The Switchvox Unified Communications (UC) solution is so flexible and easy to manage that it fits in well with just about any businesses. But the combination of features, integration capabilities, ease of use, and price point all make it the go-to solution for healthcare facilities across the country.
We have many satisfied customers in medical practices, so we compiled from them a list of the top Switchvox capabilities healthcare professionals are thankful for:
Mobility
Nurses, doctors, techs, and office administrators are constantly on the move— in and out of offices, on lunch break, traveling to another office, or taking an on-call shift while at home. Switchvox’s mobility capabilities allow staff members to use their Switchvox extension with any of their personal devices. Staff members using their extension via smartphone have all of the same capabilities as their desk phone, including call controls, visual voicemail, call recording, conferencing, and more.
- “The doctors don’t want to give out their private numbers, but they do want the staff to be able to reach them at any time, so we are getting their cellphones set up with Switchvox so that can happen” – Brian Steingraber, Director of Information Technology for Kidney Specialists of Minnesota
- “There is so much you can do with Switchvox and the UC platform in mobility that it is somewhat overwhelming. The IT department and I experiment with the functionality. Some are using Switchvox on iPhone so they can get voice mail and email through their smartphone. A few of us are experimenting with tablets” – Cory Kendrick, IT and telecommunications manager for Summit County Public Health
- “We have several employees who move from office-to-office and don’t really have desks of their own. Switchvox mobility allows those employees to use softphones, and they love it” – Aaron Reymann, Director of Operations for Inland Eye Specialists
Call Routing & IVR
With Switchvox, medical practices can automate the call flow with both call routing and use of the interactive voice response (IVR). Staff can create easy-to-follow menus for patients to reach the appropriate department, or create custom routes based on caller ID information.
- “One of the biggest concerns in researching a new phone system was to find a solution that still allowed patients to reach a live person during office hours, and not a computer. Although price points were certainly a big consideration, the ability to continue personalized communications for our patients while using the automated IVR only after hours and on holidays topped the list of feature requirements in our search” – Brian Steingraber, Director of Information Technology for Kidney Specialists of Minnesota
- “Now when a person calls looking for their birth certificate so they can get a passport, SCPH can transfer the call to Vital Records across town, just as though it were down the hall, without their having to hang up and call another number” – Cory Kendrick, IT and telecommunications manager for Summit County Public Health
- “I can change the call flow to and from certain departments, change call options, change extensions, and move phones whenever I need to, something that was very time-consuming [before]” – Aaron Reymann, Director of Operations for Inland Eye Specialists
Call Reporting
Switchvox provides Call Logs and detailed reporting that deliver more data than just who called and when. With these reports, staff members will know if a call was transferred, put in a queue, who dialed, and why that caller hung up. Detailed reports show high and low volume calling periods, which helps managers adjust staff schedules accordingly.
- “We set up the IVR so calls never ring directly to the front desk, but instead go into the call center. The ability to track calls and pull reports has shown that the practice is getting an unprecedented 100 calls per team member, per day, so you can understand how hectic it was before” – Aaron Reymann, Director of Operations for Inland Eye Specialists
- “Customer service has improved 10 times over and we have a much higher rate of connected callers than we did before. We have reports we can print that help us with quality control, figuring out problems and showing us areas for improvement based on call behavior. We had no way of knowing when calls were dropped before, or how many times someone called, or how long they were left on hold. We can track all of that now — thanks to Switchvox” – Cory Kendrick, IT and Telecommunications Manager for Summit County Public Health
Integration & Patient Information
Switchvox easily integrates with third party solutions, so the amount of information staff members can receive is endless. Integrate with your patient management system to access important patient information as soon as the call comes in (such as appointment schedules and account balances). Integrate with an appointment reminder solution to automatically remind patients of their upcoming appointment, with options to confirm or cancel. Staff members can also route calls based on the caller ID, so patients can be transferred to their doctor or nurse directly instead of navigating through a menu of options.
- “… not only is patient retrieval automatic, but the call center team members don’t have to navigate their way through the patient management system to gather information, ultimately delivering both more efficient and more effective care for our patients” – Aaron Reymann, Director of Operations for Inland Eye Specialist
- “[Older patients] have a hard time following the menus and do not like having to punch in a bunch of numbers and listen to multiple messages to reach their doctor or nurse. With Switchvox, we will program the route table with their caller ID so their call will go directly to their doctor or nurse without them having to go through the auto attendant. Older patients will really like that feature!”- Darrell Reaves, President of ICS (installed Switchvox for Cullman Primary Group)
- “FormFast employees were not anticipating the extent of the detailed information from Salesforce that could be accessed through the Switchvox system, which is a huge help to the representative while on the phone with a customer. It was like night and day for them to be able to read past notes and make notations on customer records. In the past, everything was manual, done by hand, which included a lot of human error. Now all the records are right there in front of the representative, and the caller has no idea the calls are not coming from an office or a call center” – Mark Ratliff, Analyst for Form Fast
Cost Efficient:
Implementing a Switchvox solution can save money in several different ways. First, many medical facilities no longer have to pay a phone provider for each system they own at each location. Monthly circuit costs can be reduced via a SIP provider, and the actual cost of phone calls is significantly cheaper over a facility’s already existing network. In fact, medical practices with a Switchvox solution save an average of 40-60% on their monthly communication costs.
- “When I showed [the County Health Board] the additional $40,000 in savings resulting from the elimination of re-occurring costs and connectivity, it became clear Switchvox would pay for itself in 4 years, where the Cisco would have taken 11!” – Cory Kendrick, IT and telecommunications manager for SCPH
- “Not only is Switchvox flexible and expandable leaving us plenty of room to grow, but it has cut costs drastically, which was one of the main objectives of the project” – Cevin Doppmann, Network Engineer for Strategic Health Care
- “We didn’t have a dollar figure for a budget, but Switchvox definitely saved us money. The [other] system was triple the cost of Switchvox for the same features, and we really like the ability to expand” – Mark Ratliff, Analyst for Form Fast
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