2019
This is an Entry to the Government Best Practice Recognition Awards
Title
Customer Service under HOPSS
Organization
Regional I Medical Center
Best practice Focus Area(s)
Customer and citizen focus
Summary
Management initiated a very beneficial practice upon realizing one of the priorities of clients or patients and that is TIME. The management came up with a very innovative way of addressing this concern and that is establishing a unit which is termed as Customer Service which will assist clients in a timely manner and with the help of the newly improved queuing system, clients’ time is more valued by reducing the waiting time during their hospital appointments. Queuing has been part of the daily lives of most governmental institutions. There are several methods used in the queuing system and the hospital has gone through all those methods. The medical center also has been listening to some feedback and suggestions from clients with their queuing experience. Now, the agency was able to have the chance to be part of the clients’ convenience every day with this best practice.
Background and Problem
The first objective of this best practice is to lessen the waiting time which has been one of the main concerns of the clients. The hospital caters to a huge number of clients every day which comprises individuals working in and out of the comfort of their homes. This has been a challenge for us to service them with the best of what the medical center has. Technology at that time is not an easy strategy to work on with and its development should be planned thoroughly. A queuing system that makes use of a standardized machine making patients at ease is now being utilized such that patients can be served timely.
The second objective is the reduction of time spent in the hospital. The institution is concerned with the well being of its clients and is aiming for a shorter span of treatment for them. The medical treatment has always been divided into 3 categories which are patients admitted or needed to be admitted, patients who are having their check-up, and patients who are on emergency status or need immediate attention. Patients need to be classified into these 3 categories promptly and this paves the way to devising a unit dedicated to Customer Service who serves as guidance for clients regarding hospital processes and directions.
Solution and Impact
Creating a standardized machine for a queuing system is not an easy strategy. It involves several departments and programs that need to be created and tested. The management began with the observation of the hospital process and taking into consideration the usual routine of clients
visiting the hospital. The IT department also conceptualized a system that can provide a queuing number for their registration and the number for their clinics. This queuing system also has categories that include patients that have an old record, new patients, priority lanes such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, pregnant women.
Customer service is a term not only confined to call centers or any social establishments but the hospital adapts this term by creating this into a unit dedicated to assisting and answering queries of clients. The Customer Service unit is an all-around a section of the hospital which comprises personnel who understands and comprehends the concerns of patients and route them to the appropriate department that can help them thus reducing their time on going through several ways or persons before they’ll be able to accomplish what they need to do in the hospital.
These two best practices created a synergic effect not only to clients but for the overall well being of the hospital including the employees and all visitors. These created a higher mode of standard for providing an excellent service coming from the hospital. Considering the living status of the patients, these changes created a great impact on their hospital experience thus thorough adjustment with the process needs to be considered. Employees also need to cope up with the changes. However, most organizations are amazed at the leap made by Region 1 to move its old process to a new one with the use of innovative machines and maximizing its manpower for customer service.
Milestones
These best practices have maintained their objectives on lessening waiting time and reduction of time spent in the hospital. These resulted in satisfied clients and positive feedback on the overall process of the hospital. Queuing systems and Customer Service units have existed even in the old process of Region 1 but now, they became one of the highlights of innovations that happened in this hospital. The agency would like to set goals that are little dreams that have deadlines.It also plans to have a centralized system that can be used in all departments of the hospitals which will make the queuing systems faster and the Customer Service will have an integral part of facilitating a modernized method of queuing such as digital access and faster referrals.