Recognition highlights advancements in patient access through intelligent scheduling and Voice AI technology
San Antonio, TX – TSAOG Orthopaedics & Spine has been named the recipient of the Innovation Award (Less Than 50 Agents) by Healthcare Contact Center Times (HCCT), recognizing its efforts to improve patient access and operational efficiency through technology. The award is part of the inaugural HCCT Awards, which honor healthcare organizations demonstrating excellence, culture, and innovation in contact center operations.
Orthopedic contact centers continue to face rising demand driven by an aging population and increased need for specialized care. These pressures often result in longer wait times and strained administrative resources. TSAOG addressed these challenges by implementing an intelligent scheduling system integrated with Voice AI, restructuring how patient inquiries and appointment requests are managed.
The approach focused on optimizing staff time by automating routine interactions while maintaining access to personalized support when needed. Voice AI now manages 75 percent of cancellation requests without staff intervention. In addition, self-scheduled appointments increased by 20 percent year over year, and average call-handling time decreased from 7 minutes to 3.5 minutes.
The changes have also impacted patient access. Among patients who used self-scheduling, 63.8 percent secured appointments within seven days, and 68 percent of those appointments were for new patients. These outcomes reflect a measurable shift in how quickly patients can connect with orthopedic care.
“TSAOG demonstrated that intelligent automation, implemented thoughtfully, doesn’t diminish the patient experience,” says Derek Lok, publisher of Healthcare Contact Center Times. “TSAOG shows other contact centers how to reach patients faster, while giving the care team room to do their best work.”
Award recipients will be recognized at the HCCT annual conference in Atlanta, scheduled for June 3-5.
