subject: Can An Answering Service Benefit Your Medical Clinic? [print this page] While your primary goal is to help treat and heal patients, you have a number of other responsibilities in your practice. One of the most important is answering the phones. Patients call with a variety of questions, concerns and problems and its your offices responsibility to be there when your patients need you. However, its not always possible to answer immediately, and patients are often sent to the office voicemail. This can cause problems a better option is to use a qualified answering service. Can you really benefit from this type of service?
The Short Answer
The short answer to the question posed above is yes. Your office and your patients will definitely benefit if you choose to make use of a qualified answering service. This begs a second question what benefits do you see?
The Long Answer
Your patients will benefit in several ways. For instance, rather than calling in and being sent straight to voicemail, your patients calls will be answered by a professional with medical experience. While theyre certainly not doctors, these professionals do comply with HIPAA practices. Theyre also provided with all the information necessary about your practice so that they can answer common questions. Often, patients call with a simple question it can be frustrating not to receive an immediate answer because your office is busy. By using an answering service, you ensure that simple questions are answered immediately.
You and your patients also benefit in other ways here. For instance, youll find that this type of service can answer calls during off hours or when the phone lines are out. The information from the call can then be sent to your cell phone, your email or to a pager. This gives you the means to stay on top of critical situations even if youre out of the office or if an emergency or storm has taken down the phone lines.
Both you and your patients benefit from enhanced care and coordination provided by using an answering service. Of course, not all services are the same, so you will have to choose your provider very carefully. Make sure the company truly is HIPAA compliant, and that their operators are all fully trained. Do a bit of digging and read reviews from other physicians or medical providers about their experiences with the company. Finally, make sure that the company offers an affordable billing plan for their answering services.
