What Happens When You Shut Down a Call Center Without a Plan?
Pharmaceutical patient services teams are under immense pressure.
Costs are rising. Staffing is unstable. Call center turnover is high. And leadership teams are being asked a difficult question:
“Can we afford to keep this call center running?”
But there is a far more important question that often goes unasked:
“What happens to patients if we shut it down?”
That question is at the heart of our new white paper, The Silent Crisis, which you can download free at the end of this article.
The Hard Truth: Call Centers Are Failing Patients
Pharmaceutical call centers were built for a different era. They assume patients will:
- Answer unknown phone numbers
- Wait on hold
- Speak to an agent during business hours
Today, that model is structurally broken.
According to the data cited in The Silent Crisis:
- 84% of consumers do not answer calls from unknown numbers
- Only 26% of patients say call centers provide great support
- Call center turnover ranges from 30–45% annually
- Cost per interaction can reach $10–$15
At the same time, nearly 50% of Americans do not take chronic medications as prescribed, contributing to 125,000 preventable deaths annually and over $500 billion in avoidable healthcare costs.
The call center is expensive.
It is inefficient.
And increasingly, it does not reach patients.
But here is the real danger.
The Bigger Risk: Shutting Down Without a Replacement
When a company closes its call center without a thoughtful digital alternative, it does not eliminate patient confusion.
It eliminates patient support.
The specialty patient journey is already fragile. Patients drop off at every stage:
- Prior authorization
- Insurance approval
- First fill
- 30-day refill
- 90-day adherence
Even with mature patient services programs, fewer than half of specialty patients remain on therapy at 90 days.
Remove support entirely and the fallout accelerates:
- Prescription abandonment spikes
- Physicians lose trust
- Adverse event reporting gaps increase regulatory exposure
- Revenue declines
Patients are not choosing to stop therapy because they have carefully weighed the risks and benefits.
They are confused.
They are overwhelmed.
And they have nowhere to turn.
Patients Have Already Moved On
While call centers struggle, patient communication preferences have shifted dramatically.
From the white paper:
- 98% SMS open rate
- 90% of texts read within 3 minutes
- 85.6% of patients prefer texts over calls, email, or portals
Digital communication is:
- Instant
- Asynchronous
- Available 24/7
- Dramatically lower cost
- Highly measurable
Cost per digital interaction can be under $1, compared to $10–$15 for call centers.
The economics are clear.
The patient preference is clear.
The only question is how to transition responsibly.
The Right Approach: A Thoughtful Digital Transition
The answer is not to keep funding an unsustainable model forever.
And the answer is not to turn the lights off and hope for the best.
The right path is a structured, phased transition:
- Augment – Layer physician-led digital education alongside your call center
- Redirect – Route routine FAQs to digital video modules
- Transition – Reduce live headcount responsibly once digital engagement proves effective
- Optimize – Use real-time data to proactively identify at-risk patients
Not every interaction should go digital. Adverse event reporting and complex insurance appeals still require live expertise.
But 70–80% of routine educational interactions can be delivered more effectively through proactive, physician-led digital content.
When done correctly:
- Patients feel more supported
- Costs decrease
- Call volume declines
- Adherence improves
- Compliance remains intact
Digital becomes a bridge, not a cliff.
The Inflection Point
The pharmaceutical industry is at a turning point.
You can:
-
Shut down recklessly and save short-term cost while risking long-term patient abandonment
Or
-
Transition thoughtfully and build a scalable, measurable, patient-preferred model
The call center era is ending. What comes next will define your brand’s relationship with patients for years.
Download the Free White Paper
If you are evaluating the future of your patient services infrastructure, this is essential reading.
The white paper includes:
- Data on prescription abandonment and adherence risk
- A financial comparison of call center vs. digital cost structures
- A 4-phase transition framework
- A decision matrix for what should stay live vs. move digital
- KPIs to measure a successful transition
Download your free copy here:
[Download the White Paper]