Healthcare Support Centers Ditch Speed Metrics for Outcome-Based Scoring
Chapel Hill, United States – March 17, 2026 / Keona Health /
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Keona Health has published a balanced scorecard template designed for healthcare call centers that evaluate agent performance beyond average handle time (AHT). The Excel-based template includes weighted scoring across five categories: People, Production, Patient Experience, Quality, and Revenue, with agent-level tracking intended for use in both operational reviews and individual coaching.
Designed for patient access directors and call center managers, the scorecard addresses a persistent measurement gap in healthcare contact center operations: the disconnect between speed-based metrics and completed outcomes. The framework is intended to serve both leadership reporting and agent development within a single tool.
Why Speed-Only Metrics Fall Short
Most healthcare call centers still evaluate agent performance using narrow, speed-focused metrics, despite industry data showing that patients who experience poor phone interactions are four times more likely to switch providers. According to SQM Group benchmarking data, only 1% of healthcare call centers achieve first-call resolution rates above 80%, and 96% of patient complaints relate to service experience rather than clinical care quality.
“If you only measure speed, you train agents to end calls rather than complete requests,” said Stephen Dean, COO of Keona Health. “That creates repeat calls and frustration that erode both patient satisfaction and operational efficiency.”
Research from McKinsey & Company supports that position: improving first-call resolution delivers greater impact on patient satisfaction than reducing call duration. Organizations that reduced handling time without improving other service quality dimensions saw measurable declines in both satisfaction and resolution effectiveness.
What the Scorecard Tracks
The framework shifts evaluation from call volume toward completed outcomes across four interconnected dimensions: staff development, patient experience, operational efficiency, and service excellence. In practice, that translates to metrics such as:
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First-call resolution rate: the percentage of issues resolved without a repeat contact
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Repeat call rate: a direct signal of unresolved needs and agent training gaps
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QA compliance score: accuracy across clinical, regulatory, and documentation protocols
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Schedule adherence and call abandonment patterns: operational efficiency baselines
According to Keona Health, healthcare organizations that adopt multi-dimensional assessment models have reported improvements in both patient satisfaction and first-contact resolution, though results vary by organization size and implementation.
Availability
The scorecard template is available on the Keona Health website at keonahealth.com/resources/call-center-balanced-scorecard.
About Keona Health
Keona Health is a healthcare CRM company whose CareDesk platform coordinates patient communication across voice, chat, and self-service channels. Built for healthcare operations (not IT departments) CareDesk preserves clinical context across every patient interaction and measures completed outcomes rather than call volume. Keona Health is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and serves healthcare providers across multiple specialties. Additional information is available at keonahealth.com.
Contact Information:
Keona Health
510 Meadowmont Village Circle Suite 250
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
United States
Ryan Hunt
(919) 246-8520
https://www.keonahealth.com
