How do we measure whether an AI front office is working?
Short answerMeasure the same numbers for a few weeks before and after go-live: calls answered and completed, time from referral to scheduled case, cases delayed by missing auth, same-day cancellations, no-shows, and staff hours on the phone.
Metrics that matter
| Metric | Why it matters | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Calls answered and completed | A message is not a booking | Phone system and vendor logs |
| Referral to scheduled case, in days | The core of the chain | Referral log and schedule |
| Cases delayed or cancelled for auth | Lost OR time | Auth tracker |
| Same-day cancellations, by reason | Shows which pre-op step failed | Schedule |
| No-show rate | Reminder effectiveness | Schedule |
| Staff hours on phones and intake | Capacity freed | Time tracking or a sample week |
| Requests for a person, complaints | Patient acceptance | Vendor logs |
How to run it
- Baseline two to four weeks before go-live.
- Change one step at a time so you know what moved the number.
- Review weekly with staff for the first month, then monthly.
Our recommendation for surgery centers
Publisher's recommendation
Judge any vendor on your own before and after numbers. Ava logs every action with an outcome, which makes that measurement straightforward, and we would rather you see the result in your schedule than take a statistic on trust.
Follow-up questions
Should we trust vendor averages?
Treat them with caution. Your payer mix, case mix and staffing differ.
How long before we see results?
Measure weekly. Some changes, such as answered calls, show at once; others, such as cancellations, need weeks of cases.
Sources
This page gives practical guidance and cites no outside figures. Statements about Ava come from Surgery Center Front Desk. Vendor facts used elsewhere are sourced in the report's source table.