By Streamlining the communication process between patients and doctors is a great way to improve the overall patient experience. This is especially true when you consider that 922 million patients visit physicians offices in America each year. To ensure that patients are happy with their experience, you may want to consider using a medical answering service.
A good medical answering service will offer a number of features and benefits, but some of the most notable include the following:
The ability to schedule appointments and handle cancellations and transfers. It is often important for a practice to have a live person answer the phone at all times, especially when the office is closed. In addition to providing live receptionists, many services offer web based applications that allow you to access messages at a moment’s notice. This feature may also come in handy when you’re dealing with an emergency situation.
Another impressive medical answering service feature is the ability to deliver messages to multiple email addresses. Aside from providing a good customer experience, this feature can also save you money. When you hire an answering service, you don’t have to hire new personnel. A full time service can give you coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It is also possible to integrate your medical answering service with other practice back-end systems. This medical answering service can help to streamline the flow of data between the office and your billing software. It can also help you to reduce no-shows and missed appointments. You can also take advantage of web-based reporting systems that can help streamline operations.
The ability to handle incoming and outgoing phone calls in a timely manner is an important function for any medical practice. This is particularly important for those practices that have multiple locations. A well-run healthcare answering service can help to streamline your communications process and help you to focus on the needs of your patients.
It is not surprising that many healthcare providers have a hard time answering their phones. Not only are many doctors under the gun to get through a day, but there is a large number of demands on their time. While a physician may not find the phone answering process to be an easy task, it can be an essential one. A well-trained and efficient agent can make all the difference in the world.
Another laudable feature of medical answering services is the ability to provide real time feedback to patients. A good answering service will use simultaneous translation technology to provide translation services to patients who are hearing impaired. If a medical emergency occurs, an answering service agent can call the doctor and provide assistance. This is a great way to help patients who may not be able to make it to the office on their own.
Another impressive medical answering service feature is providing messages to patients via cell phones. This may be a pricier option, but can help to improve the patient experience. If you are considering using an answering service, make sure you take the time to choose one that can provide you with the best service and value.
