Your Durable Medical Equipment Business May Need A Durable Answering Service

Many patients, such diabetics using insulin pumps and patients dependent upon wheelchairs

or respiratory devices, depend on quick delivery and efficient maintenance of their durable medical equipment (DME) to keep them alive and well.If your business serves these clients, then you know you need to ensure there is seamless communication between patients and their DME provider. A single missed call can quickly become a serious problem.

If you own a DME business, you know your patients need to be able to reach you around the clock, but staffing your office for 24/7 support can be expensive in many ways. That is why most DME providers outsource their calls to a 24 7 answering service or doctors answering service. During lunch, or when the office is closed, DME providers call-forward their phone lines to a 24 7 answering service to take care of their clients. With the special needs of these patients, it is no surprise that many DME providers choose a doctors answering service for the necessary level of customer support.

If you want to offer your patients 24/7 availability and specialized customer support, consider the services offered by a 24 7 answering service or doctors answering service:

Training - Choose a doctors answering service with agents who are specially trained and have experience in communicating compassionately, while being efficient and accurate. This training and experience is essential when your clients call a 24 7 answering service. Remember to confirm with the service provider that their agents have experience specifically with DME providers.

DME Experience - The agents at the doctors answering service or 24 7 answering service must know the difference between a nebulizer and a CPAP machine. They also need to understand the unique challenges for a patient needing oxygen or transfusion therapy, which may require escalating that particular call for immediate help.

Equipment Support- The 24 7 answering service can provide immediate customer support related to callers' equipment issues. Agents can take messages for oxygen refills, note equipment-repair requests, correctly transcribe questions and take new-equipment orders. Based on the call protocols you provide, the doctors answering service agents can then promptly direct these messages to the appropriate technician or respiratory therapist. A doctors answering service or 24 7 answering service with current technology can customize call scripts to meet your DME customer needs.

Sales Support - Your DME business also can benefit from sales-related calls that come into the 24 7 answering service or doctors answering service after regular hours. With agents answering questions from these callers and getting important information, you can increase your revenue outside of your regular office hours. The agents can capture new or repeat orders using either a developed database or your company's web site, CRM or operating system. The 24 7 answering service or doctors answering service can even capture sales inquiries from new clients who may be getting released from the hospital.

HIPPA Compliance - It is important that the doctors answering service or 24 7 answering service understands the importance of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) -- created in 1996 to protect personal health information -- and how agents should handle such information. It is equally important for your answering-service provider to value and protect your relationship with referral sources such as hospitals, physicians, hospice and home health-care providers.

The doctors answering service or 24 7 answering service you choose should provide prompt, personal service that your clients and referral sources deserve, while freeing your technicians and respiratory therapists from time-consuming conversations and paperwork. Take care of your clients after hours, on the weekends and during holidays when you choose a doctors answering service or 24 7 answering service that cares for your patients and your DME business when you can't.

by: Judy O'Brien

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