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Outsiders get the call; Firms specializing in medical call centers, hospitalist programs see strong growth.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Julie Piotrowski

When Bristol (Conn.) Hospital wanted to improve its patient-satisfaction scores and market share while building a stronger relationship with the community, hospital administrators turned toward the growing field of clinical outsourcing to provide better-quality care, greater efficiencies and improved communication.

The not-for-profit provider, an affiliate of Hartford, Conn.-based teaching hospital St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, envisioned an efficient, 24-hour medical call center staffed by clinicians to handle its growing volume of triage and information calls, but it also realized that providing round-the-clock service using in-house resources would be costly.

Viewing an after-hours call service as critical to maintaining its reputation in the rapidly growing hospital community of 90,000-plus residents, Bristol Hospital entered into a clinical outsourcing agreement with IntelliCare, a Portland, Maine-based provider of medical contact center application software and services. Through the partnership, the 128-bed hospital was able to increase customer loyalty and reduce its nurse hours and costs.

Always there

Just by being there 24 hours a day, the call center "makes a powerful statement that Bristol Hospital takes healthcare very seriously,'' says Thomas Kennedy, the hospital's president and chief executive officer.

The facility is one of 225 hospitals, healthcare systems, health plans, group practices and employers outsourcing their call center operations to IntelliCare and using the company's technology and services to handle calls more efficiently, manage demand, provide effective disease management services for patients and ultimately boost downstream revenue. Bristol's medical call center now fields upwards of 1,500 calls per month including triage cases with clinicians, physician and counseling referrals and class registration. The center also provides coverage for the hospital's women's health clinic, home-care agency and employee benefits line.

As changes in market conditions and patient populations lead hospitals and healthcare systems to continually re-evaluate how they can provide higher-quality and more cost-effective care, providers are looking to update traditional outsourcing models. While contracts for food service departments, laundry and housekeeping services still lead providers' outsourcing initiatives, more hospital administrators are signing off on opportunities to outsource clinical functions such as medical call centers, nurse triage services and new niches of specialty staffing support. Hospitals are looking to gain efficiencies at lower costs and greater returns on their investments while eliminating staffing burdens. Healthcare leaders increasingly contend that they want physicians...