MemorialCare + Syllable

SUMMARY OF SUCCESS

Designing and standardizing caller experience

MemorialCare successfully collaborates with Syllable to provide a state-of-the-art contact center experience for ambulatory callers.

MemorialCare deployed Syllable’s Patient Assistant to handle 100% of inbound ambulatory call volume to the system’s patient navigation center. By collaborating with Syllable to select a “confident, calming, and efficient” voice to represent the system, MemorialCare answers all calls with an empathetic and helpful persona, named Mila. Syllable also helped MemorialCare provide an innovative and standardized experience for patients by ensuring Mila’s intonation and style matched other access points across the organization.

Syllable’s AI-powered solution is also integrated with MemorialCare’s EHR to allow self-service options for callers. For nearly 150K calls every month, Syllable routes callers to their requested destinations and allows them to complete common needs such as appointment management (e.g., cancel, confirm, reschedule), prescription refills, and MyChart password resets. 

By integrating with the EHR and providing a unique voice customized to the system, Syllable helps MemorialCare provide a delightful experience for callers while boosting capacity for busy staff.

THE CHALLENGE

Replacing a rigid IVR with limited self-service capabilities

MemorialCare’s Central Navigation Center receives nearly 150K ambulatory calls every month. To answer and route this volume of calls, MemorialCare relied on an upfront IVR and a large group of operators. However, the limitations of a traditional IVR – such as rigid routing options, limited endpoints, and no EHR integrations – stood in increasingly stark contrast to the innovative and customized digital front doors MemorialCare had put in place across the rest of the organization.

Like most health systems, the phone is the primary way patients engage with MemorialCare, making the rigid and generic experience provided by the IVR particularly detrimental to patient access. Callers often found the inflexibility and lack of personalization frustrating, which negatively impacted their overall experience with the system. Despite the organization's significant investment into providing digital solutions, operators at MemorialCare continued to be overwhelmed by the growing number of calls they received. This significant call volume not only affected the efficiency of the call center but also put the overall patient experience at risk, as MemorialCare’s call center needed to choose between longer wait times or diminishing the quality of interactions.

The increasing call volume, coupled with the limitations of the existing IVR system, highlighted the need for a more advanced technology solution. MemorialCare needed a scalable, cost-effective way to improve the caller experience and ultimately reduce the burden on operators. The organization sought out a solution that could ensure each caller interaction was efficient and personalized, reflecting the organization's commitment to high-quality and innovative patient access to care.

THE SOLUTION

Syllable’s AI-powered Patient Assistant

Syllable’s AI-powered Patient Assistant was deployed to address MemorialCare’s immediate needs and long-term goals. Syllable’s Patient Assistant now answers and greets 100% of inbound calls to MemorialCare’s central Patient Navigation Center, a call center that receives nearly 150K calls every month for dozens of ambulatory clinics.

To ensure Syllable’s technology was tailored to MemorialCare’s specific needs and expectations, the relationship began with a collaborative sprint to integrate technologies and customize design requests. Syllable’s design team collaborated with MemorialCare system leadership and conducted research to give voice to the persona “Mila” used across the system’s other digital channels. This research highlighted the importance of voices that enunciate clearly, pronounce words consistently, and balance approachability with credibility. The team adjusted the prosody rate for general conversations while slowing it down for delivering critical information. These insights informed the final voice selection process. Through iterative feedback sessions and user testing with diverse patient populations, the team selected a voice for Mila that was “confident, calming, and efficient,” ensuring she could effectively communicate with a diverse patient population that speaks English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Korean.

In addition to providing a custom voice and 5-language multilingual routing, Syllable also integrated with MemorialCare’s EHR (Epic) to provide self-service opportunities to callers and help boost agent capacity. This integration allowed Syllable’s AI assistant to complete common EHR tasks that previously required human agents. Examples of common, repetitive tasks Syllable’s AI can now complete without help from staff include confirming, canceling, and rescheduling appointments, requesting prescription refills, and initiating password resets.

"We are excited to enhance our patients’ experience by providing 24/7 access for them to manage appointments, request prescription refills, and complete other common tasks."
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Laurie Sicaeros, Chief Strategy Officer of MemorialCare

Syllable is now in the process of collaborating with MemorialCare to expand self-service automation opportunities, adding cancel, confirm, and reschedule functionality to specialty practices, launching new appointment scheduling for primary care and high-volume imaging, and ensuring Mila can respond to information inquiries about hours, addresses, and fax numbers. This ongoing collaboration highlights the commitment of both organizations to continuously improve and advance the caller experience at MemorialCare.

THE RESULT

Rapid deployment of a 24/7, EHR integrated, multilingual caller experience

Within 8 weeks of contract signature, Syllable was answering and routing 100% of calls to the central Patient Navigation Center with MemorialCare’s multilingual and personalized brand voice, Mila. To effectively serve MemorialCare’s diverse patient base and eliminate communication barriers, Syllable designed Mila to handle multilingual natural language routing in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Korean. Laurie Sicaeros, Chief Strategy Officer of MemorialCare, commented “Implementation of Syllable has been both smooth and seamless."

Within 12 weeks of contract signature, Syllable began offering callers opportunities to manage appointments (reschedule, cancel, and confirm), complete MyChart password resets, and refill prescriptions. With Syllable’s Patient Assistant EHR automation, callers at MemorialCare no longer need to wait for the next available agent to complete common requests. 

The recent collaboration between MemorialCare and Syllable has already improved caller and staff experience, paving the way for further advancements. Syllable’s EHR integration, design customization, and AI deployment at MemorialCare took less than 3 months in total, underscoring the ability of Syllable to provide rapid value to health system call centers. Syllable and MemorialCare continue to innovate and collaborate, and the teams look forward to continued enhancements that will benefit both patients and staff.

"At MemorialCare, we are committed to making high-quality care more accessible and affordable to the diverse communities that we serve. In collaborating with Syllable, we are enhancing our patients' experience and, importantly, in the language of their choice."
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Laurie Sicaeros, Chief Strategy Officer of MemorialCare

A MemorialCare affiliate is a current investor in Syllable. Any quotes or content attributed to MemorialCare or any of its staff are solely reflective of their individual experience and do not constitute a product endorsement or testimonial by MemorialCare or its staff members.