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Potential Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) patients and families, as well as referring physicians, now can call one toll-free number—877-DFCI-BWH (877-332-4294)—to inquire about services or request an appointment.
The new number functions within the call center established at BWH in 1995 to improve access for new hospital patients and service to referring physicians. Two dedicated referral coordinators, Genet Mehari and Riolla Riobe, have joined the call center team to answer the new line and triage calls. Interdisciplinary DF/BWCC workgroups for technology, operations and marketing planned the transition.
“With the goal of improving access for our patients and families, the call center leverages two of our greatest resources: the experience of the existing BWH call center and the knowledge of Dana-Farber’s new patient coordinators who understand each disease and know how to guide prospective patients and families,” said Amy Porter-Tacoronte, chief administrator for DFCI’s Medical Oncology.
Mehari, who began as a referral coordinator in April, knows the importance of taking the time to educate callers in a friendly and confident manner. “If callers have confidence in us, they’ll have confidence in this place,” Mehari said. “We are not just operators; we are part of the treatment team.”
The single phone number is a key component of a larger plan to improve access to DF/BWCC for new patients. The Access Initiative, which began in 2005, also is working toward being able to offer new patients a first appointment within two weeks of their request, streamlining the process for obtaining pathology reports before the first visit and sending some advance materials to patients by e-mail.