Having a call answering service for your medical facility gives you a competitive advantage by allowing you to offer outstanding customer service. Depending on your unique needs, the answering service may be available all around the clock, which means patients can reach your office even during emergencies in the wee hours of the night. That allows you to focus on the key aspects of running your facility without compromising customer service on the phone.

However, you must find a reliable medical answering service to achieve such benefits. Here are some considerations to make before choosing one.

Experience in managing medical calls

A call answering service for a medical facility may be a bit different from other businesses. Therefore you need call answering agents trained in medical terms who can handle calls for emergencies and basic inquiries. This is a specialized field, and you have to find out what level of customer service the company offers to you and the patients who call in. That will help you make a good choice of medical answering service.

24/7 answering service

Unlike other institutions like banks, many medical facilities run 24/7, so patients must be able to reach someone on the phone even in the wee hours of the night. A reliable medical answering service can provide 24/7 support for a healthcare facility that runs 24/7. The call answering agents should be well trained to determine when a patient needs to speak with the doctor immediately or when they can wait until the next day in the event of night calls.

HIPAA compliance

HIPAA compliance is mandatory according to the law, and your medical facility is responsible for how your patients’ data is handled and stored. Therefore you have to choose a medical answering service that knows how to handle confidential information effectively to help you comply with HIPAA. A call answering service that works with hospitals and medical facilities can guarantee HIPAA compliance to avoid brand-damaging lawsuits and hefty fines.

Data security

Even if the medical call answering service is HIPAA compliant, you must ensure they do not put you at risk by using outdated systems. You don’t want to take shortcuts in data security, so choosing a medical answering service that uses the latest software is best. Do not hesitate to inquire about their computer software systems, security training, and encryption technology. Their operating systems and technologies should be up-to-date and compliant with the latest security standards.

Types of medical answering services

A medical answering may be as basic as rerouting calls to the available healthcare professionals or as complicated as passing along patient information. some of the medical answering services to consider include:

  • Live call answering 24/7.
  • Message taking and after hour answering with messages for staff.
  • Scheduling appointments.
  • Call patients to remind them of appointments.
  • Processing payments.
  • Recording and archiving calls etc.

A reliable medical answering service will be ready to work with you on customization.

The takeaway

Medical answering is a specialized field, and you want experienced call answering agents with experience handling medical calls.

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