Most medical practices spend a good deal of time fielding phone calls. A busy practice might handle almost 30 calls per hour at peak times.
Handling so many calls might seem overwhelming for you and your staff. That’s one reason you might consider a doctor answering service. It turns out there are actually plenty of other benefits too.
Keep reading to discover the top benefits
1. A Doctor Answering Service Reduces Hold Times
There are very few people who enjoy being on hold or playing phone tag. This is especially true when they’re trying to get a hold of their doctor. If they’re in an emergency situation, they may not be able to wait.
An answering service can help you reduce hold times by rerouting calls to an overflow answering service. The operators there use customized scripts to assist your patients. In turn, they get the help they need and your phone lines stay clear.
Better yet, the service uploads all information to your systems.
2. Provide 24/7 Care With Medical Answering Services
A doctor can’t be on-call all the time, but your patients sometimes have emergencies in the middle of the night. A young person may go into crisis, or a new parent may have concerns about their child. Someone else may have concerns about a new medication.
A medical answering service helps them get the answers they need when they need them. With the right service, you can provide round-the-clock care for your patients.
3. Reduce Overheads With an Answering Service
A phone answering service also has benefits for your practice itself. With one, you can lower overheads. You may not need to hire a second receptionist or install yet another phone line.
By reducing these costs, you can redirect the funds into better care for your patients.
4. Improve Patient Satisfaction
Improved patient satisfaction is a natural extension of the previous three benefits. Your patients will be much happier when they can get questions answered, even after hours.
They’ll also see improvements around the practice too. When you spend less time on the phone, you can spend more time with each patient. That also improves care and patient satisfaction.
Improved patient satisfaction usually means more people returning to see you. They’re also more likely to recommend you to friends and family. That’s good news for anyone who wants to grow their practice.
5. Get Better Records With an Answering Service
One question you may have about a phone answering service is how it handles record-keeping requirements.
The very best answering services are always HIPAA compliant. They can help you meet all regulatory requirements. Calls are recorded, which provides accurate, time-stamped records for your practice.
You can document responses, progress, and other metrics when you use an answering service.
You can click here to discover what some of the top doctor answering services have in common. Then see how they stack up against a solution you’re considering.
Good Care Is Always on Call
Adopting a doctor answering service for your medical practice is a smart move.
If you want to learn more about how technology can help you deliver better care for your patients, check out the archive for all the latest.
