subject: Choosing The Right Medical Answering Service [print this page] When you're setting out to choose the right medical answering service to meet your emergency communications needs, one of the first things you want to consider is the firm's track record. Research into the company's prior performance is just as important here as it would be with any other company you'd ever consider partnering with. Try to talk to some doctors who have used them in the past so you can get a feel for what their experiences have been like. That way, you'll be better able to determine whether or not the company might be a good fit for your business.
One of the things you should be looking for is a wide range of communications options. That is, you should consider the question of how messages are relayed to you, or how you're contacted in the event of an after-hours medical query. Ideally, they should make a number of options available to you, so that you're able to have them handle your calls exactly the way you instruct them to. For example, you may want to receive text messages every single time a call comes in, along with voice mail dictation in the event a message is left. You may even want to provide some guidelines on when to page you and when to put the patient on hold and call you directly.
You should also try to make sure that the facility has effective security measures in place. For example, adequate HIPAA training for all of its employees is a must. In addition, security systems to be in place to protect the information stored on the firm's systems, as well as access to their buildings. Plus, in the event of a power failure, they still need to be able to handle your calls, and those security systems need to continue running. In order for both of those things to happen, the building needs backup power generators that kick in automatically when they're needed.
As important as all of our previous requirements have been, we have yet to even mention the most important thing you should be looking for when you're choosing your medical answering service. That's simple, common courtesy. Believe it or not, there are some call center service providers out there with employees that couldn't exactly be described as friendly voices. Is that the kind of image you want to convey to your patients? We didn't think so.
