APA’s Answer Center Meets the Challenge

The Answer Center was created in September 1996 to improve member service. It serves as a call center with four representatives fielding incoming calls and either providing an “answer” or locating the appropriate staff person to do so.

When the Answer Center was established, it was staffed by two coordinators and one manager. Over the past seven years, the center’s staff has grown from three to five and operates on an annual budget of about $250,000. Its current manager is longtime staff member Wendy Squirrel.

The Answer Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time to assist members and the general public with a variety of requests. It averages approximately 1,000 phone calls a week through APA’s toll-free number at (888) 35-PSYCH, of which 70 percent are member related, 25 percent are from the general public, and 5 percent are from patients. The Answer Center staff is able to handle approximately 90 percent of all calls; they also route an average of about 500 e-mails received at [email protected] each month and more than 700 faxes received through the Association’s main fax at (703) 907-1085.

Here are some examples of the wide variety of queries received in the Answer Center:

• What are the qualifications for member life status?

• What are APA’s CME requirements?

• How many CME credits can I receive for attendance at the annual meeting and the Institute on Psychiatric Services?

• How can I change my mailing information?

• What is my dues balance, and can I pay over the phone by credit card?

• How do I advance to general member status, can I do this over the phone, and how long before the change becomes effective?

• I’m thinking of opening a private practice. Do you have any information on opening a practice?

• Whom do I contact to order an APA appointment book?

• What is my APA member number?

The Answer Center also handles a variety of inquiries from the general public and patients.

In addition, the Answer Center is responsible for fulfillment mailings for other departments within the Association. It assists the Annual Meetings Department by mailing the scientific program submission forms, advance registration packets, and preliminary programs for the Association’s two major conferences—the annual meeting and the Institute on Psychiatric Services. For the 2003 annual meeting, the Answer Center mailed out more than 2,000 submission packets and 3,200 advance registration packets to prospective participants. The Answer Center fulfilled 800 requests for the compliance materials for the HIPAA rule on medical record privacy. In addition, the Answer Center mailed numerous copies of the “Career in Psychiatry” brochures for the Office of Education and various other materials to members, staff, and the general public.

The four Answer Center coordinators and one manager are all fully knowledgeable about APA’s services, programs, and activities. The coordinators listen attentively and courteously to details conveyed by the caller and then skillfully probe for information to decide whether they can answer the inquiry or need to refer the caller to the appropriate staff for resolution. The manager provides administrative and backup support to the Answer Center.

The Answer Center continues to strive toward the goal of ensuring that both external and internal customers have a positive experience in all their interactions with APA.

Feel free to share your questions, comments, and/or suggestions with me at [email protected]. ▪