Army Hospital Turns to Speech Technologies to Improve Patient Care

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Winn Army Community Hospital here is now using new voice-enabled communications solutions from Avaya, Interactive Northwest Inc., Verint Systems, and Nuance Communications to help more than 75,000 soldiers, military retirees, and their families benefit from shorter hold times, improved service, and faster access to personnel and test results.
The hospital is now using Avaya’s IP telephony and contact center software, including the Avaya Interactive Response system, to deliver lab results quickly and securely. Patients can call in at their convenience, enter a personal lab ID number, and have their test results read to them via text-to-speech technology. The call center solution uses Nuance’s speech recognition technology, call analytics software from Witness Actionable Solutions, a division of Verint Systems, and Interactive Northwest’s CTInsight computer-telephony integration software.
The system will allow for an automatic call back so that patients calling to make an appointment at the hospital or one of its 20 clinics no longer have to remain on hold to keep their place in queue if the department they need to reach is busy.
"I'm a big believer in using new technology to enhance healthcare," says Army Col. Scott Goodrich, commander of Winn Army Community Hospital. "Our new solution is based on cutting-edge technology that I'm convinced will provide faster, easier navigation through our telephone systems and will improve our patients' experience."
"This is a change in the way we do business," adds Alice Sheplar, chief information officer at Winn Army Community Hospital. "It's great for patients who may have trouble using the telephone keypad."