MARCH 1998 PRESS RELEASE
Medical Call Centers Provide Telephone Triage Services to an Estimated 35 Million Members in the United States
Jacksonville, OR (March 24, 1998): Telephone triage supplements demand management strategies and enhances customer satisfaction with health care plans and managed care services. Standard medical call centers direct members to appropriate personnel to handle questions about benefits, general health information, physician referrals, and scheduling. More sophisticated computerized systems also provide access to registered nurses who can help members with the decision-making process regarding the services needed to deal with a specific medical problem.
Industry analysts and participants estimate that 35 million individuals are already covered for these types of services using existing medical call centers. The types of companies and care providers in this market mostly include health insurers and managed care organizations, which must compete by offering a variety of relationship-building products. Hospitals and health systems are also involved, but to a lesser extent, with emphasis on services that provide after-hours access or assessments to reduce unnecessary usage of emergency department medical care.
The March issue of the Strategic Briefings Newsletter from Feedback Research contains up-to-date summaries of competitive and market forces affecting telephone triage services. A total of twenty organizations were contacted to obtain interviews for evaluation of current levels of demand, documented outcomes, and updated membership numbers. The "Strategic Briefings" newsletter is published monthly to cover new and emerging health care delivery systems. A full-year subscription costs $200.00 for twelve 20+ page issues.
The newsletter has also been incorporated into the Telephone Triage: Products, Services, and Successful U.S. Systems report from Feedback Research Services, bringing the total page count to approximately 170. The basic report includes market forecasts as well as profiles and estimates of potential cost savings resulting from diverted unnecessary emergency department use. Telephone Triage is sold for $450.00 and represents approximately 250 hours of original and literature research.
