The Beryl Companies - Publications

Connecting People to Healthcare

With more than 400 healthcare clients and demographic information on more than two million callers per year, Beryl is able to proactively analyze and trend data that can be packaged into white papers, research projects, toolkits, case studies and speaking engagements. The entity through which this material is compiled and published is called The Beryl Institute. To obtain a copy of any of the literature listed below, please contact us here.

	Balancing Consumer and Physician Influence: Finding the "Sweet Spot" in Healthcare Marketing This paper is authored by Al Swinney, senior vice president of marketing communications for Meridian Health. The paper explores the history of marketing to consumers, the relationship between physicians and hospitals, the physician as the patient influencer, and physician-to-physician marketing programs. Swinney explains how physician-to-physician marketing programs work and the immediate impact they can have on hospital volume.
	Mystery Shopping the Patient Experience This paper, written by Kristin Baird, Baird Consulting and a senior faculty member of The Beryl Institute, outlines how mystery shopping goes beyond satisfaction surveys to discover why patients leave before they ever engage a health care provider. This paper explores the value of mystery shopping, how the shopping is done, and how healthcare organizations can turn the results into actionable improvement opportunities.
	The Business of Customer Service: Managing Relationships at Operational Touch Points This case study, written by Beryl client Paul Pickard, New York Hospital Queens, outlines how New York Queens assessed and improved customer service through enhanced call center services. This study provides actionable tips for hospital executives to use to create a positive customer experience across all operational touch points.
	High Performing Organizations: Culture as a Bottom-Line Issue This paper, written by adjunct faculty members Britt Berrett, CEO of Medical City, and Jason Wolf, Director of Organization Development for the Eastern Group of HCA, outlines the results of a ground-breaking study. It discusses “Seven Truths” about high performing organizations in case study format and provides actionable tips for hospital executives.
	Moments of Truth: Hospital Switchboards a Bottom-Line Issue Switchboard operators and other hospital-based call centers are the front-line of the customer acquisition process. Individual healthcare organizations are losing significant dollars by providing poor customer service at this initial touch point. Savvy healthcare leaders will close this “service gap” and transform their switchboards into customer focused and outcomes oriented front-line acquisition centers. This paper is the third in a series focused on the benefits of improving the customer acquisition process.
	It's Not Just a Call, It's a Customer Consumers are becoming more selective in making healthcare decisions and they are demanding convenience and accessibility from service providers. Data reveals that, contrary to popular belief, consumers are not willing to give providers a second chance if they are unable to make contact on the first try. This paper explores reasons why callers hang up before completing the call, the impact of lost revenue as a result of those abandoned attempts, and ways to decrease the number of callers who cannot get through.
	Ready or Not, Customer Service is Coming to Healthcare The Beryl Institute's inaugural White Paper explores effect of consumerism in healthcare. Consumers are gaining more control of healthcare spending. This will lead to a new culture where cost, quality and service are all part of the value equation. With pricing transparency and quality reporting standards, the true differentiator in the future will be service. Savvy healthcare leaders will transform their institutions to be consumer rather than patient focused, leading to new standards in care and service delivery.

	"The Hospital Marketer's Guide to Measuring Credible Return on Investments” is a toolkit which outlines a methodology and formula to help healthcare marketers show accountability to executive management. The document is a result of numerous interviews with hospital CEOs, CFOs and marketers. It provides background on the discussions, consensus-based conclusions reached and the tools that can be utilized to determine returns on investment (ROI).
	“Understanding the Importance of Accountability for Hospital Marketing Investments” is a white paper that examines the need for hospitals to objectively measure the effectiveness of their marketing. The document examines trends and discusses the central role the hospital's call center plays in gathering specific demographic information on each caller that can then be used to calculate the return on investment (ROI) for individual marketing initiatives.
	“Integrating Technology and Human Contact to Improve Customer Experience” Beryl client, Community Health Network, developed a program to cross-sell to a targeted group of consumers who responded to outbound marketing activities. To do this they combined the resources of two outsourced partners - a customer relationship management firm (CPM), and a customer interaction call center (Beryl). By accessing caller information in real time, call advisors were able to offer additional appropriate hospital services. In the first nine months, Community Health Network tracked $11.65 million in downstream revenues.
	“Outsourcing Call Center Achieves Strategic Vision of Customer Contact Center” is a case study about Beryl client Community Health Network, one of the largest integrated healthcare delivery systems in Indiana with more than 60 facilities and 8,500 healthcare professionals. They share the story of integrating Web services to achieve their vision of having a full customer interaction center. Then, they conducted a financial impact analysis that showed net revenue of $20 million related to call center callers.
	“Branding Campaign Drives Need to Measure Effectiveness” is a case study about Beryl client The Nebraska Medical Center, a 689-bed not-for-profit hospital in Omaha known for its excellence and innovation in medicine. They share the story of launching a significant branding campaign and using Beryl's caller patient match data to quantify return on investment. Using a tiered model, system officials determined that, as of May 2005, fiscal year 2004 callers were responsible for an additional $1.4 million in contribution margin.
	“Health Plan's Growth Brings Customer Service Challenges; Outsourcing is ‘Just What the Doctor Ordered'” is a case study about Beryl client M-Plan, one of the largest health plans in Indiana . They share the story of facing substantial membership growth and needing to supplement their internal customer service support. In 24 months of partnership, results of outsourcing include decreased caller wait times, reduced abandonment rates and increased customer satisfaction scores.
	“Women's Health Fair Demonstrates Significant Return on Investment'” is a case study about Beryl client The Medical Center of Aurora , a member of HealthONE , one of Colorado's largest networks of hospitals and health care facilities. They share the success of hosting a Women's Health Fair to reposition the facility in consumers' minds as a destination for specialty services, acquire new patients, retain the current book business, increase referrals, and capture incremental new revenue.