Narayana Health builds empathetic patient journeys with Salesforce

Built by India’s foremost healthcare pioneer, Dr. Devi Shetty, the Narayana Health group strives to make quality healthcare accessible to all.  Having carried out Asia’s first artificial heart implant, the group is committed to using the latest medical solutions. Beginning with a single cardiac care hospital in 2000, the group now spans 22 Hospitals across specialisations and 7 heart centres across major Indian cities, and an International subsidiary in the Cayman Islands.

Since its inception, Narayana Health has always functioned as a caring healthcare provider strongly tuned to patient needs. Building on this philosophy, the team wanted to create seamless, patient-centric experiences that met 21st-century expectations.

Disparate systems and manual processes hampered the creation of unified patient experiences

"Our vision is to provide compassionate care that extends beyond treating illness. We sought a solution that would help us build a replicable digital model, empowering patients to navigate their healthcare journey with confidence," says Kumar KV, Group Chief Information Officer at Narayana Health. 

The ideal solution would automate service and marketing processes and integrate patient data from multiple systems to empower employees with a 360-degree view.

Data consolidation and automation help build patient-centred service efficiency, cutting call AHT by 7%

“We wanted to create new experiences with the patient at the centre,” observes Rahul Poddar, Head, Martech at Narayana Health. “So patients would find it easier to interact with us at every touchpoint, from appointment scheduling to timely follow-ups.”

Earlier, patient information was scattered across numerous internal systems. This meant that when a patient called Narayana Health, they often had to repeat information since it wasn't available to the agent in one place. Today, the team consolidates all data on Agentforce Service for a unified view of each patient. Integrations between telephony systems, the call centre solution, and appointment management systems guarantee seamless capture of patient information across interactions. Patient information is enriched with details like relevant treatment packages and doctor availability. So, agents are better equipped to engage patients sensitively and contextually.

Agents access well-defined workflows and conversation guides to handle diverse interactions appropriately. They prioritise emergency calls and onboard patients faster. They can also have more informed conversations about complex requirements like surgery and the need for different medical specialties. This has resulted in a 5% increase in ‌appointment conversion rates from calls.

Call centre teams are also able to focus more on patient interactions since manual tasks such as call routing and form-filling are now automated. All this has driven down average call handling time by 7%.

However, the team at Narayana Health knows that genuine, patient-centric healthcare isn't just about improving these metrics. The 360-degree view of the patient’s information allows agents to take the time to empathetically enquire and learn what the patient needs and guide them accordingly. Sometimes, this also means longer calls.

Along with improving the service experience, the Narayana Health team also focuses on communicating sensitively to support patients through their journeys. This could be in the form of reminders, suggestions, and useful information such as new treatments that become available. Once a patient is onboarded, the team uses Agentforce Marketing to deliver such communication appropriately, sensitively, and non-intrusively. 

The data from these communications and interactions is used to continually improve the service experience, and vice versa. For example, if a patient cancels an appointment in response to a reminder, an agent is alerted. The patient receives a call asking for the reason, and issues are addressed where possible. Importantly, the reasons are recorded, to inform all future interactions with the patient.

Real-time visibility of data also allows the team to accurately gauge the effectiveness and ROI of marketing campaigns and formulate future strategies. 

The team plans to build sophisticated, hyperpersonalised patient journeys that span channels, and specialisations, and also offer guidance for wellbeing and preventive care, beyond transactional communications.

With access to large volumes of patient data and insights, Narayana Health is focused on ensuring that privacy and security norms aren't compromised.  The use of automation to capture patient information eliminates manual handling of data, protecting patient privacy.

The Salesforce ecosystem helps Narayana Health to optimise and speed up solution implementation

The Narayana Health team’s transformation journey was ably supported by Persistent Systems and the Salesforce Professional Services team.  “From formulating user stories in the discovery phase to supporting us as we add new features and capabilities, Persistent Systems has played a critical role in our journey,” says Kumar.  “The Salesforce Professional Services team has helped us architect a robust foundational platform and ensured timely implementation and sign-offs.

“Our technology vision will serve as an enabler, as the group continues to mature as a healthcare partner whose purpose is its patients’ long-term wellbeing,” he concludes.