Five9 IVA for Behavioral Health Contact Centers
How DecisivEdge Deployed Five9 Intelligent Virtual Agent to Improve Patient Experience and Call Routing
At a Glance
A growing behavioral health organization wanted to move away from impersonal, menu-driven options. The typical Five9 IVR driven press 1/press 2 approach was off brand and didn’t offer their patients the warm, supportive service experience they needed.
DecisivEdge was brought in to reimagine, redesign and deploy a CX solution that included Five9 IVA Intelligent Virtual Agent. The challenge was to improve the patient experience while also increasing the efficiency of call center operations with Five9 IVA.
Our novel solution – transition away from traditional key-pad driven (DTMF) Five9 IVR technology to implement an intelligent, Natural language (NLU) IVR powered by machine learning.
Result – DecisivEdge’s Five9 IVA delivered improvements in inbound call experience and instant growth for the behavioral health organization with Intelligent Virtual Agent.
The Challenge
A growing behavioral health organization wanted to move away from a traditional IVR experience built around impersonal “press 1 / press 2” phone menus. For patients seeking care, this approach felt disconnected from the warm, supportive experience the organization wanted to provide.
The client needed a smarter contact center solution that could quickly understand why someone was calling, route them to the right treatment advisor, and support self-service for common requests. The goal was to reduce wait times and abandon rates for first-time patients seeking treatment, while also improving the overall experience for patients already scheduled for admission or calling after treatment.
To support this shift, DecisivEdge was brought in to reimagine and deploy a more patient-centered CX solution using Five9 IVA.
The Solution
DecisivEdge’s CX Transformation team designed and deployed a Five9 Intelligent Virtual Agent solution built around natural language understanding and machine learning. Instead of forcing callers through rigid phone tree options, the IVA allowed patients to speak more naturally and be routed based on intent.
The implementation was completed in two key phases. First, DecisivEdge analyzed more than 10,000 caller utterances to identify common keywords, caller intents, and reasons for calling. This helped the team understand the real needs behind patient calls and build a more effective IVA experience.
In the second phase, DecisivEdge built caller journeys based on the data gathered. The most common service intents and self-service use cases were developed into natural language flows within the Five9 IVA engine. For callers who preferred not to use the IVA, the option to connect with a live person or return to a familiar menu experience was also included.
Key Capabilities
Natural Language Call Routing
The Five9 Intelligent Virtual Agent allowed callers to explain what they needed in their own words, creating a more natural and supportive experience.
Self-Service for Common Requests
Patients who were already scheduled for admission or calling post-treatment could complete common service actions without waiting for an agent.
Live-Agent Flexibility
Callers could request a live person at any point, ensuring the experience remained human-centered and aligned with the client’s behavioral health mission.
Custom Call Flow Design
DecisivEdge worked closely with the client to map new call flows, write prompts, and use text-to-speech capabilities to build a smoother caller experience.
QA and UAT Testing
Each caller intent went through rigorous QA and user acceptance testing before being deployed into production.
The Impact
The Five9 IVA solution helped the organization replace a rigid, menu-driven IVR experience with a more intelligent and patient-friendly contact center model. Patients were routed faster, wait times improved, and the experience better reflected the organization’s mission of providing compassionate care from the very first interaction.
The solution also helped reduce unnecessary call volume and repeat abandonments, allowing treatment advisors to focus more time on patients who needed live support.
Results
Measured across two contiguous 23-day periods using A/B testing, the client saw:
- 41% reduction in overall call volume
- 275% reduction in IVR abandons
- 346% reduction in repeat IVR abandons
- 10.5% increase in service level
- 2.1% increase in conversion rate
Conclusion
By deploying Five9 IVA, DecisivEdge helped the behavioral health organization bring a more human touch to its contact center experience. The Five9 Intelligent Virtual Agent improved routing, reduced friction, supported self-service, and created a warmer experience for patients seeking care—while also delivering measurable operational improvements for the organization.