's user interface has been re-designed to deliver a more intuitive user experience and significantly faster access to patient notification, appointment and practice marketing tools. Navigation and access has been improved so that most features and tools can be accessed in three or less mouse-clicks.

Marketing Manager: T.LINK EC allows practices to choose from a set of pre-installed creative email and e-newsletter templates, which promote a range of initiatives including new products and services, patient-get-patient promotions, oral health reminders and inter-practice promotions. T.LINK EC's campaign templates have been created by a team of industry experts, so customers are assured that the style and content will maximize audience engagement. All T.LINK EC email templates are Personal Health Information and HIPPA compliant.

T.LINK EC's advanced Marketing Manager features provide the ability to conduct highly targeted, personalized and individually timed email campaigns that can be distributed according to patient age or location. A practice can use this feature to strategically build product and service awareness over time through educational messages sent on a recurring schedule (e.g. every three months).

Patient Pulse: A powerful survey engine that helps practices track customer satisfaction, treatment success and identify possible unmet needs is now available within T.LINK EC. T.LINK EC's Patient Pulse comes with a set of survey templates that are fully customizable to a practice's unique needs while also allowing practices to build custom surveys from scratch. Individual surveys can be timed to be sent to a customer immediately after an appointment in order to get an instant pulse on the patient experience.

T.LINK EC's Patient Pulse also includes an innovative 'early warning' alert. Practices can customize an alert to be sent each time a particular survey response is answered negatively. This gives practices an early warning to potential quality or customer dissatisfaction issues.

The Patient Pulse feature goes far beyond surveys. It also provides practices with the ability to deliver personalized care and treatment information. For example, emails can be created and targeted by procedure, location or doctor advising on patient after-care or what to expect from a procedure such as de-banding. These new patient engagement features help improve patient education and treatment outcomes.

Buzz Builder: A new set of T.LINK EC features called Buzz Builder helps practices strengthen their patient referral activities and build their social media presence. All T.LINK EC patient messages and automated patient notifications can now be sent with Follow Us On Twitter and Become A Facebook Fan buttons. This innovation will help build a base of practice followers by automatically linking patients to a practice's social media sites.

Patients can also be encouraged to forward practice promotions to a friend, or to participate in Refer-A-Friend promotions, by leveraging Refer-A-Friend buttons. Facebook, Twitter and Refer-A-Friend buttons can be added to all T.LINK EC outbound emails, appointment confirmations and patient notifications.

Enhanced Patient Engagement Communications Features and Consulting Services: In addition to powerful new practice marketing tools and an enhanced user interface, T.LINK EC includes a set of improved patient notification and engagement features. Via T.LINK EC's secure portal, patients can log-in to access their treatment information online including appointment times, billing information and new product and service information. They can also update and edit contact information, find emergency and after-hours information, and even pay their bills online.

Practices now have access to the most comprehensive, scalable and secure patient engagement and communications portal tools available including PHI and HIPPA compliant email, voice and SMS appointment and treatment scheduling, reminder and update tools.

Industry Leading Service: TeleVox is the only patient and practice management portal provider to offer 24x7 technical support and live online chat, as well as dedicated support teams and specialist consultants to help every client deploy T.LINK EC to their own particular business and practice need. This allows busy practice professionals to optimize their use of TeleVox products and services without having to take time away from important practice management duties.

"T.LINK EC is the most popular practice management portal, with nearly twice the market share of our nearest competitor. We believe the advances we have made will further increase its popularity. We know we are meeting unmet demands with T.LINK EC," said Scott Zimmerman, President of TeleVox. "A recent survey of more than 9,000 dentists and orthodontists throughout the US, conducted by TeleVox, told us that more than 60 percent of practices that are not currently proactively promoting and marketing their products and services would do so if it were made easy. This is exactly what we have delivered with T.LINK EC -- simple and powerful practice marketing, patient referral, patient survey and patient notification tools."

About TeleVox

TeleVox Software, Inc., a subsidiary of West Corporation, is the leading provider of customer and patient engagement communications (EC) services to healthcare and commercial markets. The TeleVox product and service portfolio includes personalized automated messaging and notifications, interactive website design and hosting, secure online communications portals, and customer engagement consultancy. TeleVox products and services help B2B and B2C companies create optimal communications and engagement paths with their customers to increase customer satisfaction and retention, resulting in marked improvements in revenue as well as substantially decreased operating costs. TeleVox product and service brands include HouseCalls, LabCalls, T.LINK EC, Vox On-Hold and WebPlus. Supported by 24x7 customer care, TeleVox products and services are used by nearly 17,000 healthcare and commercial enterprises throughout North America. The company is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama.

Companies must change the way they engage their customers — Generation Z demands it.

In my line of work, I spend a lot of time helping companies of all types engage and activate customers and I can say with certainty that GenZ customers are unique. First of all, they are young, busy and often forgetful. They are also worried about fitting in with their peers and put a value on being highly connected. They've grown up with the Internet, instant messaging, text messaging and mobile phones. In fact, most GenZ customers have their own mobile phones, and they spend their free time texting and communicating online. As a result, they expect family, friends, and even businesses, to communicate with them electronically.

One surprising segment of small to mid-sized businesses — orthodontists — has really opened my eyes to the opportunity to truly communicate and engage with GenZ customers in a way that encourages behavior change. With GenZ making up the bulk of their customer base, orthodontists have had to adapt, and I believe most businesses can leverage some of their learnings as they struggle to meet the needs of the GenZ population.

Here are a few simple, yet effective, learnings that resonate with Generation Z:

1) Automate reminders: As I mentioned, GenZ customers can be forgetful. It's not surprising to hear that thousands of appointments are wasted every year by customers who simply don't show up for scheduled visits. These missed appointments cost small and mid-sized businesses money. By simply sending GenZ customers an automated reminder the day before their appointments, companies can dramatically reduce the number of no-shows. Automated appointment reminders can be sent via email, voicemail or text message — whichever form of communication the customer prefers.

2) Extend customer care: All businesses desire to build long-term relationships with their customers. With this in mind, many companies are employing the use of notifications technology such as e-mail and text messaging to provide ongoing customer care. For example, one progressive orthodontist I work with communicates with GenZ customers between visits to ensure the patient is managing his treatment at home. If part of a patient's treatment is to wear headgear at night, the orthodontist schedules a series of text messages to be delivered a few nights a week reminding his patient to wear his headgear:

• Monday's message: dnt 4gt 2 wear yr headgear (Translation: Don't forget to wear your headgear)
• Thursday's message: brush yr ivories n zzz wel (Translation: Brush your teeth and sleep well
• Saturday's message: 1ly 99 nyts lft 2 wear headgear (Translation: Only 99 nights left to wear headgear
• Monday's message: headgear = gr8 ivories n lots of d8s (Translation: Headgear equals great teeth and lots of dates)

Don't know the texting lingo? Here's a translator: http://www.lingo2word.com/translate.php.

This same orthodontist has kids and knows Generation Z customers are all about video. So, he e-mails his GenZ customers YouTube videos with tips from their peers. To give you a feel for what I'm talking about, view this YouTube video that shares tips and tricks for wearing elastics. How cool is that? So experiment, have fun and, most importantly, engage your GenZ customers with ongoing communications.

3) Prompt customers with personal messages: GenZ customers want to know you are looking after them, and personalized communications will go a long way towards proving you care. Sending automated reminders and informative tips is a step in the right direction. However, companies that really understand and embrace customer care will go the extra mile and prompt their GenZ customers with personal messages to show they care. For example, my favorite orthodontist has a GenZ customer who is on the high school football team. With a new set of braces, his customer was nervous about taking a hit. What did the orthodontist do? He texted the GenZ customer on the day of his big game — remMbR 2 wear yr mouf gard durin d gme 2nite brng hom a win. (Translation: Remember to wear your mouth guard during the game tonight. Bring home a win.) This is a lesson all business can learn — send personalized messages and communications. It's easy when you leverage notifications technologies to create and schedule them in advance, so the messages can be sent automatically when the time is right.

As you begin exploring ways to engage GenZ customers, remember to Mbrace teknoloG 2 comnC8. (Translation: Embrace technology to communicate.)

A Captive Audience

On-hold callers compose a larger audience than many healthcare organizations may realize. A CNN survey estimated that the average American spends approximately 60 hours per year waiting to speak to a live person. Once a call is placed on hold, an average of 43 seconds passes before that call is fielded. This is an excellent time to promote extra services, features and other information that differentiates one organization from its competitors.

Telemarketing Magazine conducted surveys showing that 25% to 40% of callers make purchases based on information they heard while on hold. AT&T research found that 25-30% of callers have purchased additional products or services based on an on-hold sales suggestion. US West Communications determined that on-hold messaging generates a 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned during the waiting period.

Stay on the Line!

If promotional and additional revenue opportunities do not capture the attention of healthcare providers, improved call abandonment rates certainly will. The odds are stacked against providers who resist hosting on-hold entertainment. AT&T evaluated the abandonment patterns of on-hold callers, and the results discourage on-hold silence. Studies found that 80% of callers with silence on hold hang up within one minute.

Other researchers have discovered similar tendencies toward on-hold call abandonment. In their survey, CNN noted that without music or messages, 70% of callers on hold will hang up and 35% will not call back. The North American Telecommunications Association reported callers with silence on hold will abandon their calls in less than one minute, and 90% hang up within 40 seconds. Callers listening to information while on hold will remain on the line for up to three minutes longer.

Choosing the Industry Leader

Once the decision is made to employ on-hold messaging, providers have a multitude of options from which to choose. Vox On-Hold, TeleVox's on-hold messaging system, continues to present the most comprehensive solution to healthcare providers, offering system flexibility, personalized productions and technical superiority. Vox On-Hold includes message libraries tailored to specific healthcare specialties, and custom messages can be professionally written and recorded to reflect a provider's unique image and personality.

After incorporating systems such as Vox On-Hold, healthcare organizations are able to provide a much more informative and entertaining experience for on hold callers. The increased caller retention from on-hold messaging is paying great dividends within the competitive healthcare industry.

A Captive Audience

On-hold callers compose a larger audience than many healthcare organizations may realize. A CNN survey estimated that the average American spends approximately 60 hours per year waiting to speak to a live person. Once a call is placed on hold, an average of 43 seconds passes before that call is fielded. This is an excellent time to promote extra services, features and other information that differentiates one organization from its competitors.

Telemarketing Magazine conducted surveys showing that 25% to 40% of callers make purchases based on information they heard while on hold. AT&T research found that 25-30% of callers have purchased additional products or services based on an on-hold sales suggestion. US West Communications determined that on-hold messaging generates a 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned during the waiting period.

Stay on the Line!

If promotional and additional revenue opportunities do not capture the attention of healthcare providers, improved call abandonment rates certainly will. The odds are stacked against providers who resist hosting on-hold entertainment. AT&T evaluated the abandonment patterns of on-hold callers, and the results discourage on-hold silence. Studies found that 80% of callers with silence on hold hang up within one minute.

Other researchers have discovered similar tendencies toward on-hold call abandonment. In their survey, CNN noted that without music or messages, 70% of callers on hold will hang up and 35% will not call back. The North American Telecommunications Association reported callers with silence on hold will abandon their calls in less than one minute, and 90% hang up within 40 seconds. Callers listening to information while on hold will remain on the line for up to three minutes longer.

Choosing the Industry Leader

Once the decision is made to employ on-hold messaging, providers have a multitude of options from which to choose. Vox On-Hold, TeleVox's on-hold messaging system, continues to present the most comprehensive solution to healthcare providers, offering system flexibility, personalized productions and technical superiority. Vox On-Hold includes message libraries tailored to specific healthcare specialties, and custom messages can be professionally written and recorded to reflect a provider's unique image and personality.

After incorporating systems such as Vox On-Hold, healthcare organizations are able to provide a much more informative and entertaining experience for on hold callers. The increased caller retention from on-hold messaging is paying great dividends within the competitive healthcare industry.

A Captive Audience

On-hold callers compose a larger audience than many healthcare organizations may realize. A CNN survey estimated that the average American spends approximately 60 hours per year waiting to speak to a live person. Once a call is placed on hold, an average of 43 seconds passes before that call is fielded. This is an excellent time to promote extra services, features and other information that differentiates one organization from its competitors.

Telemarketing Magazine conducted surveys showing that 25% to 40% of callers make purchases based on information they heard while on hold. AT&T research found that 25-30% of callers have purchased additional products or services based on an on-hold sales suggestion. US West Communications determined that on-hold messaging generates a 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned during the waiting period.

Stay on the Line!

If promotional and additional revenue opportunities do not capture the attention of healthcare providers, improved call abandonment rates certainly will. The odds are stacked against providers who resist hosting on-hold entertainment. AT&T evaluated the abandonment patterns of on-hold callers, and the results discourage on-hold silence. Studies found that 80% of callers with silence on hold hang up within one minute.

Other researchers have discovered similar tendencies toward on-hold call abandonment. In their survey, CNN noted that without music or messages, 70% of callers on hold will hang up and 35% will not call back. The North American Telecommunications Association reported callers with silence on hold will abandon their calls in less than one minute, and 90% hang up within 40 seconds. Callers listening to information while on hold will remain on the line for up to three minutes longer.

Choosing the Industry Leader

Once the decision is made to employ on-hold messaging, providers have a multitude of options from which to choose. Vox On-Hold, TeleVox's on-hold messaging system, continues to present the most comprehensive solution to healthcare providers, offering system flexibility, personalized productions and technical superiority. Vox On-Hold includes message libraries tailored to specific healthcare specialties, and custom messages can be professionally written and recorded to reflect a provider's unique image and personality.

After incorporating systems such as Vox On-Hold, healthcare organizations are able to provide a much more informative and entertaining experience for on hold callers. The increased caller retention from on-hold messaging is paying great dividends within the competitive healthcare industry.

The consequences of flawed or incomplete member records can be extremely costly. According to a study by independent research group Dynamic Markets, 77% of U.S. organizations acknowledge that bad contact information is affecting their bottom line. TDWI estimates that poor data quality costs U.S. businesses more than $600 billion in missed revenue opportunities each year.

When combined with the percentage of inaccurate mailing addresses, organizations that insist on communicating through direct mail accumulate enormous printing and postage costs for mail that will never reach its intended target. Undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail is estimated to cost U.S. businesses more than $1.5 billion per year, and according to the United States Postal Service, 93% of UAA mail is caused by changes of address.

Erroneous member data does not have to be a persistent problem. For organizations looking to amend and enhance records in a cost-effective manner, the SmartAppend database management service has proven to be an invaluable tool. The database management service updates information overnight to increase contact accuracy and reduce the expenses associated with failed member contact.