For many healthcare organizations a ringing telephone is an interruption that distracts from the main goal of seeing patients and attending to their needs. In these cases it makes great sense to outsource the call center function to a company that specializes in addressing the healthcare concerns of callers. Let the outsource call center focus on what they do best so that you can focus on what you do best.Other healthcare organizations view their call center as a strategic differentiator, a core competency that establishes them as a market leader. Even so the management, staffing, and cost of the call center may prove to be too much of a challenge, and discussions to outsource the work have taken place.Regardless of the reasons for considering outsourcing your healthcare call center work, here are some of the key benefits that can result from call center outsourcing:Reduce Administration Distraction: Running a call center takes time; it requires constant management. But in addition to call center labor, which is represented as a line item in the call center’s budget, there remains the less visible involvement of upper management. Someone needs to manage the call center manager, and this is in addition to handling other responsibilities. And since the call center is a labor-intensive endeavor, the human element of a call center can indeed produce a lot of distractions. When an administrator is dealing with these call center issues, what else is being ignored?Sharpen Focus: A call center isn’t a self-contained entity. It needs the attention of other departments: HR to hire staff and manage their employment; payroll to issue checks and manage withholding; IT to maintain the technological infrastructure; accounting to pay bills and manage the budget; facilities management to provide call center space and maintain it; and so on. Every effort these groups make to address a call center need is time not spent on other activities, some of which may be deemed more essential. The call center dilutes their focus.Save Money: All that an outsource call center does is process calls for its customers. It is their business, and they must excel at it. They have learned how to do their work with the utmost efficiency. This saves them money, which saves their clients money. When factoring the total cost of running a call center, including all relevant aspects of overhead, it’s rare that outsourcing costs more. Usually outsourcing can save a great deal of money, which can then be invested in other areas.Increase Quality: Superiority in service may be the hardest benefit to accept. After all, your call center employees are good at their jobs. They take pride in their work, and callers affirm them. Even so, outsource call centers have taken great effort to advance the quality of their work beyond what even their best clients can offer in house. Their viability as a company requires then to do their work with excellence, and their clients benefit. Outsourcing your healthcare call center can reduce distraction, sharpen focus, reduce costs, and improve quality. With all these benefits why shouldn’t you consider call center outsourcing for your organization? Janet Livingston is the president of Call Center Sales Pro, a premier sales and marketing service provider for the call center industry and who provides a healthcare call center matchmaking service. Contact Janet at contactus@callcenter-salespro.com or call 800-901-7706. Peter Lyle DeHaan is a freelance writer from Southwest Michigan.