Step 1: Separate the Information from the Process
Even if you don’t have standardized procedures for scheduling patients, your reps probably have some kind of process or flow that they use. Either they learned it in training or they developed it on their own with the information they used in training.
When you standardize your processes, you’ll want to take the best of that tribal knowledge and separate the information from the process. The information is any details the rep needs to reference during a call.
You probably have a list of locations, physicians, email templates, and insurances. That’s what I refer to as information that reps need to look at.
A process, on the other hand, is how they work through those details to schedule a patient. You also have a series of steps and phrases that reps need to follow and say. That’s what I refer to as a process that reps need to follow.
You must break those out into two different categories.
For example, say you schedule medical appointments in five different states. In this example, we’ll pull the information for Arizona appointments. Here are a few examples of information and processes you could categorize.
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Information |
Processes |
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*Doctors names are made up for the purpose of the example
Examples of information to pull
There is a lot of information and factors when scheduling medical appointments. Some of the information variables to pull include:
Patient status
Are they a new patient? A returning patient? Or are they a follow-up patient that is returning for another appointment? Depending on the type of patient calling, the procedure changes slightly.
Workers Comp
If the patient is going through Workers Comp or a lawyer, the procedure for the call will change. There are different questions and information your rep will need to collect to set up the appointment.
Insurance
A patient’s insurance sometimes makes it so that a patient may not be able to see the physician they want to see or require additional steps like getting a referral or approval.
Appointments with specialists
Sometimes patients need procedures done that only certain physicians can do. Other times patients need something done that physicians would rather have their nurse practitioner’s or the physician’s assistant do.
Scheduling changes
Patients may need to reschedule or switch to a different physician and/or location. Or they need to set up telehealth appointments.
Situational information
Patients may need to be informed about changes to appointment day procedures. For example, they may need to be COVID tested before their appointment.
Step 2: Break apart and organize your information
During calls, your reps need to reference informational documents to find phone numbers, addresses, insurance information, etc.
Help your reps find the information they need by creating a consistent format. That way, your reps will become familiar with where to look and what to look for.
Also, consider breaking content up into separate documents so they are easier to find via search.
We’ve seen groups with Excel Workbooks that include dozens of tabs and hundred rows, all with different types of information. It’s very challenging for reps to navigate through all of those tabs and scroll through hundreds of rows (needing to zoom in and zoom out 100 times a day gets old fast).
While it’s not ideal to use Word and Excel, we understand that sometimes you have no choice. If that’s the case, then instead of trying to have all of the information in one document/workbook, it makes sense to break things out a bit.
For example, if reps are scheduling for 12 physicians, just have one document/workbook that includes all of those physicians (along with their scheduling requirements and insurance information) and nothing else. Reps will open that document/workbook when they need information about physicians.
If reps are scheduling for 4 locations, then have one document/workbook that includes those 4 locations.
If possible, link from one document to the other. For example, five of the physicians might work at one of the locations — so link out to the physician document/workbook when appropriate, and vice versa.
Step 3: Break apart your processes into sub-processes
It’s good to have an idea of what your reps are supposed to say and do from start to finish, but the reality is that every call ends up being a little different. There are a lot of sub-processes in a call that can take a call in a different direction.
Start by identifying the overall process. What is the shortest path from the start of a call to the appointment being scheduled?
Then, begin to include the caveats, nuances, and branching that can occur during a call. If there are variables that change what reps will do (which is likely the case for every scheduling process), provide those alternative paths.
Finally, identify your sub-processes and document them separately. Those sub-processes can include moments like verifying worker’s comp, setting up a telehealth appointment instead of in-person, etc. You can link to the sub-process documents within your main process.
For example, if the patient new, provide a bulleted list of what to do and link out to the detailed sub-process. Do the same thing if the patient is a follow-up, using Workers Comp, etc. Provide the main steps in the overall process, but leave the specifics in the documents that explain the sub-processes.
Step 4: Put everything together in a “Flow”
Have a home document — also known as an intake script — that reps always start with. This is your main process document. For example:
As part of your home document, you’ll want to provide guidance for what to say/do based on the response of the caller. When you provide language for your reps, they don’t get caught off guard about what to say or do next. It helps them move the caller confidently through a call.
When your reps get to the part of the process where they are ready to schedule an appointment, link them to the appropriate information document so they can reference it.
So when they say they have an appointment with Dr. Jacobson at the Arizona office, your agents will jump to the information document that will help them so they don’t miss a specific scheduling step for that specific office.
If using Word, link to sub-process documents so that the main flow doesn’t get too cumbersome while reading. It’s easy to crowd a document with too much information. If there is too much information, it will be too difficult for your reps to follow the procedure.
The goal is to keep your procedures succinct: enough information to help your agents without overwhelming them.
🔍 Related: How to Write an Intake Script for Scheduling Patients (6 Tips)
Step 5: Make that call flow realistic
Sometimes I see procedures that are “ideal” but not very realistic. The procedures are written as if a call could go one way. It doesn’t account for different scenarios or troubleshooting.
The procedures must be usable by reps while they are handling calls. If a caller doesn’t know their account number or the name of their doctor, your rep needs sub-processes and troubleshooting guides to get them through the call.
How do you make sure your call flows cover more than the ideal calls?
Take your procedures for a test run. Once you’ve written a procedure, watch and listen as reps use your flows. If you didn’t get something right, revise and improve the call flows. It’s a constant process and your call flows will get better over time.
🔍 Related: How to write your first call flow if your call center doesn't have documented procedures
How to simplify the scheduling process for your reps
When you standardize your procedures, it makes it easier for your reps to successfully assist callers from the start of a call until the appointment is scheduled. Plus, it helps your reps avoid mistakes because they have a step-by-step call flow to help them at every turn in the call.
With ScreenSteps, we make it even easier to schedule appointments. Our interactive knowledge base software walks reps through each step of the call using a question and answer format. They don’t have to scroll through pages of documentation to find the next step in the process.
An added bonus is that the procedures are easy to create using our robust content creation tools, including integrated screen capture, block authoring, and more.
Are you looking for ways to simplify the scheduling process for your reps? Besides standardizing your procedures, there are multiple other ways to make scheduling appointments a smoother process. Read about 8 Techniques to Make Scheduling Healthcare Appointments Easier In Your Call Center.
