Hospice Partners On CallSM: Solutions for After-Hours Call Assistance

As a proven and successful component of Hospice of Palm Beach County’s span of comprehensive programs, Hospice Partners On CallSM was created to make it easier for their hospice care partners to meet every need of patients and families around the clock. These needs don’t always correspond to 9 to 5 business hours. Hospice Partners On CallSM assures hospice providers that an after-hours team is available to provide answers, offer clinical instruction, or immediate interventions for patients and families who are in need of acute care or immediate intervention over the phone. A team of professionally trained and skilled customer service representatives and RNs combined with state-of-the-art information tracking technology is dedicated to providing a seamless care experience, 24/7.

Customer Service Representatives and RNs in the Call Center at Hospice Partners On Call.

“Hospice Partners On CallSM is a source for continuity of care at a time when every healthcare provider needs a competitive edge to improve the intensity of its operation, its image in the community and the ability to save money – all the while enhancing access to care,” said Jennifer Kast, Chief Operating Officer of Hospice Partners On Call.

As an industry-leading after-hours triage call center, the program is offered as a contracted service to hospice providers around the country that do not have call centers with triage capability (an estimated 90%). Hospice Partners On CallSM currently provides services to six hospice providers: Hospice of the Chesapeake, Hospice of Dayton, Valley Hospice, Douglas Gardens, Metropolitan Jewish Hospice and Palliative Care and Hospice of Palm Beach County. “Their triage software provided a seamless integration with our patient records. The Hospice Partners On CallSM program has proven to be top notch, and Hospice of the Chesapeake is confident that our patients and families are receiving the best quality care ’round the clock’,” said Michael McHale, Chief Operating Officer, Hospice of the Chesapeake.

Michael Johnson, Call Center Manager with Wanda Watson, Customer Service Representative

The benefits of Hospice Partners On CallSM include:

• Cost savings by reduction or reallocation of employees that are currently operating a hospice after-hours program.
• A decreased amount of after-hours crisis visits.
• Hospice Partners On CallSM triage software for follow-up and medical record placement on a real time basis.
• Access to call center metrics and monthly key performance indicators, allowing hospice providers to measure and market their excellence in after-hours response for patients and families.
• Over eight years of experience in the triage call center business.
• A highly trained staff that is prepared to answer and act accordingly.
• A triage call center modeled after the 911 call centers used by municipalities.

Of course the benefits don’t end there. With Hospice Partners On CallSM, problems that can plague hospice staff, their patients and families are eliminated. For example:

• The loss of valuable time due to the number of phone calls being made – patient to answering service, answering service to hospice staff, staff to patient.
• Needless visits due to incorrect triaging, which causes frustration and stress to staff.
• No control over the quality or lack of training of the answering service personnel.
• The inability to triage calls.
• The growing lack of trust and irritation felt by patients and families because of the inadequacies of a typical answering service.