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 Valerie
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| What Special Features are Available with a Physician Answering Service? |
| 2010.02.27 02:52:41 | |
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A physician answering service does not just offer superior quality and a personal touch; there are also other features that will help your practice. Consider a few of the more interesting options available. First off, the operator taking your calls will have your contact information. In the event of an emergency, you will be contact by phone and at the phone number you provide to the company. An operator will easily be able to give office hours, business address and any other basic information. Another convenient feature of the physician answering service is that of text messaging. You can have important caller information sent to your pager, PDA system or cell phone. This feature is compatible with most types of carriers. You will have a voice mail service and can listen to the operator summarize all messages that your patients leave. You can receive email messages that review the contents of the call. If the situation merits (by your request) you can have the operator contact you by phone directly. A physician answering service can also deliver messages by fax. The best advantage of this service is the ability to screen patient calls. Naturally, a doctor or a nurse does not have a lot of time to spare in a typical day. The more simple calls are filtered out, (but still addressed in a compassionate way) the more time the medical team has to devote to issues at hand. The operators that answer your phone calls will have access to your office information. This is whatever information you want to make accessible. This is the best way to screen your calls and expedite your busy day. If you ever have a problem with your physician answering service (whether a technical issues or a call quality issue) you can talk to a supervisor. You can provide specific information on the incident and request help. This entire process is customizable. You can be sure that your patients are cared for because you make every decision. Tags: medical answering service | physician answering service medical |
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| Valerie
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| Do You Really Need an Answering Service? |
| 2010.02.27 02:51:11 | |
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Not every business needs a medical answering service but a medical clinic or a hospital would certainly be an exception. This is a great way for a doctor or nurse to respond immediately to patients even when they are not in the office. Needless to say, a patient forms a very deep attachment to his or her doctor. A doctor guides his or her patient through numerous difficult episodes and experiences. There is a level of trust here that is built over time. When a doctor uses an answering service, he or she communicates with the patient, personally and quickly. A patient is more likely to be satisfied talking with a secretary or doctor’s assistance than leaving a message on a machine. A doctor does not have to add to his staff when he uses an answering service. He does not have to pay overtime to an employee. The doctor simply allows the service to take over and returns a call when convenient. This concept gives the patient exactly what he or she wants: the attention of the doctor and a human voice that will address immediate concerns. The doctor is now reachable at night, in the early morning, even on weekends and holidays. Yet, the establishment never has to pay extra because services will be provided on an “as needed” basis. Options for this answering service are customizable. You can have voice mail, text messaging and paging services installed to inform you of new messages. You can even connect with an operator to speak to patients directly in the event of an emergency. If you want to be available to your patients but have limited resources, an answering service is your solution. Remember that these workers are not just trained secretaries but have experience and education in medical secretarial work. You lose nothing and gain your patient’s trust. |
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| Valerie
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| Disaster Recovery Etiquette and Call Centers |
| 2010.02.27 02:50:48 | |
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Naturally, whenever there is a major disaster or emergency, panic ensues. The solution to this problem is always to remain calm and take logical steps to save those who are in danger. The impact of a fire, flood or hurricane can be devastating. In fact, such destruction can put several businesses out of commission in just a few seconds. Thus explains the role of a disaster recovery service. What if your business has been affected by a local emergency? Not only are you losing money because of damages but you are also losing money by the second due to downtime. If you depend on daily sales or have regular correspondence with your customers then sustaining communication is important. With a disaster recovery service you can keep the lines of communication open regardless of what is happening with your phone line or the local scene. Even if your office is shut down and you are away from the office, you can have an operator take down in-coming calls. This can apply to a variety of scenarios including your own personal injury. A superior disaster recovery service offers more than just a live operator and telecommuting technology. This company can also offer backup power for short-term or long-term outages, redundant and satellite phone lines from a variety of providers and emergency facilities on standby. A disaster recovery service should also have facilities scattered throughout the country so that it can bypass emergencies and reroute calls. A disaster recovery service keeps you in business even when the elements of nature knock you down. This is an important part of staying in business, especially when your company expands beyond city or state borders. If you are going for a statewide or national audience, you must be prepared to meet the demands. Time is money…fortunately, disaster recovery saves you time. Tags: medical answering service | disaster recovery planning |
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| Valerie
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| A Medical Answering Service vs. a Standard Call Center |
| 2010.02.27 02:50:22 | |
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It may be a difficult decision, choosing between a medical answering service and a regular call center, which seems cheaper at first glance. However, there is a big difference in these two types of services. While both options offer well-trained and experienced employees, only the former can guarantee efficient performance and medical experience. If you are a doctor, nurse or another medical practitioner then you well know you have an obligation to protect your patients. While you cannot be available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, you still want to make your patients feel welcomed to contact you. A live operator will give the patient confidence that a human is listening and is concerned about possible symptoms or medication issues. However, a live operator that previously worked with an airline company might not know how to take a medical call. The medical experience factor is one issue to be aware of when choosing between a medical answering service and a call center. Patients will have more confidence if they speak to a trained medical secretary that can address their concerns rather than just take messages. Another key issue to consider in choosing between a medical answering service and a cell center is that of a dedicated service. When you go with a regular answering service, your patients may actually be competing against a variety of other calls—tech support, billing issues, plumbing problems and so on. In fact, the same operator may be addressing medical concerns while giving tips on overflowing toilets. It just does not seem fair to your patients. With a medical answering service, you get employees specifically trained for medical calls, and that only take medical calls. Furthermore, a medical answering service does not outsource calls to India. These workers are trained in Health Insurance Probability and Accounting Act training as well HIPAA. This option is the smartest choice for a professional office! Tags: medical answering service | disaster recovery planning | medical call center |
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| Valerie
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| What is HIPPA Training and Why Does it Matter in Answering Services |
| 2010.02.27 02:49:58 | |
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HIPPA training refers to the HIPAA Act of 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This law was put into effect in order to protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families. In addition, the act also set national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers. To this day, anyone that handles medical records must meet a high standard. This is true, despite the fact that not all providers must adhere to HIPAA rights. However, to doctors who are concerned with patient health and legal liability, following HIPPA training and standard is an essential part of good heath care. These high standards improve efficiency in the office and protect patients’ confidentiality. An answering service that adheres to high HIPPA training standards proves that its employees are trained and ready for professional behavior. In addition to agreeing to keep medical records confidential, the company might also strive to record and back up all telephone records, messages and voice recordings. (All federal laws on recordings are followed) This backup procedure is done for the protection of the doctor as well as for emergencies. The best companies also keep physical documents locked in a vault for a last resort. When you use a medical answering service, not only do you get workers with HIPPA training, but you also get workers that have medical call experience. You can easily tell the difference between a HIPPA trained company and a substandard call center service. Furthermore, medical answering services deal only with medical calls. You do not have to worry about your patients competing with a variety of other industries. If you are a doctor then you owe your patients the best client care available. You personally may not always be available but your office can be. Make your communication personal with a live answering service. Tags: physician answering servicemedical | medical answering service |
