The switchboard is the least visible system you own and the [hardest one to replace]
Every year the switchboard stays the way it is, the maintenance bill grows, the knowledge of how it works concentrates in fewer people, and the patients on hold wait a little longer.
Fewer calls, fewer pagers, fewer systems to keep alive
Traverse City-based Munson Healthcare cut 56,000 calls to its call center in 13 months and halved its monthly pager spend.
Who this is for
IT and operations
The contact center team
Clinicians and care teams
A cloud-based switchboard and transfer center software for hospitals and health systems
PerfectServe Operator Console puts the live on-call schedule, clinical directory, and patient location on one screen, so calls reach the covering clinician without a manual lookup and codes reach the response team in one click. It runs in a browser and connects to the EHR, telephony, identity, and scheduling systems a health system already uses.
Reach the covering clinician without a lookup
Keep the patient and the message together
Run it from a browser, not a server room
What you get to turn off
On-prem switchboard servers
Physical pagers
Standalone directories
DECT phones and point tools
Overhead paging for routine requests
After-hours answering vendors for internal routing
It connects to what you already run
What implementation looks like
Implementation is consultative with a defined scope agreed before work starts. Every customer gets a dedicated success team that stays past go-live. The project runs in 3 parts:
Map
Connect
Go live
What changed at Munson Healthcare
Munson's 7-hospital system in northern Michigan replaced a legacy on-prem platform with Operator Console, Clinical Collaboration, and Scheduling.
Questions IT and operations leaders ask
What does Lightning Bolt customer support look like?
TPMG has a team of Lightning Bolt consultants and customer success resources dedicated to their success and available to help with schedules, refining rules, establishing integrations. We also offer 24/7/365 support via our Help Desk.
What does implementation look like?
PerfectServe has deployed Lightning Bolt for many groups at TPMG, so implementation is simple. Your dedicated implementation consultant will guide you through data gathering, training and configuration before go-live. Our implementation timeline typically runs 4-6 weeks, but pace can be adjusted based on admin availability.
Does Lightning Bolt integrate with ClinConnect?
Yes, Lightning Bolt integrates seamlessly with ClinConnect to provide on-call schedule visibility across regions and specialties. In addition, Lightning Bolt integrates with Microsoft Outlook. In total, PerfectServe supports over 250 integrations.
Are other groups at TPMG already using Lightning Bolt?
Yes, more than 13,000 staff at TPMG have their schedules on Lightning Bolt. If you’re wondering if a specific group you work with is already using us, shoot us a message and we can chat.
How does TPMG’s partnership with Lightning Bolt work?
TPMG has a regionally supported contract already in place with PerfectServe to facilitate convenient scheduling for physicians and other healthcare providers.
How does PerfectServe Operator Console compare with Spok and Amtelco?
Read our full comparison here.
What do customers say about Operator Console
For 2026, we had a 99% retention rate for Operator Console customers. The same customers gave us a 100% satisfaction score.
Which RHT strategic goals does PerfectServe support?
PerfectServe supports Technology Innovation (cloud-based communication and scheduling infrastructure), Workforce Development (scheduling tools that reduce burnout and improve retention), Sustainable Access (operator console and patient engagement tools that extend care reach), and Innovative Care Models (integrated communication workflows that enable team-based and virtual care).
How does my facility access RHT funds for PerfectServe?
RHT funds flow from CMS to participating states, which then allocate dollars to rural hospitals and health systems. If your state has an approved RHT plan, your facility may be eligible to direct a portion of that allocation toward qualified technology investments like PerfectServe.
Does PerfectServe qualify for Rural Health Transformation funding?
PerfectServe's clinical communication, physician scheduling, operator console, and patient engagement solutions align with the RHT program's technology innovation, workforce development, sustainable access, and innovative care goals. Qualification is determined at the state level based on your facility's approved transformation plan, but PerfectServe's product suite is designed to meet the criteria these plans prioritize.
What is a healthcare operator console?
A healthcare operator console is the software a hospital switchboard or transfer center operator uses to answer, route, and document calls. It combines the clinical directory, on-call schedules, patient location, call queues, and messaging in one interface. It sits on the internal side of the contact center, downstream of the telephony or CCaaS platform that receives the call.
How is this different from a CCaaS platform like Five9, Genesys, or Cisco?
A CCaaS platform handles inbound calls from patients, families, and outside providers. Operator Console handles what happens next inside the building: finding the covering clinician, routing to their preferred device, activating a code team, and completing a transfer with patient context. Many hospitals run both layers. PerfectServe can work with CCaaS vendors so the two hand off to each other, including handoff from an intelligent virtual agent to a human operator.
Does it work with our existing PBX or phone system?
Yes. Operator Console integrates with existing PBX and UCaaS systems, so the phone infrastructure can stay while the operator environment is replaced. PerfectServe supports 270+ integrations across EHR, telephony, scheduling, patient flow, and clinical communication systems.
Does it integrate with the EHR?
Yes. Operator Console integrates with the EHR to surface relevant patient information during a call and to attach patient records to messages. In our 2026 survey of 105 IT and operations leaders, only 39% reported EHR integration in their contact center, which is one reason operators at many hospitals still run the EHR on a second screen.
What is the maintenance burden after go-live?
Cloud delivery removes the on-prem servers, the upgrade weekends, and the version management that a legacy platform requires. Updates apply without a downtime window. Active Directory sync keeps user records current, so clinician onboarding and offboarding follows your existing identity process.
How is access controlled and how is PHI protected?
Access is governed by role-based controls, so an operator, a supervisor, and an administrator each see what their role requires. The platform is HIPAA-compliant, and PerfectServe executes a Business Associate Agreement with every covered entity.
Can the team work remotely?
Yes. The console is cloud-based and hardware-independent, so operators can sign in from a supported device wherever they have a secure connection. Health systems use this to hire outside their local market, keep coverage during weather events or facility disruptions, and offer remote flexibility as a retention tool.
Do we have to replace everything at once?
No. Health systems commonly start with the switchboard and add scheduling, clinical messaging, or emergency alerting later. Munson Healthcare started with the call center and broadened the project scope during evaluation to include integrated provider scheduling.
What does it take to switch vendors?
Among the 105 leaders in our 2026 survey, 51% expected switching to be somewhat or very difficult, and 25% named vendor lock-in as a barrier. Implementation begins with a mapping phase precisely because most of that difficulty lives in undocumented call flows and escalation paths rather than in the technology.
Three ways to [take this further]
Thirty minutes to discuss your call flows and your integrations. We'll show you how Operator Console can help.