Using a Help Desk Database to Identify Training Issues, Improve Customer Service, and Increase Office Efficiency Jennifer West, MPH Health Educator VaxTrack Immunization Registry Program Riverside County Department of Public Health Riverside, CA

Overview Rationale for a Help Desk database Rationale for a Help Desk database Screen prints Screen prints Sample reports Sample reports Results of using a Help Desk database Results of using a Help Desk database Conclusions Conclusions

Rationale for Help Desk Database Help Desk receives calls from registry users and parents, initiates calls to new providers Help Desk receives calls from registry users and parents, initiates calls to new providers Needed a system for collecting and analyzing information obtained during phone calls Needed a system for collecting and analyzing information obtained during phone calls Designed as an add-on component of an existing Provider Management Database Designed as an add-on component of an existing Provider Management Database

Provider Database Switchboard

Help Desk Data Entry Screen

Data Collected Date of call Date of call Name of person taking the call Name of person taking the call Caller’s name and phone number Caller’s name and phone number Type of call (IZ referral, No sharing requests, registry technical support) Type of call (IZ referral, No sharing requests, registry technical support) Priority of the call Priority of the call Whether the issue has been resolved, when, and how Whether the issue has been resolved, when, and how

Help Desk Reports Menu

Open Help Desk Call Report A “To Do” list for the Help Desk A “To Do” list for the Help Desk Ensures that no user requests are lost or forgotten Ensures that no user requests are lost or forgotten

Weekly Calls / Mailings Due Generated by the Help Desk weekly Generated by the Help Desk weekly Identifies clinics that need phone calls or mailings that week Identifies clinics that need phone calls or mailings that week

Help Desk Calls by Category Subtotals calls received during a given time period by category (reason for call) Subtotals calls received during a given time period by category (reason for call) Generated by the Help Desk monthly Generated by the Help Desk monthly Used to adjust training curriculum as needed Used to adjust training curriculum as needed

Help Desk Calls by Clinic Subtotals calls received during a given time period by clinic name Subtotals calls received during a given time period by clinic name Generated by the Help Desk monthly Generated by the Help Desk monthly Used to identify and respond to training needs of the indiv. clinic or user Used to identify and respond to training needs of the indiv. clinic or user

Clinic Profile (Used by Health Educators for Provider Mgmt) Clinic status Contact info Eligibility Important dates Reminder/Recall FU trng checklist Practitioner list Next FU due date

Clinic Profile (page 2) User list Computer list Contact log Help Desk log Space for notes made during calls or site visits

Results of Using Help Desk Database Increased office efficiency Increased office efficiency –By producing higher quality data faster and more easily than is possible using manual Help Desk logs »Monthly call summaries take seconds instead of hours »Able to analyze specific call categories in rather than just number of calls

Results of Using Help Desk Database Identification of recurring training issues Identification of recurring training issues –Health Educators have made several changes to training curriculum as a result of Help Desk feedback

Results of Using Help Desk Database Improved customer service Improved customer service –By providing a means to identify unresolved calls –By allowing all Registry staff direct, real- time access to Help Desk data »Health Educators always know what the Help Desk knows in terms of what a clinic’s specific challenges are

Conclusions The Help Desk database is an excellent tool for organizing and analyzing data from incoming calls The Help Desk database is an excellent tool for organizing and analyzing data from incoming calls The Help Desk database improves communication between registry staff members, helping to ensure that participating providers and parents receive exceptional customer service The Help Desk database improves communication between registry staff members, helping to ensure that participating providers and parents receive exceptional customer service