Parlance voice-first solutions have been helping families connect with patients in their hospital rooms by leveraging HL7 technology integration for many years. This was never more important than during the height of the pandemic, when phones became a lifeline. While so many loved ones were hospitalized, and health systems were at capacity, it was impossible to visit them, to hold their hand. When friends and family members were unable to visit hospital in-patients, phone communication became even more critical, connecting people to loved ones they couldn’t be with. Efforts were re-doubled to help families and caregivers communicate.
The Covid -19 Pandemic caused widespread disruption for hospital switchboards. Parlance clients reported a variety of stressors that impacted the ability of switchboard operations to answer the phone and serve the public. Increased phone traffic, call volume surges, and staffing shortages made it exceedingly difficult for operators and callers alike. Parlance solved many of these problems, offloading the burden of routine calls from overwhelmed switchboards and improving caller self-service with Parlance patient connector applications.
Many callers have routine requests that can be automated – to reach a specific department, to make an appointment, or to talk to a patient. Parlance patient connector applications integrate with HL7 systems and instantly relieve the burden on operators, enabling callers to connect with loved ones faster. At a time when switchboards were operating with reduced staff, Parlance eased the strain, not only connecting callers to loved ones, but also offering the option to talk to a nurse or provider about their recovery. This small change offered huge comfort to families who may otherwise have struggled to get health updates about their loved ones.
When callers are trying to check in on a loved one’s condition, while calling on their way to work, or dropping their kids off at school, they don’t have time to wait on hold, and they shouldn’t have to. When it comes to their family’s health, they should have easy access to a health care provider, so they don’t have to spend their day worrying.
Health systems across the nation subscribe to Parlance because we deliver voice-driven technology solutions that allow callers to speak naturally and connect quickly with the person, department, or resource they need. Parlance patient connector applications significantly reduce the call volume that must be handled by live operators. Whether someone wants their mother’s hospital room, or they choose to be routed to her nurse’s station to receive an update on her status, the HL7 integration saves hospital resources so that live operator effort is saved for callers who need it.
By Scott D’Entremont
