Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital: Pioneering Women’s Healthcare in Saudi Arabia.
Established in 2017, Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital has rapidly become a beacon of women’s healthcare in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the field of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Starting with a single IVF center, the hospital has grown into a 100+ bed facility, employing around 1,000 medical and non-medical staff. The hospital's commitment to pioneering women's health stems from its heritage and focus on a wide range of medical services.
Over the years, particularly in the post-pandemic world, Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital has adapted to changing needs with a renewed strategy focused on human-centered care, innovation, business value, and quality. As it prepares for a proposed IPO in 2025, the hospital continues integrating cutting-edge technology to focus on patient care and operational efficiency.
Before partnering with Unifonic, Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital faced challenges in streamlining patient communication and enhancing internal efficiency. As the hospital shifted its strategy towards technical innovation, it recognized the need for more sophisticated and integrated communication channels.
Management wanted to embrace new technology to make the hospital's day-to-day operations more efficient and user-friendly. They recognized the potential of channels like WhatsApp, SMS, and Webchat to speed up the appointment booking process and free up admin staff to focus on other tasks. They were also interested in the potential of these solutions to deliver marketing, prescriptions, test results, and help with post-appointment follow-ups.
The hospital wanted to reduce its reliance on phone calls and a manual booking system and take advantage of digital marketing and customer service solutions like chatbots, one-time password (OTP) verification for appointments, and multichannel campaigns that could greatly enhance patient experiences and operational workflow.
To tackle the communication challenges Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital faced, Unifonic provided a suite of innovative solutions designed to enhance both patient engagement and internal operations.
The integration of these solutions was carefully planned to align with the hospital's strategic pillars, particularly the focus on technical innovation and human-centered care.
Multichannel Campaigns: Unifonic implemented multichannel campaigns that utilized SMS and WhatsApp to reach patients effectively. These campaigns promoted multiple services, such as nutrition services, laboratory test discounts, and health weeks in cardiology and dental care. The hospital could communicate relevant offers and services directly to patients through targeted messaging while enhancing its marketing efforts.
Chatbot Integration: The introduction of a sophisticated chatbot transformed how the hospital interacted with patients. This AI-driven tool integrated into the hospital’s WhatsApp channel, automated appointment bookings, sends reminders, and provides quick answers to FAQs. The chatbot also handled patient verifications through OTPs and facilitated sharing test results. It has streamlined patient communication and reduced the need for human intervention.
Agent Console: To improve internal efficiency, Unifonic implemented an agent console that empowered customer service representatives to manage interactions more effectively. The console provided a centralized platform for agents to handle inquiries related to various medical specialties, including dermatology and dental care. This ensured the system directed patient queries to the appropriate experts.
Customer Support Enhancements: The integration extended to customer support, where Unifonic’s solutions enabled the hospital to handle complaints and suggestions more efficiently. Following doctor visits, patients could easily provide feedback through CSAT surveys via the chatbot, helping the hospital gather valuable insights into patient satisfaction.
Appointment Management: The hospital used WhatsApp and SMS to manage the entire appointment lifecycle more effectively. These channels ensured patients were well-informed and engaged throughout their healthcare journey, from initial bookings to appointment confirmations and reminders.
Since implementing Unifonic’s solutions, Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital has seen improvements in patient engagement and operational efficiency, together with significantly improved performance in their marketing campaigns
Key outcomes include:
Enhanced Patient Communication: Using chatbots and WhatsApp for appointment bookings and reminders has led to a more streamlined patient journey. That trend is expected to continue as the uptake of the new services grows.
Increased Marketing Efficiency: The hospital’s marketing team can now initiate campaigns directly through the Unifonic platform. This has enhanced the speed and tracking of marketing efforts. For instance, the hospital’s last campaign achieved an impressive 110% success rate with a 20% higher conversion ratio.
Operational Improvements: The introduction of the agent console has reduced the time needed to respond to patient inquiries, with chatbot bookings also showing promise.
Looking ahead, Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital plans to expand its partnership with Unifonic to increase patient engagement further.
Focus areas that may be explored include:
Digital Ads measurement: Exploring the potential for Instagram and Facebook ads that click through to WhatsApp to generate first-party data and increase ROI. This will include a unified dashboard to track and measure key metrics.
Social Media Integration: Integrating business messaging for their Facebook and Instagram channels to address the high volume of direct messages and create an integrated communications experience for their audiences.
Performance Marketing: Direct tracking of marketing campaign performance over WhatsApp will enable the marketing team to fine-tune strategies and increase effectiveness, potentially leading to even higher conversion rates.
Expanded Chatbot Capabilities: The aim is to increase bookings made through the chatbot by adding even more features that build on its current success and to drive more bookings through this channel by increasing awareness and highlighting its user-friendliness, speed, and reliability. Adding chatbot functionality to Instagram and Facebook will allow the hospital to automate conversations on these channels.
The partnership between Unifonic and Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital has markedly enhanced the healthcare experience for both the institution and its patients. The integration of advanced communication technologies has resulted in significant improvements in patient engagement, operational efficiency, and marketing effectiveness.
Looking ahead, the relationship shows great promise for further innovations.
With plans to expand chatbot capabilities, integrate social media channels, and enhance tracking and analytics, the future holds exciting prospects for even more refined and effective patient communication solutions. This ongoing evolution will continue to support Dr. Samir Abbas Hospital's mission to deliver exceptional healthcare services and maintain its pioneering status in women’s health in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.