Homegrown Singapore company Doctor Anywhere was launched with a mission to make healthcare simple, accessible, and efficient for everyone. To this end, they use technology and innovation to transform the way people access healthcare, providing a seamless integration of the online and offline healthcare experience.
Making this a reality has necessitated a strong customer service platform that could be customised to meet their specific needs. Fortunately, by partnering with Zendesk, they were able to leverage new advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to fill existing gaps.
SMEhorizon speaks with Jayme Leong, Associate Director, Growth & Transformation, Doctor Anywhere, on how a robust customer service platform has helped the company serve patients better. Jenny Choo, Regional Vice President, APAC, Zendesk also explains the trends in the telemedicine industry and how advances in customer experience solutions can improve the sector.
Remedying problems with legacy systems
According to Leong, previous customer experience solutions used by the company faced a “lack of granular data reporting, limited ability to maintain a clear history of patient interactions, and the absence of an omnichannel solution to manage communications through WhatsApp, calls, and emails on a single platform.”
“Our previous solution lacked the sophisticated data reporting and clear interaction history that are critical in delivering timely, personalised patient care,” she continued. “Moreover, it wasn’t equipped to handle omnichannel interactions effectively. These limitations resulted in fragmented communication and inefficiencies in managing patient concerns.”
These issues come in an age where consumers and patients expect a personalised experience. Choo explains that “The Zendesk CX Trends Report found that nearly three in four consumers in APAC believe most companies could do a better job at personalising their experience, indicating a big opportunity for telemedicine businesses to leverage advanced technologies such as generative AI to bridge that gap.
“With its ability to analyse large amounts of data, generative AI can help telemedicine businesses better understand customer preferences, anticipate their needs and make accurate recommendations in real-time.
“And as the technology continues to advance, it will drive hyper-personalisation and open up new use cases, helping telemedicine businesses offer more humanised and personable interactions while improving operational efficiencies.”
A new dose of technology
In choosing a new solution, says Leong, flexibility was crucial in enhancing patient care and overall efficiency. And while presenting a seamless experience to patients was paramount, there was inevitably a period of adjustment in the backend.
“The implementation of Zendesk’s Suite brought with it an initial steep learning curve, especially as we rolled it out across multiple teams and regions,” recalls Leong. “Adopting a new system also required significant coordination between our internal project team and operations teams.”
“We worked closely with Zendesk’s implementation partner to ensure smooth onboarding, and over time, training and operational refinements helped overcome initial hurdles. As a result, our teams became more confident and adept at leveraging the platform’s capabilities.”
Choo adds that a strong partnership between company and solutions provider is important. “Every technological upgrade comes with an initial teething phase, which gets easier over time as people become more familiar with a new system,” she explains.
What definitely helps ensure a successful implementation process is working in close collaboration with a team like Doctor Anywhere’s whose vision aligned with ours in providing the best experiences for their customers.”
The efforts have paid off. Leong shares that their processes have become significantly streamlined as a result. “The ability to track patient interactions across channels in real-time and implement data-driven improvements has elevated our service levels.
“The system’s flexibility has also allowed us to quickly adapt to patient needs, enhancing response times and overall satisfaction. This has led to more consistent care delivery, which is critical in healthcare.”
The future of healthcare and telemedicine
Buoyed by the experience, Leong expresses optimism for the future. “Looking ahead, we’re excited about integrating AI into our customer service journey, aiming to further personalise interactions and increase efficiency. AI-driven support tools will help streamline query resolution, allowing our healthcare professionals to focus more on complex patient needs.
“Our technology roadmap includes expanding the use of automation and data analytics, continually refining our service delivery to ensure a seamless healthcare experience for all patients.”
Meanwhile, Zendesk is also innovating to serve healthcare providers like Doctor Anywhere more effectively. Choo shares that the company has just released a new app that helps companies proactively connect with customers at scale using outbound messages in WhatsApp and SMS, and to manage all of these conversations natively within Zendesk.
“This will be profoundly useful for the telemedicine industry as it’ll allow them to improve targeting and personalisation and easily create messaging templates, which will ultimately drive positive business outcomes.”
