Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) looked at how a redesigned phone system for interaction with patients and referring physicians can improve patient experience, quality of care and satisfaction.

“[Optimizing] the infrastructure of communication, beginning with remote channels such as the telephone, is a simple, yet overlooked, opportunity to enhance the IR patient experience.”

Results of the retrospective study were published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

The study—led by Anand Prabhakar, MD, MBA, associate medical director at Harvard Medical School/MGH—was conducted at the 999-bed MGH center, with an IR division with 22 full-time physicians and staff performing 17,000 procedures a year.

The phone system prior to July 2016 resulted in common complaints from patients and referring physicians about unanswered calls. The 11 lines in the system could receive as many as 300 calls and 48 voicemails.

A new “shared phone line” system was installed in July 2016, with a single phone number as the entry point for the IR contact. This common entrance allowed callers to select from four options: IR clinic, vascular IR, abdominal IR and neuro IR. Calls rang across each administrator’s phone (11 lines in total) to reduce unanswered calls.

The number of voicemails per week dropped from 239 ± 32 to 87 ± 16. The new phone system also improved workflow coordination and overall patient satisfaction.

“Our implementation of a deliberate, thoughtful phone system in the IR demonstrated significant decreases in voicemails left for the IR division, implying a reduction of unanswered calls,” wrote Prabhakar et al. “This can lead to timely service, better patient coordination and likely greater patient experience and satisfaction.”