SDMI boosts online bookings by 7% with Genesys Cloud virtual assistant

When every call matters

Guided by its mission to deliver an exceptional patient experience, Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI) prioritizes consistently excellent experiences at every touchpoint. Facing operational strain from rising call volumes, SDMI reimagined its patients’ service experience. By expanding self-service, modernizing workforce operations, and streamlining automation, SDMI now delivers always-on access for patients while giving employees the tools — and time — they needed to succeed.

One of the largest outpatient radiology providers in Southern Nevada, SDMI operates 12 locations and serves patients who often call during moments of stress or uncertainty. That emotional reality shapes the company’s approach to experience design, reinforcing the idea that speed, clarity, and empathy aren’t simply operational goals; they’re patient needs.

“Patients are anxious when they call us, knowing that there’s a 50/50 chance it could be an unfortunate result,” said Rachel Papka, Chief Innovation Officer at SDMI. “What’s most important for us is to deliver on our mission.”

An exceptional experience starts with always-on access

Before modernizing its contact center, SDMI struggled with limited visibility into performance or to even know what they were missing. These challenges created friction in the patient journey and placed pressure on staff tasked with delivering compassionate care.

At the same time, patient expectations were changing. They want the same flexibility they experienced in other industries: self-service, digital access, and immediate confirmation of activities like appointments. Patients want to schedule, confirm or cancel their appointment at their convenience. Without digital pathways, SDMI risked losing patients to competitors.

Having the ability to offer self-service options was critical, but it was just one element of the organization’s CX transformation plan. SDMI also wanted to reduce call abandonment rates and wait times, as well as integrate seamlessly with its electronic medical records.

For SDMI, integration was foundational to its transformation. “It was incredibly important that we could integrate with our electronic medical records and authenticate the patient appropriately,” said Papka.

A proof-of-concept enabled Papka to confirm that Genesys Cloud could meet all these requirements, as well as increase the organization’s opportunities to innovate.

“When we didn’t have Genesys Cloud, there was a very big void in our digital front door that we could offer to our patients. It was the missing link that we really needed to be able to offer service 24/7,” said Papka. “And it’s a catalyst for innovation.”

Turning strategy into action

Once live on the Genesys Cloud platform, SDMI introduced a virtual assistant named Emma, designed deliberately to feel supportive rather than transactional. This would ensure that any patient, including tech-averse seniors and those with hearing loss, could easily interact with her.

“We have humanized her in the sense that…Emma has the right voice, the right tone, the right pitch and the right speed,” said Papka. “It’s very important that from the time your caller enters…they feel part of the solution.”

That same philosophy guided SDMI in building its self-service strategy. The goal wasn’t deflection, it was guidance. “The patient can now call any time during the day or night, even when we’re closed, and they’ll be directed to the online scheduling tool,” said Papka.

That focus on empathy extends to employees, as well. SDMI recognized that supporting staff with better tools, clearer insight, and more flexibility would directly influence the quality of patient interactions.

Workforce management (WEM) has replaced manual spreadsheets and reactive scheduling. Supervisors now have greater ability to forecast staffing needs in advance, while agents gained visibility into performance through dashboards and gamification.

“Agents can see where they can improve and where they excel,” Papka notes. “We’re now able to change the behavior of our agents immediately.”

Measurable gains — for patients and employees

Since implementing Genesys Cloud, SDMI has realized meaningful time, cost, and effort savings that can be reinvested across the business. Beyond clear financial gains, the platform has also driven improvements in less tangible but equally important areas, such as employee satisfaction, customer experience, and key metrics like Net Promoter Score and customer satisfaction.

The organization has enabled more than 20,000 appointments to be scheduled online, giving patients the ability to book, cancel, or verify appointments at any time. This equates to a 7% increase in online appointment bookings.

Using Genesys Cloud has helped agents at SDMI reduce after-call work by 18%. And WEM has led to a 40% decrease in time spent forecasting and a 25% reduction in manual scheduling.

Those efficiencies translated directly into greater supervisor engagement. “Reduction of the manual work allowed the leadership team to work on other areas, such as gamification, creating evaluation forms, calibration, and spending time with the agents,” said Papka.

Employee satisfaction improved alongside operational performance. “With the amazing Genesys Cloud tool, we’re able to reduce our voluntary attrition by 25% over the last two years,” added Papka. “It creates a fun environment for your agents because they’re now part of the future solution.”

And the data Genesys Cloud provides allows Papka and other SDMI leaders to act quicker, react faster, and determine what’s next in improving the customer and employee experience.

By enabling these improvements, Genesys Cloud is helping SDMI redirect resources toward additional technologies and innovations that support long-term growth and service quality.

Innovation as a continuous journey

For SDMI, the contact center transformation is helping to enable broader innovation. “When you implement a contact center software like Genesys Cloud, it elevates you and is a catalyst to other innovations. It’s allowing us to level up,” said Papka. “It’s exciting to know that in the future, we will be able to offer multiple paths and meet the patients where they desire. We are not done, the journey is not perfect, we want to evolve with our callers.”

Looking ahead, SDMI plans to expand AI-driven experiences while continuing to meet patients where they are. “The most exciting area of implementing a contact center software is it continues to grow with your business,” added Papka. “Having a digital landscape is not about today; it’s really about what tomorrow brings.”

To learn more about the solutions featured in this case study, visit www.genesys.com.