If you work in healthcare, you already know that administrative tasks consume too much of your day. But there's one particular productivity killer that's become so normalized you might not even recognize it as a problem anymore: phone calls with insurance companies.
At RoboRx, we've spoken with dozens of healthcare professionals who collectively spend thousands of hours annually just waiting on hold. That's time that could be spent on patient care, completing other essential tasks, or simply taking a much-needed break.
The Phone Call Problem No One's Talking About
"I spend 4 hours on the phone every day. I'm usually multitasking."
— Healthcare administrator interviewed by RoboRx
You're probably thinking, "Of course I know we spend too much time dealing with insurance companies—you're not telling me anything new!"
But we're not just talking about communicating with insurance companies. We're specifically talking about being stuck on the phone with them.
The healthcare industry faces multiple categories of necessary phone calls:
- Insurance-related calls (prior authorizations, billing, claims/denials)
- Provider-to-provider communications
- Provider-to-pharmacy communications
- Patient-related calls
Among these, insurance-related calls are by far the most problematic and time-consuming. Prior authorizations alone require countless calls, with billing and claims management not far behind.
Why Insurance Calls Are Particularly Soul-Crushing
If you've ever called an insurance company, you're familiar with this process:
- Dial the number
- Navigate a complex phone tree
- Wait on hold (for who knows how long)
- Interact with a robot that asks questions you'll have to answer again later
- Wait on hold some more
- Finally speak with a human representative
- Often get transferred and repeat steps 3-6
The process is frustrating enough for patients who might make a few calls a year. For healthcare providers who make these calls daily, it's an enormous drain on time, resources, and morale.
The Multitasking Challenge
One healthcare professional we interviewed described a particularly frustrating aspect of these calls:
"You don't know how to time it right. They can come on the call five minutes after you were placed on hold or like 30 minutes after. And depending on the other tasks that you're doing, you may be in the middle of that, then you have to drop that whenever they get on the call to answer them. And then when the call is finished, the other tasks you were doing, it kind of takes you another 10 minutes to reinitiate it."
This unpredictability makes it nearly impossible to use hold time effectively. You're essentially tethered to your desk phone, waiting for a representative to pick up.
The Robot Problem
Another nuisance is dealing with automated phone answering systems. As one healthcare professional put it:
"The interaction is very different when you speak to the robot. You become monotone, you speak very carefully, and it's like you're just relaying data rather than actually having a conversation or problem solving."
These systems often require you to provide information that the representative will ask for again anyway. This redundancy wastes time and adds to the frustration.
The Real Cost of Phone Calls
The impact of these calls goes beyond just the time spent on the phone:
- Opportunity cost: Time spent on hold is time not spent on more valuable tasks
- Productivity disruption: Switching between tasks reduces efficiency for both
- Workflow interruption: Having to drop everything when a representative answers
- Staff frustration: Dealing with repetitive, often inefficient processes
- Physical constraints: Being tied to a desk phone limits mobility
Many healthcare organizations have attempted various workarounds:
- Outsourcing prior authorizations and billing work
- Hiring dedicated staff to handle insurance calls
- Using existing platforms to reduce paperwork
While these approaches help, they don't fully address the fundamental inefficiency of the phone call process itself.
Introducing Skipper by RoboRx: Skip the Hold, Keep the Human
At RoboRx, we've developed a solution that addresses this specific pain point in healthcare workflows.
Skipper is a phone call automation system that lets you skip the most frustrating parts of insurance calls—the phone tree navigation and the hold time—while still getting you connected to a human representative.
How Skipper Works
- You provide the necessary information to connect to a representative through our simple form
- Our system calls the insurance company, navigates the phone tree, and waits on hold
- When a human representative comes on the line, you receive a call connecting you directly
- You speak with the representative as normal, without having spent a minute on hold
Unlike the callback systems that some (but not all) insurance companies offer, Skipper works with any phone number and delivers reliable, timely connections.
What This Means For You
- Reclaim your time: No more waiting on hold for unpredictable periods
- Increase productivity: Continue working on other tasks until a representative is available
- Reduce frustration: Eliminate interactions with robotic phone systems
- Maintain mobility: Free yourself from being tied to your desk phone
- Improve workflow: Schedule calls at convenient times rather than being at the mercy of hold times
Frequently Asked Questions About Skipper
How does Skipper handle sensitive patient information?
Patient privacy is our top priority. We store and transmit only the patient data needed to complete each phone call, deleting it immediately after use.
Skipper is HIPAA-compliant, using enterprise-grade encryption for all data.
How much setup time is required?
Getting started with Skipper takes less than 15 minutes. There's no software to install—just a simple web-based interface where you'll create your account and enter your frequently called numbers.
Most users will make their first automated call within minutes of signing up.
The first time any RoboRx user calls a given phone number, we'll work with them to capture that phone tree information, so that all RoboRx users will later be able to use Skipper for that phone number.
Can Skipper call any insurance company or just specific ones?
Skipper works with virtually any phone system, not just insurance companies. Whether you're calling major insurers, local providers, or any business with an automated phone tree, our technology can navigate it. We're constantly improving our system to handle even the most complex phone trees.
How do I know if the call is actually happening?
Transparency is important to us. You'll receive real-time status updates throughout the process—when the call is initiated, when our system navigates the phone tree, and when it's on hold. You can also check the status of all your calls in your Skipper dashboard at any time.
What if I'm not available when the representative comes on the line?
You control your availability. Before initiating a call, you can set your availability window and preferred callback number.
Will you integrate with the software I'm already using?
We understand that healthcare professionals already juggle multiple systems, and many folks have asked us if RoboRx will integrate with their EMR. Our goal is to eventually integrate with popular EMR systems, allowing for seamless workflow incorporation.
Ready to Stop Wasting Time on Hold?
If you're tired of spending hours each week listening to hold music and repeating the same information to different representatives, Skipper offers a simple, effective solution.
In future posts, we'll dive deeper into specific use cases for Skipper, share success stories from our early adopters, and provide more information about our upcoming features and integrations.
Learn more about how Skipper can work for your organization by scheduling a call with us today.