subject: Physician Answering Services Nj Recognizes The Importance Of Patient Privacy [print this page] In this era of no-house calls, it is common for a doctor answering service to advise the caller having a medical emergency to call 911 or go to an emergency room. Even physician answering services NJ responds the same way.
However, the job of a medical answering service is not as simple as asking a patient to call another number or direct him or her to an emergency room.
Physicians want their answering service to be something more. They understand that for a patient the service must be one call does it all. The service must, apart from attending to emergency calls, assist the patients in scheduling and keeping appointments, and must be able to answer all questions.
In short, a doctor answering service must actually be a virtual doctors office.
This kind of an office keeps the office HIPAA compliant and streamlines calls.
The doctors office is inundated by calls all day long with no respite even after office hours. The calls can be about insurance enquiries, appointment changes, billing queries, laboratory reports, and many more. Handling all these calls requires patience, knowledge, and expertise.
A professional service like physician answering services NJ understands that each call is important.
An error can be catastrophic. A call missed, a message delivery to the wrong party, or non-compliance to HIPPA can all spell disaster and can amount to medical malpractice.
The only answer to resolve such issues is to make the doctor answering service HIPAA complaint.
Advantages of having a doctor answering service that is HIPAA compliant are as follows:
You ensure accuracy in message contents and message delivery.
Messages are transmitted with the correct phone numbers.
No calls are lost.
Another matter not so well known is that a doctors answering service must also follow the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' (JCAHO) regulations. JCAHO is a group of individuals from medical sector who develop and maintain standards of quality in medical establishments in the United States.
Many doctors make use of an answering service that schedules appointments and routes after-hour calls. However, the service must do something more.
Professional service providers like physician answering services NJ understand that complying to the HIPAA and following JCAHO regulations is the key not only to protect patient privacy but also in ensuring that messages are communicated without error.
