13th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals,
“Empowering for Health: Practicing the Principles”
Dublin, May 18-20, 2005
1
Virtual Proceedings
INFORMATION AND WELCOME TO CITIZEN: CONSTRUCTION OF
RECEPTION SECTOR THAT CAN GUARANTEE A LISTENING AND AN
INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT
CONTEXT
In Italy National Health Service, founded by Law 833/78, is forms by Health Public Corporation (or
Heath Organization), Hospital Public Corporation and Nursing Home Certificated. Since 1992 every
organization above are characterized by: autonomy, independence choice about health offer and
responsibility on management target (in social terms and also economic terms). All Italian NHS is
based on Article 32 of Italian Establishment (Italian Establishment protects health like an individual
basic right and community interest).
This project concerns a particular area in which Ferrara Health Organization tries to interpret and
to anticipate needs evidenced by citizens, in the moment that they came to health service, and in
which Ferrara Health Organization tries to give opportune, effective and personalized answers.
Ferrara Health Organization has the conviction that business communication must be govern in
integral way and must involve essentially the welcome operators, switchboard operators and
inquiry office operators. So Ferrara Health Organization gives priority to develop operators relation
skills, especially for operators assigned on reception function.
Moreover from citizens and operators signals and from organization analysis, made after this kind
of announcements, Ferrara Health Organization evidenced some difficult of operators allocated in
information point, in switchboard and in public relation office; causes of difficult are due for a
management not equal, for a not correct connection of information point, for a shortage of
informatics technologies. So our firm decided to construction a welcome sector with a joint
management that can connect all organization structures.
OBJECTIVES
Final objective of process is a new welcome area, that can guarantee an integral communication
circuit, supported by a permanent professional training to operators. An indirect objective is
improve Ferrara Health Organization image.
METHODOLOGY ACTIONS
For realize this project Communication Office decided to construct a specific training, with a careful
intervention in every information and welcome area, finalized to create a welcome business
network of operators. This kind of action is called “Training-Intervention”. Procedure of this action
is synthesized below:
Dublin, 19 May 2005
Fosco Foglietta – Carla Lanfranchi
13th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals,
“Empowering for Health: Practicing the Principles”
Dublin, May 18-20, 2005
2
Virtual Proceedings
PROBLEMATIC
SITUATION
ANALYSIS AND
PLAN
INTERVENTION
ACTION LIKE
EXPERIMENT
ASSESSMENT
PRACTICE
KNOWLEDGE
REFLECTION
(changed by
reflection)
ORGANIZATION
CULTURE
Operators of this system are engaged to give a correct information to citizens (external customer)
and also given a correct information to all business staff (internal customer).
Citizens have the possibility to signal at health organization any kind of problem or inefficiency
using public relation office or a particular instrument, given to patients from regional law, that is a
special commission with a specific purpose: express citizens diseases.
This diseases, with signals from operators, constitute a whole of critical state, i.e. difficult,
concentrated in welcome operators management not equal, in a connection information point not
correct, in a shortage of informatics technologies and in a dissimilar operators skills.
Difficult specified above have been examined by Communication Office that decided to convert
their in needs, and to achieve a training program subdivided in two years (2003 and 2004) in
which are developed relationship skills, organization know-how and prescriptive know-how.
PROJECT PHASES
Since 2003 Communication Office planed all phases necessary to realize the project:
1. Recognition of human resources assigned to information and welcome office, in other words
recognition of operators assigned both direct contact and telephone contact, in every business
area of Ferrara Health Organization (Hospitals, Territorial Area, General Service or Top
Management). All this type of human resources are be subdivided in: switchboard permanent
staff and inquiry office permanent staff.
2. Recognition of technological equipment of every switchboard operators position.
3. Individualize possible training gap and in case of develop operators communication skills and
create an awareness belong business welcome network;
4. Realization of two courses edition (first in October 2003, second in April-June 2004).
5. Definition of communication process and construction map of activities, like a team work
result.
6. Creation two categories of task: communication task (operators assigned to direct contact with
customer and operators assigned to telephone contact) and support task (operators assigned
to activities for internal and external communication).
7. Illustration and analysis about welcome process and welcome activities. Point out of critical
states.
8. Optimization of process, homogenization and unification of procedures. Construction of
standard procedures and priority action to do in case of serious problem.
9. Plan responsibility area of coordinators.
10. Project organization and coordination modalities.
Dublin, 19 May 2005
Fosco Foglietta – Carla Lanfranchi
13th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals,
“Empowering for Health: Practicing the Principles”
Dublin, May 18-20, 2005
3
Virtual Proceedings
11. Satisfy new training needs in reason of innovatory law about privacy.
12. Definition correct skills at operators assigned to welcome area.
13. Project informatics and operatives tools.
14. Project and realize a workshop with purpose to illustrate work made during the various phases.
The workshop will have also purpose to stimulate an internal communication.
RESULTS
All phases described above are be realized. Moreover project reaches a large number of results, in
particular:
 Business Communication Function made a complete organization analysis that resulted in a
new Business Communication configuration.
 Business Welcome Area built a network with others business communication function;
 Operators and their coordinators had a specifically professional training;
 Business Welcome Area examined its permanent staff and Ferrara Health Organization decided
to starting action to plan principal welcome function.
 Principal critical states have been pointed out.
 During courses operators individuated a new kind of skill: “switchboard coordinator”. So it
would be necessary made another courses with purpose to give specific training about this
new skill. This courses have been realized in November 2004. This is an important results,
thanks to real motivation of operators.
 New task “switchboard coordinators” have been activated in three Ferrara Health Organization
hospitals.
 Informatics and technological equipment have been supplied in all the work place.
 Internal telephone book have been updated; tools used from switchboard to satisfy customer
enquiries have been shared with other welcome operators.
 Switchboard operators have been included in Communication Organization.
 Two team work sub categories have been created for improve the new organization model.
 Workshop for illustrate project actions have been realized.
For a more detailed description about results some data are reported below:
2 Edition of “Training-Intervention” have been realized: one in October
2003 and one in June 2004
86% of operators involved
Composition of participants:
60% switchboard operators
13% welcome operators
27% inquire office operators
36 hours of training and team work.
12 hours of training for new skill “switchboard coordinator”
FUTURES DEVELOPMENT
Project will entry early in a new phases in which principal objectives are:
 linkage of all welcome point;
 supplying a welcome data base;
 reconnaissance specific activities develop for information and welcome;
 replacement of paper documents;
 updating about all work tools and realization of new procedures for manage the information;
 enhancement training, began in 2003, with purpose to strengthen specialized skills of welcome
and switchboard operators and with purpose to develop an integral map about internal
relationship able to experiment an integral organization;
Dublin, 19 May 2005
Fosco Foglietta – Carla Lanfranchi
13th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals,
“Empowering for Health: Practicing the Principles”
Dublin, May 18-20, 2005
4
Virtual Proceedings
 complete coordinators network;
 put down a business coordinators task;
 public relation office projected a study about organization impact and customer satisfaction;
 checking task as regards to privacy tutelage for implement a specifically training.
Impact project will be valued in terms of decrease at negative signals made by citizens or
operators, compared of those gathered before starting project.
Dublin, 19 May 2005
Fosco Foglietta – Carla Lanfranchi