Regional Healthcare Leader + Syllable

Summary of Success

Automating inbound prescription calls through the EHR

The health system has successfully partnered with Syllable to alleviate administrative burden on busy ambulatory staff by automating over-the-phone prescription renewals. By seamlessly transitioning callers to Syllable’s Rx web flow integrated with their electronic health record (EHR), the system has deflected 68% of inbound calls away from staff and automated the renewal process for 95% of callers identified with prescriptions in the EHR.

Syllable’s Rx solution does not require medical record numbers or passwords, facilitating self-service workflows even for patients who are unable to log into their portals. The health system’s adoption of call automation technology has resulted in increased efficiency, digital engagement, and staff and patient satisfaction.

With Syllable, the health system has deflected 68% of inbound calls away from staff and automated the renewal process for 95% of callers identified with prescriptions in the EHR.

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The Challenge

Overcoming high call volumes and costly verifications

Similar to other health systems, this organization’s ambulatory practices receive a significant volume of calls every day about requests like prescription refills, appointment scheduling, and general inquiries. Before deploying Syllable,  the customer service was limited to the clinic’s open hours, and long calls could each cost the system upwards of $10 to $15, even if they ended without resolution. This strained resources, putting practices at risk of long wait times and frustrated patients.

For prescription-related calls in particular, staff needed to verbally verify patient information and confirm personal details, a time-consuming process that put medication adherence at risk and distracted staff from priority activities while they manually verified details.

The Solution

Automating prescription renewals over-the-phone

Syllable’s intelligent voice platform can be deployed as the first voice a caller hears when they call the system or as a discrete routing option downstream within an existing IVR.  The health system recognized it could work with Syllable to advance patient access by automating repetitive tasks.

Aligned with their system-wide goal of transitioning more patients to available digital and self-service tools, The health system decided to partner with Syllable to automate over-the-phone prescription renewals that could ease staff burden while converting callers to available digital channels. The organization integrated Syllable with their EHR (Epic) and white labeled Syllable’s Rx solution with their own health system branding.

By implementing Syllable downstream in their IVR, the health system maintained its existing phone experience while also giving patients the ability to renew multiple prescriptions at the same time in English or Spanish at any hour of the day.

Syllable’s Rx Refill workflow does not require an MRN or password, so even patients who cannot log into their online portals can renew prescriptions without help from staff.

The Result

Reducing alert fatigue and workflow distractions for ambulatory staff

By implementing Syllable as a layer before callers reach ambulatory staff, the system alleviated alert fatigue from ringing phones and reduced workflow distractions by nearly 300 staff hours every month. Staff can now spend more time on valuable activities, such as responding empathetically and promptly to complex patient inquiries and scheduling appointments for patients looking to receive care.

The health system and Syllable’s partnership continues to advance, allowing the system and its patients to realize increasing value over time. Since the beginning of 2023, the number of self-serviced Rx renewals per practice doubled as the system ramped up deployments and Syllable implemented insights from patient journey analytics to streamline automation workflows.

With Syllable, callers who are locked out of their patient portals or who are not used to using digital tools can now experience a streamlined interface that allows them to engage with the EHR without an MRN or password. This continues to increase the system’s digital engagement over time while providing a differentiated patient experience.