Company: Unitedhealthcare Provider Service Operations, Minnetonka, MN
Nomination Submitted by: UHC Provider Service Operations
Company Description: Unitedhealthcare Provider Service Operations (UHC PSO) is business area within Unitedhealthcare. With over 6,000 global employees, we provide best in class multi- channel service to our nation’s healthcare providers. This includes answering questions, resolving issues, and processing medical claim settlements. In 2022, PSO was the recipient of an industry award for Top Global Contact Center.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats) - Other Service Industries
 Nomination Title: UHC Provider Service Operations Contact Center
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2021 of the nominated team, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Briefly describe the nominated team: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 199 words used.
UnitedHealthcare Provider Service Operations (PSO) is There for What Matters, helping people get access to life saving healthcare services by delivering exceptional multichannel service experiences to healthcare professionals. A dedicated team of 6,000+ PSO Contact Center Advocates expertly handle inquiries via phone and chat, covering a wide spectrum of topics such as benefits, claims, eligibility, denials, prescriptions, authorizations for procedures, and referrals.
Over the past three years, PSO has shed its traditional and fragmented service model, replacing it with a streamlined and technologically advanced approach. UHC Provider Contact Center implemented an industry leading alternative for provider communication. Advocates can engage multiple providers in real-time through Chat. Additionally, Advocates have a new unified desktop that consolidates 100+ different systems and tools, simplifying their job. This evolution established PSO as the central hub for addressing Provider issues, empowering Advocates to provide healthcare professionals with a personalized and efficient service.
Our innovative service model played a pivotal role in resolving over 63 million issues for 4.1 million healthcare professionals, enabling them to deliver life-saving care to 33.4 million UHC members. The efficiency of PSO Advocates' support ensures that critical healthcare services remain uninterrupted and accessible to those in need.
- Outline the team's achievements since July 1 2021 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 244 words used.
PSO’s achievements were accomplished during a challenging period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. With nearly 100% of our workforce working virtually and dealing with the effects of the “Great Resignation”, we continued to meet our commitments to our people, providers, and members.
The corner stone of our operations is Our People. Our People touch the lives of members and providers every day so it important to have an empowered, engaged, and inspired workforce. We invested in initiatives based on Voice of the Employee focus groups and improved our voluntary attrition by 6% since 2021 and our Employee Experience rating is 83.6% compared to a company benchmark of 74.6%.
In addition, we partnered with the U.S. government to ensure uninterrupted critical healthcare services. When the U.S. government needed an innovative, solutions-based partner to help administer the Provider Relief Fund and Uninsured Program for COVID relief, they reached out to UnitedHealthcare to be the sole administrator. UnitedHealthcare relied upon its highly skilled Provider Service Call Center workforce to help launch this cost-efficient program quickly and securely.
Lastly, we have enhanced our Service Model through the deployment tech forward initiatives and streamlined processes:
- Chat: Advocates can engage multiple providers in real-time
- Spire (One-Stop Desktop): Application that collapses 100+ systems and applications, simplifying the advocate and provider experience
- Multi-Skilled Advocate: PSO Advocates are trained to take all calls regardless of line of business, reducing the need to transfer and improving NPS (Net Promotor Score).
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 60 words used.
- I Am the Difference Video – Provider Service Operations video that show cases how PSO Advocates make a difference in the lives of members and providers.
- Make it Matter Video - Video that showcases how our team Make it Matter for our providers and members
- Who We Are – Showcases PSO achievements in employee and provider experience, technology, and performance.
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the team's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 209 words used.
UHC Provider Contact Center teams outperformed expectations throughout significant change. Our ability to maintain high-quality service even during a crisis and simultaneously improve key performance metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), call transfers, and contact rate is truly exceptional. It sets a high standard for other players in the healthcare industry to emulate.
PSO is at the forefront of service delivery due to our emphasis on delivering excellence in quality and resolving issues at the point of first contact. We have always placed the highest priority on the experience of health care professionals and are continually working to reduce administrative burden and provider abrasion. Through the resilience of Our People and the deployment of multiple programs aimed at improving satisfaction and issue resolution, our results have been exceptional:
- 6.1-point improvement in Net Promoter Scores since July 2021 with record high results in August 2023 of 83.5.
- 4.8% reduction in transferred calls since July 2021 - Provider Contact Center teams aimed to reduce provider abrasion by eliminating handoffs, improving call routing, empowering our Advocates, and the deployment of a unified desktop.
- 11.8% reduction in Contact Rate since 2021 - PSO focused on improving processes, enhancing digital capabilities, and serving healthcare professionals using their preferred contact method.
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