Reference
Glossary
Key terms and definitions for behavioral health marketing and call center services
24/7 Coverage
Continuous call-center availability throughout the day and week, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
Abandonment Rate
The percentage of callers who disconnect before reaching a representative.
Addiction
A generic term for severe substance use disorders, generally referring to loss of control over use of substances leading to physical and psychological dependence.
Admissions Call
A call from a prospective patient, family member, referral source, or other party seeking information about admission to a behavioral health program.
Admissions Verification
The process of verifying insurance coverage and eligibility for treatment services before a patient is admitted to a facility.
After-Call Work (ACW)
Documentation and administrative activities performed by a representative after a call.
After-Hours Coverage
Call handling provided outside an organization's normal operating hours.
Alcohol Intoxication
Substantially impaired thinking and behavior caused by excessive use of alcohol.
Alcohol Withdrawal
The physical symptoms a person experiences when they stop drinking or drink substantially less than usual, such as tremors and increased blood pressure; can lead to seizures and delirium or confusion.
Antidepressant Medications
Drugs used to prevent or treat depression.
Anxiety
A feeling of worry caused by perceived threats in the environment. Although unpleasant, anxiety can be useful in helping a person avoid dangerous or risky situations. It can motivate the person to take action and address the immediate risk as well as everyday troubles.
Anxiety Disorders
Disorders characterized by intense worry about future events that disrupt a person’s ability to perform at work, school, or in relationships. Examples include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorders and social anxiety disorders.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
A disorder in which a person finds it unusually difficult to concentrate on tasks, pay attention, sit still, and control impulsive behavior.
Average Handle Time (AHT)
The average amount of time required to handle a call, including talk time and associated after-call work.
Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
The average amount of time callers wait before their calls are answered.
Behavioral Health
Refers to the field of both mental health and substance use.
Behavioral Health Call Center
A specialized contact center that handles inquiries, referrals, scheduling, assessments, admissions support, and other communications related to behavioral health services.
Bilingual/Multilingual Support
Call handling in languages other than English to improve accessibility for diverse populations.
Bipolar Disorder
A mental disorder characterized by extreme swings in mood, with periods of depression, periods of mania, and extended periods of a normal mood in between.
Burnout
A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when one feels overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.
Call Disposition
The outcome or classification assigned to a call, such as qualified lead, referral, appointment scheduled, transferred, or unable to reach.
Call Monitoring
Observing or reviewing representative calls to evaluate performance and adherence to procedures.
Call Recording
An audio recording of a call used, where legally and operationally appropriate, for quality assurance, training, compliance, and performance analysis.
Call Tracking
Technology that monitors and records phone call data to measure marketing campaign effectiveness and optimize lead generation.
Clarion Marketing Agent
Clarion OS agents that automate and optimize marketing campaigns through intelligent decision-making.
Clinical Screening
A more structured assessment of a person's behavioral health needs, symptoms, risks, and potential treatment requirements, generally performed by appropriately qualified personnel.
Cold Transfer
Transferring a caller to another department or person without the originating representative remaining on the line.
Complementary Treatments
Treatments like life coaching and lifestyle changes that involve using natural or alternative therapies and changing the way one lives.
Compulsive Behaviors
Repetitive behaviors that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession in order to reduce anxiety.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of leads or website visitors who complete a desired action, such as booking a consultation or admission.
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
The average amount spent on marketing to acquire one qualified lead.
Counseling
A variety of treatment techniques that aim to help a person identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
Crisis Call
A communication involving an individual experiencing an urgent behavioral health concern or potential safety risk.
Culture
A combination of a person’s values, norms, expectations, and identity that can affect one’s perceptions, the actions they take, how they interact with others, and impacts how communities and families are organized.
Delusions
Fixed beliefs that do not change even when there is conflicting evidence. Some delusions are bizarre, others are not.
Depression (Major Depressive Disorder)
A common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how people feel, the way they think and the way they act. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of physical problems and additional emotional problems (for example, irritability). Depression and depressive disorders are dangerous if left untreated.
Detoxification
The process medical professionals use to safely manage the physical symptoms of withdrawal associated with stopping drug use.
Digital PR
Strategic placement of content and backlinks on trusted third-party platforms to enhance online presence and authority.
Drug
A chemical substance that can change how a person’s body and mind work by affecting the brain in diverse ways.
Dual-Diagnosis
When a person has more than one health condition at the same time.
Early Intervention
Refers to recognizing the warning signs of a mental health or substance use problem and acting before it gets worse. Early intervention can prevent symptoms from becoming more serious.
Escalation
Routing a call or situation to a supervisor, clinician, crisis professional, or other appropriate resource because it requires additional expertise or intervention.
First Call Resolution (FCR)
The percentage of inquiries resolved during the initial contact without requiring additional follow-up.
Intake
The process of gathering information from a prospective patient to determine appropriate next steps for care.
Lead Pre-Screening
The initial evaluation of potential patients to determine their needs, eligibility, and readiness for treatment.
Level of Care (LOC)
The intensity and type of treatment appropriate for a person's clinical needs, such as outpatient, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential, or inpatient care.
Live Answer Rate
The percentage of inbound calls answered by a live representative rather than going unanswered or reaching voicemail.
LLM (Large Language Model)
Advanced AI models trained on vast amounts of text data to understand and generate human-like content.
Medicaid
Health insurance that helps many people who cannot afford medical care pay for some or all of their medical bills.
Medical Treatments
Include prescribed medications and other treatments given by health care professionals such as psychiatrist or other medical doctor. For mental disorders, medications might include antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers, while for addiction, medications include those that deter the person from misuse or overuse of the addictive substance. Medication is usually combined with appropriate psychological treatments, such as counseling and other supports.
Mental Health
A state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community.
Mental Health Challenge
Symptoms similar to a mental disorder such as confused thinking, or extreme highs and lows in mood which are not severe enough to warrant the diagnosis of a mental disorder. Some additional terms that describe mental health challenges are emotional and behavioral disorder, extreme emotional distress, psychiatric illness, mental illness, mental health condition, mental breakdown, nervous breakdown, nervous exhaustion, and burnout.
Mental Illness
A diagnosable illness that affects a person’s thinking, emotional state, and behavior and disrupts the person’s ability to work or conduct other daily activities and engage in satisfying personal relationships.
Mood Disorders
Mental disorders marked by the elevation or lowering of a person’s mood. Ex. Depression, bipolar disorder (also called manic depression), seasonal affective disorder (also called major depressive disorder with seasonal pattern).
Native Advertising
Paid content that matches the form and function of the platform on which it appears, blending seamlessly with organic content.
Overflow Call Handling
Handling calls for a provider when the organization's internal staff are unavailable or call volume exceeds capacity.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click)
An online advertising model where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their ad.
Pre-Screening
An initial information-gathering process used to determine whether a person may be appropriate for a particular service or level of care.
Predictive Analytics
Clarion-powered analysis that forecasts future customer behavior and campaign performance based on historical data.
Quality Assurance (QA)
The process of reviewing calls and representative interactions against established quality, service, and compliance standards.
ROI (Return on Investment)
A performance metric that measures the profitability of marketing spend relative to revenue generated.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The practice of optimizing website content and structure to rank higher in search engine results pages.
Service-Level Agreement (SLA)
A defined performance standard between a call center and its client, such as response time, answer rate, or availability requirements.
VOB (Verification of Benefits)
The process of checking a patient's insurance coverage to determine what treatment services are covered.
Warm Transfer
Connecting a caller directly with another appropriate team member or provider while remaining on the line to facilitate the handoff.