Pale Rhino is a consulting firm that helps healthcare providers improve patient access and experience. They conducted an engagement with a large teaching hospital to create a strategy for the hospital's call center. Pale Rhino assessed the current call center, identified gaps in functionality and ability to handle different call types. They recommended implementing a CRM system, expanding call center services and hours, and developing a coordinated digital access strategy including a patient portal and mobile access to provide a seamless omnichannel experience for patients. The new strategy aimed to improve caller and employee satisfaction while achieving key performance metrics for the health system.

1. RECASTING THE ACCESS
EXPERIENCE
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)

2. Pale Rhino is an execution-oriented business consulting and
technology solutions company focused on enabling healthcare
providers and payers to disrupt patient and customer experience and
access.
Facts
• Founded in 1996
• Headquartered in the Philadelphia area.
• National presence and international reach serving clients on five
continents and representing firms with a combined customer base of
more than 225 million
• Diverse workforce comprised of industry, global consulting, Big Four,
professionals
Contact
• paul@palerhinoconsulting.com
• 484-885-6942
Who Is Pale Rhino Consulting?
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)

3. How To Create Patients For Life
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Patient
Expectation
Management
Patient
Experience
Management
Patient Equity
Management

4. Access Experience Channels
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
In Person Over the Phone
Online Over the Phone
TOMORROW
(Interactive)
TODAY
(Transactional)

5. What Is The Access Continuum
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Concerned Post-Hospital
General
Public/
Shoppers
Staff
Patients
Clinicians
Pre-Hospital At Hospital
Families

6. All Stakeholders Need Access
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Patient
Personas
Prospective
Patients
(Customers)
Physicians
Inpatients
Outpatients
Discharged
Patients
Former
Patients

7. Patient Access Today…
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Call
Center

8. Patient Access Tomorrow…
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Call
Center
Customer
Portal
Mobile
Strategy
Social Media

9. How Do People Rate Access?
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Ease of Access Process Efficiency
Process Consistency
Clinical Outcomes
Continuity of CareCustomer Service
Mobility
Process Transparency

10. Why Do People Call?
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Referrals, Central Authorization, Registration, Scheduling,
Refills, Triage, Billing, Payments, Admissions, Discharge,
Disputes, Claims, Insurance, ED, Labs, Primary Care
Provider, Clinics, Medical Records, Imaging, Therapy, Pre-
surgery, Find a Doctor, Payment Plans, Pharmacy
(Only about 20% of the calls are about scheduling)

11. How Do Callers Rate Your Call Center?
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
SLOW
SLOW
SLOW
SLOW
No concerns Some concerns Requires AttentionSLOW

12. What Are The ROIs Of Patient Access?
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Improve retention & referrals
Reduce Admissions &
Readmissions
Reduce Back Office Support
Costs
Revenue Assurance

13. Our 3 Components Of Innovating Access
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Create Enterprise-Wide
Access/Experience
Strategy
Implement Interactive
Digital Access
Implement Effective
Voice Access
The innovation of patient access and patient experience encompasses three
components
• Create vision for access and
experience
• Inventory the existing strategy
and touchpoints
• Perform GAP analysis
• Define patient personas
• Build roadmap for change
• Assess processes to be included
• Develop change management
program
• Design and build Customer Portal
• Design and implement mobile
strategy
• Design and implement Social
Media strategy
• CRM requirements, selection and
implementation
• Determine Call Center strategy

14. Our Approach To Innovating Access
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
Focus Area Offerings
Enterprise-Wide
Access/Experience
Strategy
o Enterprise-wide Touch Point Inventory
o Patient Personas & Journey Mapping
o Touch Point Scorecard
o Experience GAP Analysis
o Enterprise-wide Strategy
o Solution Road Map
Interactive Digital
Access
o Design & Build Customer Portal
o Design & Implement Mobile Strategy
o Design & Implement Social Media Experience Programs
Voice Access o Design Access & Experience Strategy for Call Center
o Define Requirements & Create RFP for CRM
o Select & Implement CRM
Process
Elimination/
Automation
o Eliminate duplicate, manual and paper processes
o Create automated 2-way processes
o Design Change Management Initiatives

15. A Sample Access Engagement
A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Create a call center
experience strategy that
enabled maximum access
• Increase caller & employee
satisfaction.
• Ensure the strategy enabled
health system to achieve KPIs
• Recommend which calls types
should also be accessed by a
customer and patient portal
• Recommend which other
access types (chat, email,
online, fax)
• 75% transferred, 40% repeat,
1st call resolution 30%, 15%
abandoned
• 99% of requests for nurse
went to voice mail
• Resulted in 10k additional ED
visits
• only 20% of calls were for
scheduling
• Scheduling center was not
capable of being a call center
• Did not have the tools,
resources, skills sets to meet
most of the callers’ needs
 Enable call center
functionality to handle all call
types
 Defined estimated staffing
levels by skill set to handle all
call types
 Add triage skills to call center
 Enable refill fulfillment
 Enable call center access via
chat, email, fax
 Expand hours/days
 Include PX survey through the
IVR
Sample Engagement: Create Access/Experience Call Center Strategy
• Pale Rhino worked with a large teaching hospital to assess the call center, and create an access/experience strategy
that ties to an enterprise-wide strategy.
APPROACHOBJECTIVE
15

16. A remarkable experience for every patient
every time (on any device)
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Justify halting the
implementation of a
scheduling application and
universal single number
calling until all of the access
functional requirements were
defined
• Define high-level technical
requirements
• Call reason codes by call
percentage
• 80% of calls had no tools to
support the employees
• High-level functional,
technical, and mobile access
for callers and online access
requirements that resulted in
uniform brand access from
the patient’s perspective
 Select and implement CRM,
ACD, and IVR applications
 Standardize clinics’
scheduling, policies and
procedures
 Add the authorization
function to the call center
 Allow call agents interactive
access to PCP
 Track open-items
 Add online chat functionality
to the website and staff chat
from the call center
Sample Engagement: Create Access/Experience Call Center Strategy
• Pale Rhino worked with a large teaching hospital to assess the call center, and create an access/experience strategy
that ties to an enterprise-wide strategy.
APPROACHOBJECTIVE
16
A Sample Access Engagement

17. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Create an enterprise-wide
call center access experience
strategy that compliments a
web access strategy
• Create a high-level mobile
access strategy
• Mapped major functional
access needs for the call
center and customer portal
• Created mockup of customer
portal functions
 Develop equal access
functionality and satisfaction
requirements for patients and
customers online and by
phone
 Provide mobile access that
with functionality equal to or
above that of the call center
 Provide off-hours, 24 x 7
access via customer portal
Sample Engagement: Create Access/Experience Call Center Strategy
• Pale Rhino worked with a large teaching hospital to assess the call center, and create an access/experience strategy
that ties to an enterprise-wide strategy.
APPROACHOBJECTIVE
17
A Sample Access Engagement