Salesforce CRM with call handling tool integration
Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s (PCFA) team of nearly 100 specialist nurses provide vital support, advice, and information to men affected by prostate cancer and their families. Their new Specialist Telenursing Service ensures nationwide accessibility, allowing individuals to connect with a specialist telenurse via phone or email.
To support this initiative, AlphaSys implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) and call management system, enabling PCFA to support callers effectively while monitoring trends in patient care and community awareness. The solution is described by the team as “game-changing.”
Overview
Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s (PCFA) team of nearly 100 specialist nurses provide vital support, advice, and information to men affected by prostate cancer and their families. Their new Specialist Telenursing Service ensures nationwide accessibility, allowing individuals to connect with a specialist telenurse via phone or email.
To support this initiative, AlphaSys implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) and call management system, enabling PCFA to support callers effectively while monitoring trends in patient care and community awareness. The solution is described by the team as “game-changing.”
Challenge
PCFA, Australia’s leading community-based organisation for prostate cancer research, awareness, and support, works tirelessly to improve the lives of men and families impacted by the disease. Each year, the organisation:
- Distributes around 20,000 survivorship kits.
- Supports approximately 12,000 patients through its Prostate Cancer Specialist Nursing Service.
- Connects 6,000 members of an Online Community to enhance understanding of this complex disease.
In 2020, PCFA launched a major fundraising appeal to establish a new nationwide Prostate Cancer Specialist Telenursing Service. The goal was to ensure men and families could easily access support, advice, and information with just a phone call.
However, several challenges needed addressing:
- Efficient Call Handling: The default pathway of taking messages, logging them in spreadsheets, and queuing calls for a callback was inefficient and could increase anxiety among distressed callers.
- Continuity of Care: A secure system to track caller history and ongoing concerns was essential for providing personalised support.
- Resource Delivery: Survivorship kits and information packs, essential for follow-up care, needed streamlined management to avoid administrative overload.
- COVID-19 Impact: The pandemic heightened demand, with a surge in calls and emails about delayed diagnostics and treatments, straining existing resources.
To save lives and ensure high-quality service, PCFA needed a sophisticated, scalable system.
Solution
We looked at different platforms and realised that Salesforce with the Natterbox plug-in did 90% of what we needed straight out of the box, with minimal requirements for customisation. It just WORKED and it was up and running in under six weeks, providing a depth of data and insights that will help us plan for the future of the service. What we’ve had delivered is exceptional. It has exceeded our expectations.
– Matthew Palmer, Nursing Program Administration Coordinator
After reviewing several options, PCFA chose Salesforce CRM with the Natterbox call-handling tool, delivered by AlphaSys. The platform met 90% of requirements “straight out of the box,” requiring minimal customisation. AlphaSys’ AgilePM delivery approach ensured the solution was implemented within six weeks, on time and within budget.
Key features included:
- Comprehensive Call Management: A streamlined process for transferring calls to the telenursing team without time-consuming manual entries.
- Detailed Data Capture: Call records tagged with up to 30 common topics, along with caller demographics and locations, enabling analysis of trends and planning for service improvements.
- Distress Monitoring: Tools to record callers’ psychological distress levels, helping the team track changes over time and provide appropriate follow-up care.
- Resource Dispatch: Integrated templates for sending emails and information packs quickly and efficiently, reducing delays for men and families needing critical information.
The solution also provided flexibility for future enhancements as PCFA’s needs evolve.
Outcome
We had a fantastic relationship with AlphaSys. They were so engaged, got to know everyone in our team and built relationships with them throughout the project. We felt as though we were one team – it didn’t matter who was working for AlphaSys and who was working for CMRI.
– Gaelen Fembock, Senior Business Analyst
The system has revolutionised how PCFA supports its community, delivering benefits across multiple areas:
- Enhanced Caller Experience: Administration staff can now quickly route calls to telenurses, reducing delays and frustration for distressed callers.
- Improved Personalised Care: Telenurses leverage system data to provide tailored advice and dispatch resources promptly, ensuring callers feel supported and informed.
- Data-Driven Insights: Dashboards provide real-time analysis of call volumes, common topics, geographical trends, and caller types (e.g., patients, family members). This data informs service enhancements, advocacy efforts, and funding requests.
- Cost Efficiency: Time saved on administrative tasks allows staff to focus on higher-value activities, reducing operational costs.
PCFA can now demonstrate the value of the service to stakeholders and donors by showcasing its impact on psychological wellbeing, decision-making during treatment, and overall quality of life.
The dashboards are brilliant – they allow us to prove the value of the service by demonstrating the difference we are making – the number of people we talk to each day and how the delivery of personalised care can improve their psychological wellbeing and decision making through treatment. The AlphaSys solution is helping us to improve outcomes and quality of life for many men and their loved ones, harnessing sophisticated technology to enhance Australian prostate cancer survivorship.
– Matthew Palmer, Nursing Program Administration Coordinator
