Enhancing Your Communication
Urology Austin continually prioritizes patients to ensure they receive the best possible care. As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, our tools of communication play a vital role, and we are taking steps to enhance them through the support of our staff and modern technology.
This commitment is evident in the immediate term, as staff from local offices are being added to augment our centralized scheduling team. They will provide additional support in fielding inbound calls, which will reduce wait times, as almost half of our 50,000 monthly calls are related to scheduling.
As I have shared with you previously, we have actively been reviewing our entire communications system for several months to make the patient experience more seamless. Chief among our long-term initiatives is our plan to launch a new, more modern phone system on September 1. Simultaneously, we will utilize technology to enhance the capacity of our call center.
Another significant technological improvement is the move to online patient scheduling, also going live September 1. This will aid in patient convenience, but we recognize it is an option not all patients will exercise. We know some will prefer to speak with a scheduler, and we will continue to accommodate those patients.
As I mentioned in the previous newsletter, we launched a new billing system on June 1. We have been working diligently behind the scenes to support the billing and scheduling conversion processes. In some cases, it was necessary for staff to manually update patient appointments that did not convert over correctly, a process we finished July 7. We are hopeful any missed appointments are minimal in this process.
A final long-term initiative focuses on enabling two-way communication between you and your provider. This will come via our new patient portal system. We are training providers this month and will launch that system on September 1 to allow more efficient communication with the clinic you trust with your care.
As your trusted provider, we are committed to ensuring the best possible care and communication for our post-operative patients. We want to make it easy for our patients to receive the follow-up care they need. Moving forward, patients scheduling surgery should expect to secure a follow-up appointment when speaking with the scheduler, or they will receive a call to schedule appropriate follow-up appointments shortly after surgery when directed by the doctor.
In addition to these many strategic initiatives, the work continues to carefully consider additional services that will make your experience with us the best it can be. An organization with the size and scope of UA requires purposeful vetting behind any action. I will continue to communicate future initiatives when we begin to roll them out.
As we continue to move forward together, I ask for your continued patience as we implement these changes, and with any issues that might arise. As your medical partner, we will continue to prioritize the accessibility of information and communication for our patients. I thank you for entrusting us with your medical care, and as always, I welcome your feedback. Please submit your messages to me here.
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