Mayo Clinic's healthcare contact centers have been undergoing a transformation, moving from traditional models to a more modern, inbound-focused system that incorporates automation and technology enhancements. The aim has been to enhance operational efficiency while preserving a high level of patient care. To ensure that this shift wouldn't disrupt operations, Mayo Clinic leveraged their Innovation Contact Center—an environment where new technologies and processes could be tested in real-world scenarios on a smaller scale. This approach allowed the organization to experiment with automation before full-scale deployment, minimizing risks and maximizing the potential for success.
The Innovation Contact Center consisted of a small team of nine agents who worked alongside business analysts to assess, refine, and develop automation solutions. The team conducted various experiments using different communication methods such as phone calls, text messages, and emails. These trials helped determine the most effective approaches for contacting patients, such as identifying the optimal number of contact attempts (three to four) and the most efficient channels for patient outreach. This pilot phase not only revealed key insights into patient communication preferences but also exposed challenges.
As part of the automation journey, Mayo Clinic implemented an outbound dialer system, which initially caused issues with call volume, overwhelming agents and leading to backlogs. By adjusting the pacing of calls and integrating the dialer with the medical record system, the team created a more manageable workflow that allowed agents to focus on productive patient interactions. Furthermore, an email and SMS campaign strategy was developed, allowing automated communication at different stages of the patient outreach process. These tools helped streamline the contact process, ensuring patients were contacted within a reasonable time frame while minimizing manual effort from agents.
While automation provided significant efficiencies, it also brought to light some challenges. One of the key lessons learned was that automation alone doesn't guarantee full-time equivalent (FTE) savings. Digital requests that accumulate outside of regular business hours create a backlog that agents encounter as soon as they start their day, creating a constant cycle of work. Additionally, the legal requirements around text messaging, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), were carefully navigated by ensuring that patients opted into communication channels and that a robust opt-in process was in place. Overall, the project underscored the importance of piloting automation in smaller, controlled settings before scaling to the broader operation, ensuring both efficiency and compliance.

Takeaway

1. The Value of an Innovation Contact Center: Learn how Mayo Clinic's pilot testing of new technologies in a controlled environment reduced risks and provided valuable insights into optimizing patient communication.
2. Best Practices for Implementing Automation Incrementally: Discover the benefits of gradually implementing automation tools like dialers, SMS campaigns, and email workflows, while overcoming challenges like agent burnout.
3. Building Scalable Workflows: Understand the strategies used to scale automation, addressing staffing challenges and ensuring the solutions were scalable across the larger patient population.
4. Legal and Compliance Considerations for Text Messaging: Gain insights into navigating legal challenges, such as TCPA requirements, and the importance of obtaining patient consent for text communications.
5. Managing Workload Beyond Standard Hours: Learn how Mayo Clinic tackled the issue of accumulating digital requests outside of business hours, ensuring agents aren't overwhelmed and that automation provides lasting efficiencies.