Operating at two sites and one of the leading hospitals for surrounding hard-to-reach island communities, almost a million people rely on Chong Hua Hospital (CHH) to deliver everything from routine minor treatments to lifesaving surgery.
Expert doctors, devoted nurses, cutting-edge treatments, and equipment – Chong Hua Hospital had everything it needed to serve the sprawling Philippines cities of Cebu and Mandaue.
Everything, that is, except reliable communications.
“In the healthcare industry, it is often a matter of life and death; every second counts; therefore, communication plays a vital role,” says James L. Indino Jr, IT Vice President, Information Technology Division at the hospital.
As CHH invested in 1,012 board-certified medical staff and 2,162 allied healthcare staff to provide professional and lifesaving care, the hospital decided to invest in the right technology stack to improve operations and communication.
The challenge was that the hospital’s phone system was outdated and becoming less reliable. To make matters worse, the hospital’s original provider had gone out of business, so maintenance of any kind was non-existent, stated Marven Armada, IT Manager, Client Support Services and Communications at CHH.
“Imagine a large hospital in that situation, where the entire phone system would go down and have to be manually rebooted to get it back,” says Jedd Chau, Sales Director, Philippines and Indonesia, at Deltapath, whose smart cloud-powered solutions and expert support has now completely transformed the way the hospital communicates.
Like any other hospital, CHH receives a high call volume. Without a way to monitor wait time, the hospital could not ensure prompt attention of its patients or ensure patient satisfaction.
“At best, people were on hold for very long periods. At worst, they gave up trying to speak with hospital staff. Once callers got through, receptionists often could not connect them to the right extension because of configuration issues and no vendor support. Patients were frustrated, and staff were frustrated. The hospital knew it had to modernise and they chose Deltapath over several other major providers to help them do so,” says Chau.
Deltapath implemented a comprehensive and innovative SIP unified communications solution that integrated seamlessly with the hospital’s existing infrastructure, offering a range of benefits including Interactive Voice Response (IVR), call queuing, seamless integration between communication tools including email, instant messaging, Microsoft Teams, IP phones, and softphones, and interoperability between different brands of endpoints such as Avaya, Polycom, and Yealink.
“CHH did not have to throw away costly investments that were still operational for a single branded approach,” says Chau. “In addition, callers are immediately answered and informed where they are in the queue and are given the option of choosing to be automatically transferred to individual departments or extensions. We are told patients and staff love that about the new system.”
Importantly, Deltapath’s solution also includes a telemedicine capability – connecting patients and healthcare workers remotely via video. Examinations, consultations, and basic, guided self-treatments are all carried out online.
“This is an island community with people living far from the hospital and unable to travel easily,” says Chau. “It is now much more convenient for those people, such as the elderly in particular, to reach out and access the care they need in a way they weren’t inclined to do before.”
Although the public-facing transformation is significant, the system’s back-end capability is now helping the hospital improve communications yet further: powerful built-in data capture and analysis functionality providing managers with evidence-based insights upon which to adapt workflows and processes.
“They can see and understand important metrics such as how many calls are being answered and how many are being abandoned,” says Chau.
Finally, there’s a financial dynamic too.
“The huge benefits of this communication transformation to staff and patients is one thing, but the commercial imperative is important too,” says Chau. “This is an innovative hospital with highly renowned vision and cancer centres. It has invested heavily in technology, equipment, and human expertise and needs revenue growth also to thrive.
“Improving and modernising its communication capabilities will be a major contributor to that growth.”
- To learn more about how Deltapath can help your and your customers’ businesses leverage the transformational power of its communication solutions, click here.
