As consumers, we’ve become used to instant everything. You can move money, book a flight, or order groceries to your doorstep with a few clicks.

But healthcare remains stubbornly complex. Just scheduling an appointment or confirming a referral often means getting stuck in phone menus, bounced between departments, and repeating the same information over and over.

Renown Health wanted better for its patients.

The not-for-profit health system covers more than 100,000 square miles across Nevada and California, serving everyone from remote ranchers to an increasing number of Bay Area transplants. With the area growing fast, Renown didn’t want to lose patients before they even reached care.

“If the entry point into the organization is difficult, it sets the stage for everything that follows—and we want to start patients off on the most positive foot,” said Sierra Kelly-Martinez, director of the Customer Engagement Center. “We needed to level up our technology so the experience we deliver outside the office is on par with the phenomenal clinical care we provide.”

Partnering with our Slalom healthcare consultants, Renown transformed how patients connect with care, proving better access leads to better outcomes, stronger loyalty, and a healthier system overall.

Renown’s first attempt at contact center transformation ran over budget and off track. By the time our team entered the picture, executives were determined to do things differently.

“Renown has the most highly aligned leadership team,” said Sylvia Doane Stephenson, managing director at Slalom. “That made it possible for us to forge a partnership based on trust, transparency, and a shared focus on driving high-impact outcomes for the people they serve.”

Our team spent the first eight weeks immersed in the patient experience, tracing call flows and shadowing agents. What we discovered surprised some executives: Renown’s “front door” had ballooned into 19 separate interactive voice response (IVR) systems and over 20,000 routing rules that sometimes sent callers in circles.

A patient might call to schedule an MRI and reach the imaging line. But if they also needed to check an authorization, that meant another call, another wait, and starting from scratch with an agent who had no record of the previous call.

“We needed to take a step back and create a more integrated experience for our patients,” said Kelly-Martinez.

At the kickoff, the head of the medical group, Dr. Mediwala, posed a simple question that would guide every decision going forward: What would the patient want? What would you want as a patient?

That became the “north star” for a new Renown experience that empowers patients to manage their care on their own terms: digital when they want, human when they prefer.

To bring Renown’s vision to life, we modernized and connected the systems behind care—so every interaction feels seamless, no matter where it begins. The new foundation brings together Amazon Web Services (AWS), Salesforce, and Epic to remove friction for patients, help agents see the full picture, and give leaders the insights they need to spot trends and close gaps.

First, we rebuilt the front door with Amazon Connect, AWS’s Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solution that makes it easy for patients to reach the right team the first time. Callers are now greeted by Matthew, Renown’s virtual agent.

Instead of wading through long phone menus, patients simply say what they need: “Schedule a mammogram,” “check my referral,” or “resolve a billing issue.” Matthew understands their intent and routes them to the right place. If someone mispronounces a doctor’s name or says “Dr. T., the heart doctor” instead of Dr. Thomas, the system flags it so the team can retrain Matthew to recognize it next time.

Fixing the phone system was just the start. The real challenge was giving agents what they need to truly understand the person on the call and respond with care.

“Traditional contact center metrics didn’t fit what Renown was trying to achieve,” said Jake Harwood, director of healthcare technology at Slalom. “We focused on defining what a valuable call looks like and designing the system to support it.”

By prioritizing value over speed, Renown turned every call into an opportunity to build loyalty and trust. Before, agents didn’t know who was on the line or whether it was their first or fifth attempt at getting support. Once we connected Renown’s front door with Salesforce Health Cloud, that changed.

Now, when someone calls, agents instantly see what’s relevant—past conversations, upcoming appointments, referrals, and open orders—all on one screen. We customized the layout to surface the most important details and added assistive tools that make every call feel more personal.

“We’re seeing agents move from transactional to more coordinated, comprehensive support,” said Kelly-Martinez.

The shift shows up in small but powerful ways. When one patient called 18 times in a week to confirm the same appointment, an agent noticed she’d recently been referred to memory care. Instead of just confirming again, the agent reached out to her provider, who saw the patient’s condition was worsening and adjusted her care plan.

Our foundational work paved the way for Renown’s next big move: self-scheduling.

“A lot of people would rather go without than make a phone call and talk to a human being,” said Suzanne Hendery, chief marketing and customer experience officer. “If we can make healthcare faster, easier, and more convenient, we can get more people in for the care they need.”

Now, both new and existing patients can self-schedule in minutes and get personalized reminders sent to their phones. Renown also extended self-scheduling to imaging and specialty visits, a capability only 10% of US health systems offer.

Going digital hasn’t just improved access—it’s changed how Renown connects with its community. By linking Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Health Cloud, we made it possible for Renown’s team to launch targeted campaigns that patients can act on instantly, like a mammogram reminder with a booking link.

Today, 35% of all appointments are self-scheduled, with more patients coming in for preventive care than ever before. “Mammograms are off the charts,” said Hendery. “We’re doing more screenings and detecting cancer earlier when it’s treatable. That’s important to everyone at Renown.”

The impact of Renown’s contact center transformation quickly showed up in patient surveys.

Within months of go-live, patient-reported access to care improved by 32 percentage points, and reports of receiving follow-up tests on time increased by nearly 50 points, based on patient satisfaction surveys of more than 1,600 respondents. Renown also achieved a 91% “excellent” rating for ease of scheduling.

Even more telling: new patient appointments grew 35% year over year, with more providers joining to meet the demand.

“Being able to make healthcare more accessible to everyone brings us a tremendous amount of joy,” said Hendery. “We could not have done it without amazing partners across Renown and Slalom.”