A physician answering service can be the first line of protection when it comes to maintaining all of your patients’ happiness. If you have a practice that takes on a large number of calls during any given time, having a dedicated staff to take phone calls regarding questions or concerns is a smart move. In addition, virtual receptionists can assist in screening incoming calls so that your team can reach the important calls first. Some best physician answering service even comes with an automatic appointment reminder system for patients who show up to their appointments. This helps them maintain a schedule rather than an outdated one.
With physician answering services, you have the option of allowing your doctors to take their phone calls as they see fit. Many plans do this, but some don’t. There is nothing wrong with allowing doctors to take their time with the calls if they so choose. They are professionals, after all, and can take their time with what they want to do. Doctors may decide to schedule routine doctor’s appointments while on-call, or they may request information and details on patients only when necessary.
Many physicians think of physician answering services as an annoyance; however, these services offer many benefits to medical professionals. Some of the benefits of using a virtual receptionist include: reduced staff hours, higher office productivity, decreased medical malpractice liability, and increased patient satisfaction. Let’s take a closer look at these benefits.
Reduced staff hours:
Using the best physician answering service can free up a large portion of your office staff, as many receptionists will take the call for physicians in the waiting room or office. This eliminates a need for full-time employees to cover these calls. You can still leave a couple of receptionists in the office during regular business hours, giving them time to handle calls independently. If you find that you have a large volume of patients, it can be helpful to have several receptionists on duty at any given time.
Higher office productivity:
You can make your office run more efficiently by using a physician answering service. By eliminating the need for physical patient transport, you free up valuable office staff time for other functions. Additionally, doctors can schedule appointments with patients who are farther away from their offices. Finally, telemedicine allows you to deliver important news and information through text messages, emails, or faxes straight to your patients.
Increased patient satisfaction:
One of the goals of using physician answering services is to increase patient satisfaction. Patients appreciate being able to reach a live person rather than an answering machine or service representative. Therefore, your receptionists should always be polite and friendly and answer each caller’s queries courteously and professionally. Many physicians choose to have a single person answer calls for several different practices. This ensures that each patient gets the same level of service and assistance no matter where they call.
Increased call volume:
Using a medical answering service can significantly boost your call volume. When you provide live support via your computer and your phone, you can take advantage of the opportunity to promote your practice and increase awareness of new services and products. In addition to your practice exposure, your patients will notice the difference. The best way to improve your bottom line is to increase your patient contact, create a better patient experience and promote physician education and keep your practice current.
Avoid 24*7 patient supports:
No medical practice has the time or the resources to offer the 24*7 support that patients have come to expect. Staffing prices are already eating away at the overhead, and your staffs have more urgent matters to attend to. By utilizing a physician answering service, patients will have access to your practice even when the doors are closed for the day.
Keeping your operation running smoothly needs the help of professionals trained in the medical industry, and answering services can offer the solution your patients require.
HIPPA compliance:
Medical answering services utilize trained teams and computer software that make sure your practice remains HIPPA compliant, even outside business hours. Communicating confidential medical detail through a third party is often necessary, even when not using a call center. Medical answering services staff are trained in handling patient health information, ensuring that your practice provides the protection required by federal law.
As you can see, using telemedicine as an answer to your call volume needs is a cost-effective way to provide assistance to your patients and boost your business. With a well-trained receptionist on your team at all times, your business can grow without any noticeable downtime. Your physician answering services can be scheduled in advance so that you never have to worry about having staff on hand who are either sick or overbooked. You can set up your appointments and leave the rest up to them. Telemedicine is a great solution for everyone involved.
