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United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley (UHC) is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) dedicated to providing quality medical, dental and behavioral health services to 100+ rural communities in California’s Central Valley. The organization provides accessible, comprehensive quality health care to everyone, including farm worker families and the underserved, with compassion and respect, regardless of ability to pay.
As a rapidly expanding organization serving over 200,000 unique patients, UHC handles a significant volume of daily inquiries, primarily managed through the FQHC’s centralized call center. Due to the high number of daily calls, the FQHC employs 30 agents dedicated solely to handling these. Managing patient interactions and scheduling appointments on this scale has proven challenging, however, leading to extended wait times, abandoned calls and a less-than-optimal patient experience.
Other challenges UHC faced that affected operational efficiency and patient experience include:
Despite already using its EHR’s patient communication software, the California-based FQHC wanted to leverage a more advanced platform with upgraded functionality to reduce call volume, improve operations and convert more appointment bookings. This is why they chose Artera, going live with the system in March 2024.
In addition to conversational messaging and Call-to-Text, the organization also implemented Conversation Builder (Flows), which allows providers to automatically engage patients in personalized, multi-step conversation sequences. The team believed that if they could automate the appointment scheduling process, they could reduce manual work for staff, streamline scheduling and convert more appointments.
The team’s goals included:
The team first identified specific patient inquiries that could be automated, such as the welcome message, disclaimer, language preference, available services and rescheduling. Working internally, the UHC team analyzed patient messages to develop an extensive trigger library (terms that would trigger the Flows) and build engaging workflows – by establishing verbiage that would best resonate with patients throughout the conversation.
The rescheduling workflow has been particularly helpful, as patients are encouraged to simply reschedule upfront versus cancel their appointment. In fact, UHC strategically does not use the word “cancel” or “stop” in its outreach to ultimately keep patients within the system.
All of these Flows streamline conversations to the point where automation leads almost 80 percent of patient interactions. According to Humberto Cafaggi Alvarez, central operations director at United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley, “After the final automated question, we already have about 80 percent of the information we need for an appointment – almost everything.” The last part of the process is then managed by one of the five staff dedicated to managing Artera.
UHC is confident this workflow is highly effective, achieving a 77% appointment success rate—more than double the 37% success rate of traditional phone calls. “The effectiveness of Flows is remarkable—not only does this approach streamline operations, but it also significantly boosts revenue,” said Cafaggi Alvarez.
This automation has helped to dramatically scale operations as well. “We now manage 17,000 patients monthly with five agents, compared to 5,000 previously,” Alvarez added. Agents respond to 99% of patients within an hour, ensuring prompt service and building trust.
The implementation of Flows represents more than just an operational upgrade for the FQHC – it signifies a shift in the way they interact with patients. By automating key workflows, UHC can deliver timely, quality care to its 100+ communities, fulfilling its mission while optimizing resources. As UHC expands the partnership, it’s exploring even more Artera features, including Referrals and Branded Messaging.
