High-Tech and High-Touch Help for Patients

The American Cancer Society is modifying some patient programs to have a self-serve component. While this will empower patients to manage their use of our programs, it will also change things at our contact center in ways we can anticipate and perhaps in some ways that we cannot.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our transportation and lodging programs paused out of concern for the safety of our patients, staff, and volunteers.

While the programs have been paused, we have been able to take advantage of this time to focus on enhancing our program technology and streamlining processes to allow our constituents to be more in control of their experiences. As a result, some of the roles historically carried out by our contact center staff were changed or eliminated.

One example is our Reach To Recovery program. This program is a one-on-one peer support program for people facing breast cancer. Traditionally, patients primarily registered via phone with our contact center. Our staff would identify a potential volunteer match, contact the volunteer to confirm availability, and coordinate an appointment for the patient and volunteer to connect. If the volunteer was unavailable or the appointment needed to be rescheduled, our agents would repeat the process. This approach was resource-intensive and time-consuming, which often meant that patients did not receive support in a timely manner.

To better support the needs of those facing breast cancer, the Reach To Recovery program fully transitioned to an online program earlier this year. The Reach To Recovery website and app allow those facing breast cancer to create an online profile and see possible volunteer matches immediately. Patients and volunteers can connect through online chat, phone, or exchanging messages. Since the website/app launched, more than 300 volunteers have been trained, and more than 1,700 patients have created a Reach To Recovery profile.

By empowering patients to manage their own program experience, our contact center staff no longer need to arrange and reschedule appointments. As such, it has driven down the cost per service and increased patient satisfaction with the program. Based on program surveys, patients report a 96% satisfaction rating. If someone is unable to use the app, our contact center staff will assist in arranging a mentor phone call.

Our transportation and lodging programs are also leveraging technology to improve the patient and volunteer experience. For these programs, our contact center agents will onboard patients into the program, and then constituents can use online tools to arrange their rides or guest stays.
The updated transportation and lodging programs are yet to rollout, but we anticipate that our staff will need to assist patients and volunteers with learning the technology and troubleshooting. Also, like our Reach to Recovery program, we will still help constituents access rides to treatment and guest stays if they are unable to use the technology.

The shift to patient-managed program engagement is not unlike the shift we saw years ago when people began searching for cancer information online instead of calling our contact center. Although many people can successfully get the information they need on our website, we still get thousands of calls per month for cancer information. About one-third of our callers first look for cancer information online and then call us for help clarifying or expanding the content they read on cancer.org. For two-thirds of our callers, their first outreach to ACS is by phone – perhaps because they don’t feel comfortable online, don’t have access to the technology, or they prefer talking with someone.

As we pivot to more self-solutions online, we still recognize the important role our contact center will play in both assisting those with the new technology and meeting the needs of those who may require more of a high touch experience. Whether the solution is high-tech or high touch, the American Cancer Society is committed to giving cancer patients and their families the help they need.