Doctors are busy people.
They have a lot on their plate and don’t have time to answer calls from patients just looking for a prescription refill.
They have urgent medical needs, and they need to get back to them ASAP. This is why doctors must invest in medical answering service. Medical answering service will answer your calls and triage them according to urgency, so you can focus on the patients who need you.
If you are interested to know more, scroll down below.
Benefits of a Medical Answering Service
There are a lot of benefits in setting up a medical answering service for your business. Let’s take a look at each one below:
They can take messages for you.
Doctors’ offices often need to be available 24/7—but that doesn’t mean they want to answer the phone at all hours of the day and night.
With an answering service, you can set your hours and have someone else take care of those pesky calls when you’re busy seeing patients or doing paperwork in the office.
In addition, you don’t have to worry about missing important calls while you’re away from the office or in consultation with a patient.
Reduce costs at your practice
Many doctors’ offices are on tight budgets, but with a medical answering service, you don’t have to worry about extra fees or long-term contracts.
You only pay for what you need: one flat rate per month, regardless of how many calls come in.
Your patients will feel more comfortable.
Many patients will feel more comfortable talking with the answering service instead of someone who works directly for their doctor’s office. This can lead to increased communication between doctors and their patients—and more satisfied patients.
What to Look For in a Medical Answering Service
Here are some things to consider when choosing a medical answering service:
- How many years of experience do they have in this industry? If they’ve been around for decades, then it’s because they’re doing something right.
- Does the service offer 24/7 coverage?
- Do they have phone lines with different options (e.g., voice mail, live receptionist)
- Do they have dedicated operators? For example, do they have one operator who only handles calls from a specific location?
- Do they have online chat features that allow patients to communicate with your team in real-time and send messages via email or text?
- Do they offer video call capabilities so face-to-face conversations can occur when necessary?
HIPAA Compliance
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which protects your patients’ information privacy.
It’s a federal law requiring all doctors and medical practices to protect patient’s privacy by keeping their information safe from hackers, identity theft, and other unauthorized access.
Businesses must also notify patients if there is a breach in security that could compromise their information.
Suppose your answering service isn’t HIPAA compliant. In that case, it could put you out of business if there’s a breach in security because it won’t be able to meet the requirements for protecting patient information (and this includes secure faxing) under HIPAA guidelines.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re trying to schedule an appointment with a new patient or get in touch with a former one, your time is precious. And if you want to keep the flow of incoming calls from clogging up your day and taking over your life, there’s only one solution: a medical answering service.
