Tri-City Cardiology Obtains Outstanding Reliability, Enhanced Call Center, and Self-Administration Using Toshiba Strata CIX Business Telephone Systems

About Tri-City Cardiology
Established in 1980, Tri-City Cardiology is a medical practice that offers comprehensive services for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heart and vascular disease (cardiovascular disease). It is widely known for its progressive and innovative approach to vascular services, heart and heart failure management. Its board-certified cardiology physicians are experienced and skilled in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of coronary artery disease, heart valve abnormalities, heart arrhythmias, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, peripheral artery disease and stroke. Based in Mesa, Arizona, Tri-City has five locations in the area, including clinics, administration and billing offices.

Mission: Create a Reliable Telephone System to Handle 14,000 Calls per Month
Ken Frandsen, CEO; Missy Buhman, COO; and Laura Barnes, communications supervisor, identified the need for a business telephone system
that would:

• Provide outstanding reliability for all systems, with redundancy;
• Seamlessly network all five locations together;
• Allow the company to have a mix of IP and digital telephones on the same system;
• Expand and enhance the call center capabilities;
• Effectively handle 14,000 monthly calls;
• Facilitate remote administration for all locations; and
• Support Tri-City’s mission to continually improve service to their patients, physicians and health plans.

Tri-City turned to Copper State Communications of Phoenix. Copper State has been an Authorized Toshiba Dealer for more than 28 years.

Joe Radetich, major account executive of Copper State Communications, recommended the Toshiba Strata CIX IP business telephone system and Strata ACD call center solution to meet Tri-City’s needs.

Solution: New IPedge IP Business Telephone System
Installed by Copper State Communications, Tri-City has a Toshiba business telephone system that consists of:

• A Strata CIX670 business telephone system at its headquarters in Mesa, Ariz.;
• Strata CIX670 systems at its four other locations, also in the Mesa, Ariz., area;
• Strata Net, which connects all locations via IP;
• More than 265 Toshiba digital and IP telephones across the locations;
• Strata ACD contact center solution with Toshiba Call Manager softphones, OAISYS® Tracer® call recording solution and TASKE Reporting;
• Strata Media Application Server (MAS) with Auto Attendant, Unified Messaging and other applications for a single server solution; and
• Network eManager® for centralized remote management of all systems.

Result #1: 24/7 Reliability With Redundancy
Unfortunately, Tri-City reported poor service with its previous business telephone system. Dropped calls were a continuous issue, and the lack of reliability took a toll on the practice and its patients. When CEO Frandsen made the decision to buy a new telephone system, reliability was the top requirement on his list.

With the Toshiba system, there is outstanding reliability and durability as well as survivability across the networked systems to provide backup in case there is a power or telephone outage in the area. According to Frandsen, they were unaware of how many calls were being dropped until the day the new Toshiba system was installed and they began receiving hundreds more calls per day than they previously had received. Today, the Toshiba system processes more than 14,000 calls per month for Tri-City.

Result #2: Enhanced Contact Center Capabilities
Tri-City has more than 17 ACD groups on its Strata ACD system, comprising of more than 64 agents. Groups include operators, scheduling, new patients, billing and more. Some groups are available through the Automated Attendant while others are accessed through operators or direct-dial numbers. Overflow call support is provided by various agents, helping to ensure that every call is answered as quickly as possible. ACD agents are spread across all five locations.

Tri-City’s ACD agents utilize the Chat feature in Call Manager to communicate with each other and supervisors while they are on calls. Having the Chat feature helps them get information on the fly without having to put a caller on hold and allows them to request supervisor assistance if needed. Tri-City’s call center supervisors utilize the OAISYS Tracer recording solution to audit calls, train agents, review historical patient data, and for conflict resolution. Supervisors also use TASKE for reporting on productivity and staffing, with the goal of ensuring the highest possible quality of customer service.

Result #3: Remote Administration for More Control
Using Toshiba’s Network eManager remote administration tool, Barnes can now remotely manage the entire telephone system from her desk. She can easily make adds, moves and changes remotely for all five locations. Barnes can also troubleshoot system issues more effectively since Network eManager gives her control over the system. Network eManager provides access to the entire system without having to wait for a service call or even having to be on-site.

Bottom Line: Tri-City Improves Customer Service While Saving Thousands of Dollars With Toshiba Strata CIX
Toshiba Strata CIX telephone systems have met Tri-City’s communications objectives, including:

• Outstanding reliability and survivability, helping ensure that every single call gets through, which has helped improve customer service;
• Improved call center efficiencies, including call handling and management, recording, reporting, and more, which has helped reduce call center agent turnover;
• Enhanced call routing, recording, and reporting for the call center, resulting in improved customer service;
• Ability to self-administrate the system, improving the time needed to make changes while reducing the need for costly service calls; and
• Increased cost savings, including the ability to accomplish more with fewer people through the efficiencies in the call center.

“Thanks to Toshiba and Copper State Communications, we are able to give our patients the best possible customer service when they call us. They are routed to the right person in our call center, who takes care of their needs without delay,” said Barnes. Frandsen added, “Together, Toshiba and Copper State Communications delivered on our Top 3 goals: outstanding reliability, enhanced call center capabilities, and the ability to self-administrate. It’s a winning combination.”