Patient Now Customer Service: A Practical Guide for Health Systems

Executive summary and why this matters now

Patient expectations have shifted: healthcare delivery is now judged as much on service quality as on clinical outcomes. Since the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) public reporting began in 2006 and CMS Value-Based Purchasing tied patient-experience scores to reimbursements in 2012, organizations have seen direct financial and reputational consequences for poor service. Public websites (CMS.gov) and comparison tools make scores visible to consumers; Medicare’s general contact line is 1-800-633-4227 for questions about policies tied to reimbursement.

Operationally, excellent patient/customer service reduces readmissions, decreases no-show rates and cuts avoidable calls. A focused investment — typically $50,000–$250,000 for an initial call-center/CRM implementation and $500–$1,500 per agent per month in ongoing costs depending on scale — will often pay back within 12–24 months through improved throughput, lower cancellations and higher patient retention. This guide explains how to measure, staff, implement technology and prove ROI with concrete targets and resources.

Policy, regulation and public reporting (context)

Key regulatory anchors are HCAHPS (public since 2006) and CMS’s Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program (effective 2012). Reporting bodies such as The Joint Commission (One Renaissance Blvd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181; phone 630-792-5000; website www.jointcommission.org) and CMS (7500 Security Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21244; website www.cms.gov) publish standards and scores hospitals must address. Accreditation and payer contracts increasingly include service metrics as part of quality or network participation requirements.

Clinics and hospitals should maintain documented processes for complaints, escalation and remedial action. Federal patient rights and state consumer protection laws require timely responses: aim to acknowledge any written complaint within 48 hours and resolve or progress to a next step within 14 calendar days unless clinically indicated otherwise. Having these SLAs documented protects against regulatory review and supports better HCAHPS-related outcomes.

Operational metrics and KPIs to run like a customer-service organization

Translate hospitality KPIs to clinical settings with measurable targets. Common, high-value KPIs include First Contact Resolution (FCR), Average Speed to Answer (ASA), abandonment rate, Net Promoter Score (NPS), HCAHPS “communication about medicines” and “responsiveness of hospital staff” domains, and complaint escalation ratio. Set specific numeric targets: ASA ≤ 30 seconds for phone triage lines, FCR ≥ 80% for administrative contacts, abandonment rate ≤ 5% on primary patient lines, and monthly NPS improvement of 2–4 points.

Operationalize reporting with daily dashboards and weekly leadership reviews. Use a 30/60/90-day cadence: first 30 days monitor ASA/abandonment, 60 days improve FCR and scripting, 90 days tie changes to HCAHPS domain shifts. Track cost-per-contact; typical benchmarks for healthcare inbound contact units range from $3–$12 per call depending on automation and clinical escalation mix.

• Essential KPIs (with targets): ASA ≤ 30s; FCR ≥ 80%; Abandonment ≤ 5%; Average Handle Time (AHT) 4–8 minutes for administrative calls; AHT 12–20 minutes for nurse triage; Patient Satisfaction (post-contact) ≥ 85% favorable; Complaint escalation ≤ 2% of total contacts.
• Monthly process measures: % calls answered within SLA, % digital messages triaged within 4 hours, % appointment confirmations completed 48–72 hours prior, no-show reduction target 10% within 6 months.

Staffing, training and cost modeling

Design staffing for both volume and acuity. For a mid-size hospital (200 beds) expect an inbound scheduling and service team of 6–12 FTEs plus 2–4 nurse triage RNs; for outpatient clinics calculate 1 service FTE per 20–30 physician clinic sessions per week. Budget training at 16–24 hours per FTE per year for service standards, EHR workflows, privacy (HIPAA) refreshers and de-escalation; annual training cost per FTE typically $400–$1,200 when combining internal training and vendor courses.

Labor cost examples: a patient service representative salary in the U.S. median is roughly $35,000–$45,000/year (varies by region and specialty), while nurse triage RNs average $75,000–$95,000/year. Incorporate turnover: recruiting and onboarding one rep can cost $5,000–$12,000 in recruitment fees, training time and lost productivity; improving onboarding and engagement reduces these recurring costs.

Technology, integration and vendor selection

Integrate your CRM/contact center with the EHR using standards such as FHIR or HL7 to ensure single-source patient data. Common vendor categories: enterprise CRM (Salesforce Health Cloud at www.salesforce.com/solutions/healthcare), contact center as a service (CCaaS) like Zendesk (www.zendesk.com) or NICE, and EHR vendors (Epic, www.epic.com). Typical SaaS licensing ranges: $20–$150 per agent/month for standard CRM or helpdesk tiers; enterprise health-cloud solutions are custom-priced and often start at $25,000–$75,000/year plus implementation.

Technical SLAs should include 99.9% uptime for patient-facing systems, secure API integration, and audit trails for every contact. Automate common workflows: appointment confirmations (SMS/IVR), pre-visit intake forms (secure link), post-visit satisfaction surveys and a clinician-validated triage algorithm for inbound clinical calls. Secure messaging response times should be measured and reported: target initial triage within 4 hours for non-urgent digital messages and within 60 minutes for urgent triage.

Implementation checklist and immediate next steps

• 90-day launch plan: Week 1–4 map patient journeys and baseline metrics; Week 5–8 select tech and hire/train core team; Week 9–12 pilot with 10–20% of volume and iterate. Measurable go/no-go gates include ASA, FCR and patient survey scores.
• Policy and compliance: publish SLAs (acknowledgement 48 hours, resolution 14 days), privacy SOPs, escalation matrices, and a complaints register. Register resources: CMS (www.cms.gov), Joint Commission (www.jointcommission.org), Medicare help 1-800-633-4227.
• Cost/benefit targets: model revenue impact from a 10% reduction in no-shows (example: 1,000 monthly slots × $150 average visit = $150,000 revenue; 10% reduction = $15,000/month incremental revenue), plus anticipated decreases in avoidable ED transfers and readmissions.

Adopting “patient now customer service” means operational rigor: measure, staff to demand, integrate technology, and tie outcomes to financial and quality metrics. With concrete KPIs, documented SLAs and a 90-day iterative rollout, systems can achieve measurable improvements in satisfaction, safety and revenue while meeting regulatory expectations.

Who is Mike Grunza CEO?

Mike is currently the CEO and Board Member of active Huron portfolio company, WD Lab Grown Diamonds. Grunza previously served as CEO of Form Technologies, a global process engineering and materials forming company.

What does the patient now do?

PatientNow is a comprehensive practice management software designed for medical spas and aesthetic practices. It offers features like electronic medical records (EMR), patient engagement, marketing automation, and scheduling.

How do I email patient now support?

If you are experiencing issues with the system not described on this page, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

Who is Mike Szucs CEO?

Chief Executive Officer, Cebu Air, Inc.
Mr. Szucs also formerly worked at Aeroenlaces Nacionales SA de CV, as Chief Executive Officer and easyJet Plc, as Director-Operations. Mr. Szucs received his undergraduate degree from The University of Manchester.

Is the patient now a CRM?

for a Flourishing Practice
Unleash the power of PatientNow’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to not only enhance patient engagement but also to drive revenue growth. Our CRM is designed to foster meaningful connections and optimize your practice’s financial potential.

Who is the CEO of PatientNow?

Keri Gohman
PatientNow Appoints Fintech and SaaS Veteran Keri Gohman as New CEO to Accelerate Growth in Expanding Medical Aesthetics Market | Keri Gohman | 475 comments.