Case Study:
Duke University and Health System
The hospital communications center at Duke University and Health System is staffed by 25 full-time agents and processes 6,500 calls per day. It serves more than 30,000 university employees, 11,000 students and the 1,000-bed Duke University Medical Center, which is consistently ranked among the top 10 healthcare organizations in the country. The communications center utilizes an Avaya G3R switch and Avaya 8434 DX telephones.
A Smart CTI Solution With a Smart Web™ Interface
The Challenge
The communications center at Duke University and Health System needed to replace their five-year old, DOS-based CTI system. Its backup system retained only the last information on paging statuses, with no updates and changes in the event of a system failure, creating potential liability issues for physicians. The communications center wanted a new CTI system utilizing an Oracle database that would not only meet Duke’s current objectives, but adapt to its changing needs five years into the future and beyond.
The Objective
The Communications Center required a CTI solution that:
- Was Windows-based
- Was easy for operators to use
- Utilized ACD capabilities of the telephone switch
- Allowed integration to Duke’s forecasting and scheduling system
- Included a Web interface that would allow university and hospital employees to send pages and look up on-call schedules without operator assistance
- Came with system documentation and training
- Came from a CTI vendor with a clear development path for future enhancements
The Solution
The Duke Communications Center chose Amcom's CTI call center solution. The new Windows-based system runs on a UNIX-based Compaq server network, features an Oracle database, and integrates to Duke’s forecasting and scheduling system. The Amcom solution includes 18 Smart Console™ workstations, a full suite of operator applications including automated paging and on-call scheduling, and the Smart Web interface which enables employees to perform their own paging and on-call lookups from their Web browsers. Non-stop clustering ensures that the system keeps providing up-to-date paging and other information even in the event of a network problem.
The Results
- Operators have quick access to up-to-date information and a complete set of information-rich, time-saving tools
- Answering can be customized for individuals or departments
- Amcom’s Smart Web interface has reduced reliance on paper directories and has reduced corresponding printing costs
- On-call schedules are now entered by each department via Smart Web, ensuring accuracy and reducing the data entry burden on Communication Center employees
Duke University and Health System Comments
John Robinson, Manager of Communications Center and Residential Services:
"We were looking for a partnership with a CTI vendor that was committed to ongoing product enhancements. Amcom fit the bill. They’re continuously refining their applications and introducting new ones."
"The Smart Web interface is incredibly helpful. Anyone on our intranet can send a page from the Web site. You don’t have to know somebody’s paging number—just type in their name. It comes back through our system, so we’re able to track it for risk management purposes. You can send the same message to multiple people and even build your own paging groups."
"The Amcom non-stop clustering backup system is a great improvement over mirrored servers. Now if something happens to our primary server, it automatically fails over to the other one without losing recent updates such as sign out and coverage changes to pagers."
"Our center no longer has to enter the on-call schedules for other departments. The departments do it themselves using Smart Web. They’re happy because they don’t have to pay us to do it. And we’re happy because they schedules are standardized, up to date and completely accessible by our operators."
"Amcom’s willingness to help us think through and solve technology issues beyond the scope of the original contract has been a real blessing. Their support is phenomenal. You just don’t get that kind of support from other telecom vendors."
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