Speech Analytics for Debt Collections: Methodist Health System + CallFinder

Methodist Health System is a prominent healthcare provider in Southern Dallas County, Texas. Founded over 90 years ago, the organization employs a patient-friendly, soft collection philosophy, prioritizing the patient experience from admission through service to the collection process. Today, Methodist Health System has grown from a single hospital to a comprehensive health system with 10 hospitals, 2 rehabilitation facilities, and over 80 physician office practices.

Starting in 2019, Methodist needed to move its collection software onto a cloud-based platform. At that time, the organization also wanted to incorporate call recording with speech analytics to assist with agent scorecards and overall performance. Overall, Methodist needed a solution that would help them overcome the challenges facing their in-house collections department.

1. Ineffective Performance Measurement

Prior to 2019, Methodist Health System primarily relied on customer complaint calls to gauge agent effectiveness, which was an incomplete method of evaluation. Therefore, the organization struggled to track key performance indicators (KPIs), making it difficult to effectively measure agent empathy and performance.

2. Inefficient Call Handling

Longer call times were reducing the number of calls agents could handle per day, impacting overall collection efficiency. In addition, agents were not able to quickly determine which phone calls were going to translate into a good payment plan.

3. Inconsistent Messaging

Without a standardized approach to collection calls, agents were not delivering a consistent message to patients, potentially affecting the quality of patient interactions and collection outcomes.

4. Agent Coaching Based on Customer Complaints

Agent coaching methods were counterproductive and ineffective as they were basing agent performance on customer complaint calls about that agent. Without the full picture or data-based insights, they did not have a way to create a more proactive approach to agent coaching and staying ahead of issues.

5. Outdated Tech Stack

As part of a broader technological upgrade, Methodist Health System needed to move its tech stack to the cloud. The call center also needed a call recording and speech analytics solution that could integrate with their new cloud-based environment.

After evaluating several vendors, Methodist Health System partnered with CallFinder to implement a comprehensive speech analytics solution. Methodist chose the CallFinder solution because of specific cloud-based offerings:

1. Comprehensive, AI-Fueled Speech Analytics Solution

CallFinder’s automated speech analytics solution provides insights that inform agent coaching and help increase productivity. With automated transcriptions and scorecards, managers get a more detailed review of every call, with insights into agent performance and patient interactions.

2. Assigned Speech Analyst: AI + Human Intelligence

While CallFinder uses AI technology, every CallFinder client is assigned a CallFinder Speech Analyst who acts as the human intelligence behind the technology. The Analyst guides the client through the initial setup and meets regularly to offer suggestions for new scorecards and creative ways to use the software. Through the Analyst’s in-depth knowledge of the product and willingness to teach the staff how to best use the data, Methodist has a complete understanding of what’s happening on calls. 

3. Automated Agent Scorecards

Access to automated scorecards enabled weekly coaching sessions where managers could review 6-10 calls with each agent, providing specific feedback on areas such as over-talking, silence, and hitting key points in the call script.

4. Sentiment, Emotion, Silence, and Overtalk Metrics

These advanced features helped identify how calls progressed, from the beginning to the end of the call. Understanding the sentiment and emotional tone of the patient and the agent throughout the call helps agents determine where they are missing opportunities or mishandling interactions.

5. User-Friendly Dashboard with Seamless Integration

The intuitive interface made it easy for managers to access and interpret data, a key factor in choosing CallFinder over competitors. CallFinder integrated smoothly with the new cloud-based tech stack, supporting the organization’s broader technological upgrade.

1. Increased revenue: Self-pay collections increased by $150,000 per month.

2. Improved payment arrangements: The percentage of kept payment arrangements improved by 25% over two years.

3. Enhanced efficiency: Average call time reduced by over 2 minutes, allowing agents to handle more calls per day.

4. Higher quality scores: The average agent quality score increased from 85% to 95% over two years.

5. More consistent messaging: Agents now deliver a more uniform and complete message in each call, improving the overall patient experience.

6. Better performance management: Quality scores from CallFinder now form one of four KPIs used to determine agent performance and monthly incentives.

7. Reduced complaints: The ability to identify areas for improvement and measure progress with advanced technology has helped address and reduce customer complaints, as well as potential legal issues.

8. Improved agent engagement: Not only have the agents embraced the system, using it to improve their performance and earn incentives, but they now also have a very high level of trust in the process, ultimately improving the quality of every call.

Methodist Health System successfully addressed the challenges facing the Collections Department by implementing CallFinder’s managed speech analytics solution. The partnership resulted in significant improvements in collections, agent performance, and overall efficiency within the department while maintaining a patient-friendly approach to collections. Methodist Health System’s success demonstrates the value of advanced AI and speech analytics tools in healthcare revenue cycle management.