Updated:
For orthopedic organizations managing high call volumes across multiple locations, staffing shortages have made reliable patient access increasingly difficult to sustain. When too few schedulers are available to answer phones, patients wait longer, staff burn out, and routine tasks limit staff’s availability for more complex needs.
Orthopedic administrators, patient experience professionals, and contact center leaders know the pressure well: unmanageable call volumes, limited resources, and patients left waiting on hold. TSAOG Orthopaedics & Spine (TSAOG) faced the same challenges across eight locations and found a replicable model for solving it with Voice AI agents.
Key takeaways:
TSAOG handles approximately 30,000 scheduling calls per month across their locations. After implementing a voice AI agent to autonomously manage patient scheduling calls, the organization achieved the following:
- Automated 75% of all routine scheduling calls
- Raised patient satisfaction to 4.3 out of 5
- Managed 60% of reschedule requests through Voice AI
- Eliminated the need to backfill open scheduling roles
| TSAOG Results at a Glance | ||
|---|---|---|
|
75%
of routine scheduling calls automated
|
60%
of reschedule requests managed by voice AI
|
4.3/5
patient satisfaction rating
|
Staffing shortages in orthopedic organizations are not isolated incidents. A May 2025 MGMA poll found that more than two-thirds of medical groups reported static or higher levels of staff attrition, with front desk labor churn creating persistent scheduling and patient access gaps across the country.
How Do Orthopedic Organizations Keep up With High Scheduling Call Volume
At TSAOG, the phones started ringing before the day even began. Across eight busy locations, hundreds of patients were calling for help with injuries, follow-ups, and appointment changes. When staffing challenges hit, the contact center that typically served as a safety net for overflow calls was also short-staffed. Patients were waiting longer, and schedulers were pulled in every direction.
For Gabrielle Rebolloso, Director of Marketing & Communications, the challenge was impossible to ignore.
“That kind of kick-started our journey into needing to find new technology such as AI to implement within our scheduling lines to help overcome that staffing shortage,” recalled Rebolloso.
Rebolloso and her team decided to look deeper. They reviewed months of call data and found a clear pattern. Of the 30,000 calls coming in every month, 30% were routine changes such as verifications, cancellations, and rescheduling appointments. These weren’t new requests or emergencies, just repetitive tasks that were taking time away from the calls that required more attention.
How Does AI Automation Help Healthcare Contact Centers Handle High Call Volume More Efficiently?
Once TSAOG identified that majority of its monthly call volume consisted of routine scheduling tasks, the path forward became clearer. By automating those interactions, schedulers could redirect their time toward complex cases like surgical coordination and highly personalized patient support.
“Since we had everything in place with centralized scheduling and self-scheduling, it was a seamless process,” Rebolloso shared. “The functions were already there, and we could turn it on as soon as we said yes.”
Behind the scenes, those routine interactions were being autonomously handled by Dash Voice AI, an agentic AI system that autonomously manages appointment verifications, cancellations, rescheduling, and more, integrated directly with the organization’s EHR. The system operates continuously, allowing patients to manage their appointments outside of regular office hours without requiring staff involvement.
The implementation was deliberate. Teams from operations, IT, marketing, and patient experience worked together to define which call types could safely move to automation and how updates would flow back into their system in real time. Once in place, the impact was immediate. Call volumes stayed high, but schedules finally had the capacity to focus on the patients and situations that needed them most.
What Results Do Orthopedic Organizations See After Implementing Voice AI?
The difference was noticeable almost immediately. Once Dash Voice AI began autonomously managing routine appointment changes, schedulers had capacity to focus on the calls that required their specialized attention.75% of all scheduling calls were now handled automatically, without staff involvement, including 60% of all rescheduling requests.
Patients noticed the difference, too. Hold times shortened, calls were answered faster, and more calls were completed without delay. Patient satisfaction scores climbed to 4.3 out of 5.
“After the call is completely handled by Dash®, the patients are prompted with a one or two question survey following their call,” Rebolloso said. “They’ve been rating her [Dash®] very highly.”
Operationally, the impact extended beyond call handling. With routine scheduling tasks absorbed by automation, TSAOG no longer needed to backfill open scheduler roles, eliminating the staffing pressure that had originally driven the search for a solution.
What Can Other Orthopedic Organizations Learn from TSAOG’s Scheduling Automation?
For TSAOG, the change began with understanding their data. By identifying which call types were consuming the most staff time, they could design automation that solved the right problem.
“It was about giving our staff time back,” Rebolloso reflected. “Once we saw what was possible, it opened the door for other improvements too.”
Orthopedic organizations navigating similar challenges can draw several lessons from TSAOG’s experience.
- Start with call data. Understanding the composition of inbound call volume is the foundation for any effective automation strategy.
- Centralized scheduling is a prerequisite, not an afterthought. TSAOG’s ability to activate Voice AI quickly depended on having centralized scheduling and self-scheduling already in place.
- Cross-functional alignment matters. Bringing operations, IT, marketing, and patient experience teams into the implementation process ensures automation is designed around the real workflows, not assumptions.
For organizations managing high call volume across multiple locations, automation is not a shortcut. It is a foundation for a more sustainable patient access strategy, one that ensures every inbound call reaches the right person, and every patient gets the care they need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is voice AI in orthopedic scheduling?
Voice AI in orthopedic scheduling is an agentic system that autonomously handles routine patient calls without staff involvement. Ideally, it integrates directly with an organization’s EHR and operates continuously, including outside of regular office hours.
How did TSAOG Orthopaedics & Spine automate scheduling calls?
TSAOG implemented Dash Voice AI, an agentic system, to manage routine patient scheduling calls. The transition was straightforward because centralized scheduling and self-scheduling were already in place, allowing the organization to activate the system quickly without disruption.
What types of calls does TSAOG automate with voice AI?
TSAOG automates routine, repeatable call types including appointment verifications, cancellations, and rescheduling requests. These interactions previously accounted for nearly 30% of its 30,000 monthly calls and consumed staff time that could be redirected toward complex calls.
How did TSAOG improve patient satisfaction scores?
After implementing Dash Voice AI, hold times shortened, and calls were answered faster. Patients rate each automated call through a brief post-call survey, and satisfaction scores climbed to 4.3 out of 5.
How does an orthopedic organization know where to start with Voice AI?
TSAOG started with call data, reviewing months of inbound call records to identify which call types were routine and repeatable before selecting a solution. Understanding the composition of call volume ensures automation is applied where it has the most impact.
What results can orthopedic organizations expect from scheduling automation and Voice AI?
Results vary by organization, but TSAOG was able to automate 75% of all routine scheduling calls, raise patient satisfaction to 4.3 out of 5, and eliminate the need to backfill open scheduler roles.
Does Voice AI reduce costs for orthopedic contact centers?
It can. For TSAOG, the impact was immediate. The organization eliminated the need to backfill open scheduler roles, removing the ongoing cost and time associated with recruiting and training staff.
Are patients comfortable interacting with voice AI agents for scheduling?
TSAOG’s experience suggests yes. After each automated call, patients are prompted with a brief post-call survey. Satisfaction scores reached 4.3 out of 5, indicating patients were not only comfortable with the experience but rated it highly.
How to Improve Access and Enhance Care with Relatient
Relatient is a healthcare technology leader dedicated to improving patient access through intelligent, mobile-first solutions. Our Best in KLAS platform Dash® integrates with leading EHRs and PM systems to streamline scheduling, personalized communication, online chat, mobile payments, and digital intake. Trusted by over 47,000 providers and managing approximately 150 million appointments annually, Relatient helps healthcare organizations optimize workflows, reduce no-shows, and enhance the patient experience with modern, consumer-driven solutions.
Originally Published:
