The Pressure on Healthcare Contact Centers
Patient calls aren’t like retail or banking calls. They often involve sensitive information, urgent needs, or reassurance about next steps in care. Each one is more than a transaction—it’s a moment that can build or break trust.
At the same time, healthcare providers are under pressure. Patient demand continues to rise while staffing is limited. Leaders are asked to improve efficiency, and Average Handle Time (AHT) quickly becomes a target. The challenge? Reducing AHT without making patients feel rushed or unheard.
The Metrics That Really Matter
When the focus is only on raw call counts or average talk time, the bigger picture gets lost. The truth is, the numbers that matter most are the ones directly tied to patient outcomes and experience:
- Average Handle Time (AHT): How long it takes to resolve a call from start to finish.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): How patients feel about their interaction and whether they’d trust you again.
- Abandonment Rate: How often patients hang up before getting help.
- Service Level: How reliably you answer calls within a set time frame.
These metrics form the baseline. They reveal where delays happen, when patients are left waiting, and how well your team balances speed with empathy. Xima’s advanced reporting tools make it easier to measure these KPIs accurately and see what’s really happening inside the contact center.
Turning Metrics Into Improvements
The real work starts once you know where you stand. Improving these KPIs isn’t about working harder—it’s about working smarter, with the right technology.
- Smarter Routing
Skills-based routing and AI ensure patients are connected to the right person the first time. That reduces unnecessary transfers, shortens handle time, and improves first-call resolution. - Real-Time Data at Agents’ Fingertips
When patient history, prior interactions, and notes are visible in one view, agents don’t waste time digging through systems. Calls move faster, and patients feel recognized rather than like a case number. - Callbacks and Omnichannel Options
Letting patients choose whether to wait on hold, request a callback, or connect by text or chat reduces abandonment and frustration. A missed call doesn’t have to mean a lost patient. - Speech Analytics and Coaching
Supervisors can’t realistically listen to every call. AI-driven analytics highlight the ones where tone, language, or long silences suggest an issue. That makes it easier to coach agents, address bottlenecks, and prevent repeat mistakes. - AI Messaging and Chatbots
Patients don’t always need a phone call. AI-powered chat can quickly answer questions about appointment times, office hours, or prescription status, freeing agents for more complex conversations. Xima’s AI tools make chat and messaging part of the same system, so agents can step in seamlessly when human empathy is needed. - Live Dashboards and Real-Time Adjustments
With full visibility into queues, supervisors can spot service-level risks and act immediately—shifting staff, escalating calls, or offering callbacks before SLAs are missed.
Each of these improvements works together. Instead of forcing agents to rush patients through, AI and automation handle the repetitive friction, leaving room for human conversations where empathy matters most.
Case in Point: Fairfax Pediatric Associates
When Fairfax Pediatric Associates needed to handle growing patient call volumes, their existing systems weren’t keeping up. Parents were facing long hold times, staff were stretched thin, and abandonment rates were rising.
By moving to Xima, the group was able to:
- Offer callbacks so parents didn’t have to sit on hold.
- Use omnichannel tools like text messaging to answer quick questions.
- Give agents real-time reporting and dashboards to manage peaks more smoothly.
The result was a contact center that could respond faster and more flexibly, while agents had more time to focus on meaningful patient conversations. You can read the full story here: Fairfax Pediatric Associates Customer Success Story.
Where Xima Fits In
Xima helps healthcare organizations go beyond measurement and actually improve the patient experience. With real-time reporting, speech analytics, skills-based routing, callbacks, and omnichannel communication, leaders can track the right metrics and act on them in the moment.
The result: lower AHT without the loss of empathy, higher CSAT scores, fewer abandoned calls, and service levels that patients can count on.
Closing Message
Efficiency and compassion don’t have to be at odds. When you focus on the metrics that matter—and use tools designed to improve them—you create an environment where patients get answers quickly and still feel cared for.
It’s time to set your baseline, track the right outcomes, and give your agents what they need to deliver both speed and empathy. Discover how Xima can help you do all three.
