Patient experience directors and CIOs managing complex health system environments need realistic project planning parameters. Here’s some detailed information:

For Parlance to implement an IVR solution for a healthcare system that has 5 hospital locations, our typical project timeline is approximately 8-10 weeks. We partner with resources from IT and telecommunications on both the directory as well as the infrastructure, whether we are deploying virtual servers in the customer’s datacenter or hosting in the Parlance or customer’s cloud environment. The telecommunications team assists us with the integration between the customer’s PBX/Voice environment and the Parlance system. Parlance also partners with the customer’s EHR team, including interface engineers and EHR analysts, to integrate a patient feed from the hospitals’ electronic health records system, leveraging HL7 messages. On the business side, Parlance collaborates with the patient access operations team, including PBX and facility leadership, so that Parlance follows the customer’s requirements for call handling, recognizing customization points such as time-of-day-handling.

The phased approach includes the following project areas: discovery and design, build and deployment, integration and testing, cutover and post-implementation analysis. Parlance also provides access to our web-based portal, along with training.

The above is true for a larger system as well – for example, a system of 20 hospitals. If we can use the same basic architecture, we only need a bit of additional time to implement the directories and applications for more hospitals. For example, our client Baptist Health, there were 10 hospitals that all use the same infrastructure. We were able to rollout each additional hospital on a weekly basis after the initial Go Live.

Parlance employs a strategic phased deployment methodology designed to deliver immediate value while building toward comprehensive functionality:

Phase 1 (6-8 weeks): Establishes call routing capabilities and frequently asked question automation, immediately reducing congestion and improving caller experience.

Phase 2: Implements caller identity verification systems integrated with your security protocols.

Phase 3: Deploys appointment management capabilities, including rescheduling and, where appropriate, new appointment scheduling.

This approach enables rapid initial deployment while allowing time for EMR integration, staff training, and refinement of complex functionality. Each phase builds upon the previous one, creating a foundation for sustained operational improvement.