By Brooke Howard, Vice President of Operations, Tidelands Health 

In March 2022, our patient connections team at Tidelands Health embarked on a transformative journey to enhance the patient experience within our health care system. What started as a dedicated effort for primary care has now expanded to encompass specialty service areas, including the women and children’s service line.  

This initiative was born out of a need to address timely phone call returns and efficient appointment scheduling—both areas where we previously struggled. By shifting these responsibilities to a centralized team, we’ve not only improved patient satisfaction but also streamlined our operations.

The thoughtful naming of this team as the patient connections center reflects our commitment to making meaningful first impressions, often through a simple phone call. 

Creating this team was a collaborative effort involving key stakeholders across the organization — from our marketing and IS teams to our frontline staff and C-suite executives. The initiative was driven by patient feedback, which we collected and analyzed through our partnership with NRC Health.  

Our leadership was not only receptive to this feedback but also actively supportive of the implementation of targeted improvement based on it. This patient-centric approach has yielded remarkable results, reducing the number of full-time equivalents and associated costs while significantly improving the patient experience. The success of our patient connections team is a testament to the power of listening to our patients and taking decisive action to meet their needs. 

Our engagement center operates on a virtual model, with some staff members working together in a shared space while others are dispersed across various locations. This flexibility has been a significant value-add, allowing team members to connect with providers or medical assistants on-site when necessary. This structure helps our front desk receptionists focus on the patients physically present in the office, enhancing the overall patient experience.

In the ever-evolving realm of health care, prioritizing first-call resolution plays a crucial role in shaping the patient experience. At Tidelands Health, we understand the significance of effectively meeting patient needs on the initial call. Our approach involves more than just promptly answering calls; it entails equipping our team with necessary tools and guidelines. Through close collaboration with providers to develop comprehensive scheduling templates, we aim to eliminate confusion and streamline our operations. This partnership helps our patient connections team work efficiently, free from unclear protocols. 

Furthermore, our strategy incorporates the use of technology to enhance seamless communication. For example, utilizing electronic communication tools like Jabber chats enables our team members to consult with on-site staff in real time, supporting timely and accurate responses to patient inquiries. This system is particularly valuable when addressing urgent needs, such as scheduling same-day appointments for acute conditions. The integration of such tools underscores our commitment to delivering a trustworthy, accessible and responsive service to our patients. 

Looking ahead, our objective is to broaden our first-call resolution capabilities beyond scheduling. We are developing a virtual clinical call center dedicated to addressing clinical questions related to prescription refills, referrals and lab results. This initiative aims to reduce follow-up calls and enhance the patient experience by providing prompt and precise information. Additionally, we are exploring the implementation of an automatic callback feature to further improve patient satisfaction and operational efficiency. By continuously innovating and adapting based on patient feedback, we strive to provide a health care experience that is efficient and deeply centered around human connection. 

Moreover, our dedication to excellence extends to the reassessment and enhancement of our internal processes. For instance, by bringing previously outsourced call-center functions in-house, we have successfully lowered costs and enhanced the quality of patient interactions. This strategic decision aligns with our broader goal of expanding successful initiatives across various service lines, starting with primary care and progressing to specialized areas such as women and children’s health. Through these endeavors, we are not only impacting health care but also establishing a new standard for patient connections, rooted in our core principles of credibility, approachability and innovation. 

Brooke Howard serves as vice president of operations at Tidelands Health in coastal South Carolina. Ms. Howard joined the organization in 2008 as an administrative intern and has subsequently held roles of increasing responsibility. Before assuming her current position, she served as senior director of Tidelands Health Group, the health system’s network of physician practices. Ms. Howard holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Coastal Carolina University and a master’s degree in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina.