Before Aliya Health was known by its current name, they were operating under the brand Royal Life Centers, with a clear mission: to enhance the digital experience for prospective patients while streamlining the admissions process that often burdened their teams. Their goal was simple—make it easier for people to find the right treatment for themselves or a loved one and ensure that admissions teams could respond faster and more effectively. With a growing demand for addiction treatment services, this was no small task. For patients or their families browsing the website, the goal was to provide clear, concise, and accessible information that would help them make a quick and informed decision about their treatment journey.
On the other hand, for the admissions teams, the challenge was to cut through the administrative bottleneck and provide faster responses, ultimately enhancing the “speed to lead.” This would require automating key parts of the workflow, especially in the early stages of engagement, when speed and ease are most crucial.
When Arianna Kosoglou, a marketing executive at the time, joined Aliya Health as the Director of Digital Marketing after the company acquired Royal Life Centers, she knew they needed a digital solution to meet these needs. Her search led her to FURTHER—a cutting-edge, AI-powered software solution that was poised to revolutionize the way they interacted with prospective patients and streamlined the entire admissions process.
Enter FURTHER: The AI Solution Revolutionizing Admissions
FURTHER is a platform built specifically to meet the needs of behavioral health patients, especially when it comes to finding the right treatment. It provides an AI-driven tool—a Behavioral health AI chatbot—that can be fully customized to fit the specific needs of a health care provider. For Aliya Health, this meant deploying a sophisticated AI chatbot directly onto their website. The Behavioral health AI chatbot immediately engages with every visitor, offering them vital information about treatment options, pricing, insurance, care availability, and much more.
What made FURTHER stand out from other solutions on the market was its ability to address the critical pain points that patients, their families, and admissions teams often face. The Behavioral health AI chatbot could answer questions about:
- Insurance coverage and pricing
- Care availability
- Types of treatments offered
- Virtual tours of the facility
- Communication with the admissions team
Kosoglou realized that FURTHER had the potential to provide Aliya Health with a streamlined way to assist prospective patients, reduce the burden on admissions teams, and help people make decisions more quickly. So, she petitioned her team to integrate FURTHER across all of Aliya’s brands. Despite some initial concerns, the results quickly proved that the platform was an invaluable tool in transforming the admissions experience.
The 3 Major Benefits of Working with FURTHER
Since its integration, FURTHER has delivered impressive results for Aliya Health, and Kosoglou credits the platform with achieving three key benefits for both the business and its patients: lessening patient pressure, assisting admissions, and driving better business outcomes through increased leads and revenue. Let’s explore these benefits in detail:
1. Lessening Patient Pressure
Addiction treatment is a deeply personal and often difficult decision. Many prospective patients are already under extreme emotional and mental strain, and the process of finding a treatment facility shouldn’t add to their burdens. FURTHER’s Behavioral health AI chatbot directly addresses this by offering immediate, easy-to-understand answers without requiring patients to repeat their personal struggles or navigate long, complicated forms.
The Behavioral health AI chatbot starts by asking visitors how it can help, guiding them to the information they need in a compassionate and efficient manner. It is intuitive, patient-focused, and simple—making it easier for patients to get the information they need without having to call, be put on hold, or get passed from department to department. This ease of access is crucial, particularly in addiction treatment, where delays can hinder recovery.
Kosoglou emphasizes, “It gives more of a personalized approach than some of the other chatbots out there.” The customizable nature of the platform allows Aliya Health to fine-tune the chatbot’s responses, align the branding with their existing design, and infuse their unique voice into the experience. The chatbot feels less like a robotic interaction and more like a personalized assistant that’s there to help at every step of the process.
And beyond simply answering questions, FURTHER’s Behavioral health AI chatbot facilitates a smoother path to recovery. Timeliness in receiving care for addiction, particularly with the rise of synthetic opioids and other harmful substances, is critical. For example, the CDC reported a staggering 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2023, highlighting the urgent need for faster, more accessible treatment.
By making information easily accessible and by offering instant access to treatment options, FURTHER gives patients a faster road to recovery, which is particularly important during such a vulnerable time.
2. Assisting Admissions Teams
While the Behavioral health AI chatbot is an incredible resource for patients, it also plays a critical role in assisting the admissions team at Aliya Health. One of the main strengths of FURTHER’s chatbot is its ability to collect key information upfront. Before the patient even speaks with an admissions representative, the chatbot gathers vital details that help direct them to the appropriate team member. For example, patients who are veterans, members of the LGBTQ+ community, or those dealing with trauma will be directed to specific admissions staff trained to handle their unique needs.
By collecting this information early in the process, Aliya Health’s admissions team is able to start building a trusting relationship with prospective patients even before their first phone or text conversation. This allows the admissions team to be better prepared for that initial interaction and ensures the patient is connected with the person best suited to help them with their specific needs.
Unlike many other platforms that rely on live chat functionality, FURTHER intentionally avoids offering live chat, recognizing that this often leads to a poor experience for both leads and admissions teams. Kosoglou explains that live chat interactions can leave both parties frustrated, with the patient often feeling like they’re not getting the help they need. FURTHER’s bot takes a more thoughtful, structured approach, providing answers while guiding patients toward the right next steps.
Additionally, FURTHER provides significant operational efficiencies for Aliya Health:
- 24/7 Availability: The chatbot operates around the clock, offering immediate responses regardless of the time of day.
- Scalability: FURTHER can handle a large volume of inquiries simultaneously, ensuring that no patient is left waiting.
- Cost-Efficiency: By reducing the need for human agents in the initial stages, Aliya Health has lowered operational costs while still providing high-quality patient interactions.
This means the admissions team can focus on the personal, human aspects of the admissions process, while FURTHER handles the initial engagement and data capture.
3. More Revenue, Better Recovery
Another major benefit of working with FURTHER is the positive impact it has had on Aliya Health’s revenue and overall business performance. Since partnering with FURTHER in 2021, Aliya Health has seen a 30-50% increase in leads, which has had a direct impact on their bottom line.
The Behavioral health AI chatbot’s ability to respond quickly and efficiently to leads has resulted in higher-quality engagements, which in turn has translated to higher occupancy rates and more patients receiving the treatment they need. Kosoglou notes that the chatbot has helped make it easier for hesitant patients to engage with the facility—without the fear of judgment or the hassle of filling out long forms or talking to strangers.
Kosoglou further adds, “The bot makes it a lot easier for someone in a vulnerable state.” By removing the barriers that often make people hesitant to seek help, FURTHER makes it simpler for patients to begin their recovery journey.
Moreover, the faster response time has meant more patients are coming through the doors, which has led to increased revenue and greater productivity within the team. Aliya Health is now more capable of treating a higher volume of patients, leading to better outcomes for everyone involved.
The Bottom Line: Increased Efficiency, Improved Patient Outcomes
FURTHER has proven itself to be an invaluable tool in transforming Aliya Health’s digital experience, improving the admissions process, and ultimately leading to better recovery outcomes for patients. By automating key parts of the intake process and providing patients with immediate, empathetic access to information, Aliya Health has been able to reduce friction, improve lead quality, and provide a more personalized experience for prospective patients.
For Kosoglou and the team at Aliya Health, working with FURTHER has been a game-changer—not just for operational efficiencies but for improving patient care and recovery. The Behavioral health AI chatbot has empowered patients to get the help they need faster, helped the admissions team better engage with leads, and generated more revenue for the business, all while improving the quality of care.
In the ever-evolving world of behavioral health care, FURTHER is helping Aliya Health offer a smoother, more effective treatment journey for patients in need—ultimately changing the way they approach both patient care and business operations.
