Plumbers, electricians, tow truck operators and many other types of professionals who rely on after-hours answering services to serve their customers have similar needs. They need someone to answer the phone if it rings outside of regular business hours and contact someone in the business to provide emergency services when necessary.
Medical practices and physicians' offices however have very different needs when it comes to after-hours calls. Some patients may contact a practice after hours to cancel an appointment and may appreciate being able to reschedule with a live operator. Others may have questions about their prescription medications. At times, patients may reach out to an office's medical call answering service in the middle of the night with serious medical problems or emergencies.
The highly specialized, serious nature of medical practices is one of the main reasons dedicated medical call centers evolved. Today there are also very specific rules and regulations regarding how communications with patients are carried out and managed.
HIPAA and other state and federal laws outline specific regulations regarding patient privacy, confidentiality and call recording among other things, and every medical practice's call answering center must comply with all regulations.
Operators trained to text a plumber with an emergency or take a message for a locksmith aren't likely to be trained in HIPAA compliance, while those at a medical call answering service will. This is a very important reason why medical practices and doctors' offices should insist on specialized call centers for handling after hours phone calls.
Every business that hires an answering service wants every client to receive prompt, professional service when their business is called. Doctors' offices and medical practices must also ensure their patients' safety and privacy are protected each time their call center is contacted. Relying on anything less than a specialized, professional medical call answering service may jeopardize much more than a practice's reputation.
Medical practices and their patients have specialized needs and unique expectations when it comes to telephone calls. Patients who call their physician or specialist expect to receive an extremely high level of personalized care. Medical facilities are responsible for meeting their patients' needs as well as complying with very specific privacy and security laws.
Only a professional call center that specializes in the health care field will meet the requirements of both patients and medical practices. Generic phone answering services aren't likely to be trained in HIPAA specifics. Operators who serve all types of businesses won't have the in-depth, industry-specific training that enables medical call center operators to converse with patients in helpful, appropriate ways.
HIPAA addresses patients' rights to security and confidentiality regarding their personal medical histories. Anyone answering phone calls placed to a medical facility must be trained to ensure the privacy of every caller and patient. In addition, a medical answering service must utilize appropriately secured methods of transmitting patients' personal information. Regular answering services aren't likely to meet these very specific legal requirements.
A professional call center hires and trains staff that can provide the high level of personalized service patients expect from physicians. Medical call center operators can manage after-hours, weekend or holiday calls as knowledgeable, experienced medical practice representatives. They can manage emergency calls appropriately, set up appointments, verify insurance claims information and perform other tasks specific to a medical practice.
Regardless of the level of service a physician's office is seeking from an answering service, a specialized call center will meet their needs. Operators can answer the phone professionally, provide information, take messages or make emergency contacts as needed. Virtually every aspect of patient service that is routinely handled over the phone by a medical practice's full-time, regular staff can be carried out by a quality medical call center service.
If your medical practice is considering hiring an answering service to manage after hours calls, there are several benefits to consider. 24-hour call answering allows your patients to receive the care they need day or night. It can also ensure staff members on call for emergencies aren't unnecessarily disturbed during off-hours.
Medical practices that don't utilize a professional service for taking calls after business hours may rely on voicemail or an answering machine. This may serve your needs well for calls such as appointment cancellations, simple requests for information or other non-emergency patient queries. In the case of a real emergency, only a live answering service will serve your patients and your practice's needs.
If one of your patients is experiencing an emergency you should know about right away, voicemail isn't going to forward your call. Even if your voicemail does have call forwarding capabilities for emergencies, a patient may not use the menu correctly, or a call could be forwarded to the wrong on-call staff member. If you set a different phone number for emergency call forwarding two nights before and forgot to change it, you will never receive that call at all.
A professional answering service can provide you and your patients with peace of mind about the level of care you deliver. In the case of a real emergency, your patients can receive the immediate response and urgent care they need to alleviate pain or properly handle a medical emergency.
Trusting your patients' safety and well-being to an automated phone system is risky. In the past, medical professionals may have done without this all important service due to cost. Today professional telephone answering companies' services are so affordable, there's no possible reason for medical professionals to compromise on the service they provide outside of regular business hours.
Telephone triage services are ideal for medical practices seeking to offer patients a very high standard of care 24/7, 365 days a year. At times when it's impossible for the regular staff at a doctor's office to answer health care related phone calls, telephone triage can provide the vital information or support patients need.
Triage services administered by telephone are usually provided by a registered nurse, although another qualified medical professional may handle patient calls. The goal of nurse telephone triage is to provide patients with safe, appropriate information. Phone triage nurses are specially trained to offer advice and guidance in a calm, courteous way that patients will respond to, even in the face of serious health situations or emergencies.
Clinical protocols are used by telephone triage nurses in determining the severity of the health issues patients describe. Nurses who provide triage services by phone are specially trained to assess the gravity of each situation and intervene in any crisis. Although the triage nurse assesses patients' symptoms and concerns and provides education and advice, diagnoses are not made.
Nurse telephone triage is an excellent service option for a variety of types of medical practices. As an example, telephone triage can support patients of pediatrics' offices by offering guidance on what to do or when to seek urgent care services for an ill child. This may be just what a frantic parent needs at 2:00 am when no other help is readily available.
Today the majority of doctors' offices and medical practices utilize an answering service for after-hours calls. Adding telephone triage to the services a medical call center provides is usually a simple matter. If nurse telephone triage calls are billed on a per-use basis, this can also be a very affordable service for medical practices with a huge potential value for clients.
If your medical practice is growing, it's crucial to update your services to meet the expanding needs of your patients. Whether you're adding staff members or seeking to manage an increased number of patients yourself, a round the clock live answering service can help. You can rely on professionally trained operators to respond to the variety of your patients' calls as well as perform other basic administrative tasks.
Many people work odd hours, and others simply want to be able to contact their physician's office any time it's convenient or necessary. Instead of limiting your practice to only serving patients who can contact you during regular business hours, specially trained call center operators can help you meet the full range of patients' needs.
Specially trained operators at a medical call center can answer patients' questions, book or reschedule appointments, assist with insurance verification and update records any hour of the day or night. A live answering service can also place calls to remind patients of appointments. The ability to complete these basic tasks saves patients' as well as regular staff members' time.
Hiring a medical call center is like hiring a team of additional staff members at a very affordable price. You dictate when operators are available to assist with calls, whether it's strictly during off hours or during your busiest times of the day.
One of the best things about quality answering services is they charge fees according to usage. This means costs are very manageable for growing businesses that may have increasing expenses related to new equipment or larger facilities.
Investing in a professional live answering service is a cost-effective way to address the needs of a growing medical practice. You can choose the right level of service you need to support your business today, plus take advantage of flexible service plans to meet future needs, as well.
When natural disasters or other emergency situations occur, all businesses are affected. Yet doctors' offices and medical facilities however are likely to be impacted even more than most. This is because when disaster strikes, patients still need the reliable care they count on their physicians to deliver. In fact, the need for urgent care could escalate dramatically.
There is little a physician can do to keep the office open in the event of a flood, earthquake, tornado or even a power outage. A professional medical call center however could go a long way towards helping a practice's patients with managing the situation and facilitating disaster recovery.
Imagine for instance a localized disaster causes downed phone lines, a power outage and road closures. It may be impossible for an office to access the records they need to notify patients about appointment cancellations, call in prescriptions patients need or offer an alternative recommendation for urgent care needs.
A professional medical call center could handle all of these tasks from a remote location that isn't affected by the disaster in the physician office's local area. This service could notify patients about what is going on and reschedule their appointments. Patients who call the office could speak with a professional trained to respond to their questions or needs instead of receiving no answer or a busy signal.
Disaster recovery after the emergency could also be a much less daunting task if an office works with a quality call center. Instead of being overwhelmed with calls from frantic patients who were unable to reach the office, the staff could focus on regaining lost ground quickly and efficiently. The office would also be provided with detailed, accurate records of every call that was handled by the answering service.
Most businesses realize that a medical call center can provide patients and physicians' practices with quality service after business hours, on weekend and on holidays. The vital role they can play in disaster recovery is another important function medical offices shouldn't overlook.
Medical call centers are usually specialized in answering phones for medical practices and doctors' offices, but they aren't all equal in terms of quality. Businesses that want the very best possible service for the benefit of their staff members and their patients can seek out quality by evaluating three key aspects of a call center.
One big indicator of quality in answering services for medical professionals is the length of time they've been in business. You may be happy to try out the new Asian restaurant in town. But do you really want to risk your patients' well-being and your practice's reputation by giving the new physician answering service on the block a try?
While it is true a brand new medical call center could provide top quality service, one that's been in business for at least several years will have more experience. Such experience is likely to be used to guide everything from operator recruitment and training to decisions about technology. This experience could also well extend to how thoroughly a call center complies with HIPPA and other vitally important regulations regarding patient communications.
Another indicator of quality to consider when evaluating medical call centers is their membership in industry organizations. A physician answering service that belongs to the Association of Teleservices International (ATSI) for example is committed to maintaining this organization's high standards of ethics and services. American Teleservices Association (ATA) is another trade organization that is committed to government regulation compliance and the self-regulation of its members.
Last but not least, it's a good idea to ask for a list of clients or references to verify the quality of a medical call center. Investing a small amount of time and effort to check a few references can go a long way towards ensuring you choose a top quality physician answering service.
As a physician's office or medical practice, you understand the importance of HIPAA training and compliance. You staff is HIPAA trained and you take great care to ensure every one complies with all state as well as federal regulations regarding patient privacy and confidentiality. You're confident about HIPPA training, protocol and practices at your office, but what about your answering service?
Since they work with sensitive patient information, physicians' answering services are required by law to be HIPPA compliant. Live operators at call centers may access, transfer and discuss patient information via telephone, fax or the Internet. Specific HIPPA regulations outline exactly how this must be done, and there is no room for error.
One of the biggest mistakes physicians make when it comes to call centers is assuming that training equates to HIPAA compliance. The fact is, HIPAA training does not guarantee compliance. If you already utilize an answering service or are considering hiring one for your medical practice, it's up to you to ensure the company you choose is fully HIPPA compliant.
Asking an answering service whether or not they comply with HIPPA is a good start. Ask for a copy of their Business Associate HIPAA Compliance Form. Then ask about how they manage the basic regulations outlined in HIPPA.
As an example, how does the answering service address the requirement that all patient information sent to any electronic device must be encrypted? If you receive a text message from your answering service, will the message have been sent in accordance with HIPPA regulations?
Complying with HIPAA training requirements is a must for any medical answering service, but so is compliance with all HIPAA regulations. Keep in mind that a medical call center is either entirely HIPPA compliant or it is out of compliance. HIPPA training is crucial, but it is not a compliance guarantee.
Hiring an answering service for a medical practice seems like an easy task today. A quick Internet search will yield dozens of what appear to be professional medical telephone services. The best approach would seem to be to try to spot a few quality services, then comparison shop for the best rates.
Although costs matter and it's a good idea to look for competitive medical call center rates, there's more to choosing the right service than price shopping. A better approach is to consider your own needs as well as those of your patients.
A medical answering service can provide a wide range of services for medical practices and patients today. Considering all of your options will ensure you choose the right level of service and that you don't overpay for services you and your patients don't really need.
As an example, nurse triage phone services that involve additional fees may not be necessary or appropriate for the type of medical service a practice provides. There would be little point in paying to have this service available in such a case.
On the other hand, opting for the bare minimum in service could be a costly mistake. If many of your patients call after hours to make appointments, a medical answering service could save your practice time and money by setting appointments. A service that can manage appointments will save your patients and your regular staff a great deal of time.
If you're uncertain about the needs of your practice or your patients when it comes to a medical call service, the best option may be to choose a company that offers flexible plans. You can then try out various levels of service to determine which ones are right for you and make adjustments to your medical answering service plan as needed over time.
Part of getting any disaster situation under control is restoring communications. There will inevitably be situations where lines of communication are cut and where even emergency responders have a hard time keeping in contact with one another, much less the public. Disaster recovery services for medical offices usually start with getting the phones back up and running and with handling panicked callers. An outsourced service has several advantages where providing these services is concerned. The first advantage is simply one of location: they likely won't be affected by the same disaster as their client.
Disaster recovery services have protocols and technology that allows them to deal with disasters in their own areas, as well. The best medical telemessaging services have redundant service providers and lines of communication. This means that they can keep switching between options if some of them go down. They generally have satellite and land links, as well as various types of communications among both, that enable them to keep their client's operations open. There are also multiple facilities, among the best providers, to which calls can be routed instantly if service at one particular facility is lost. This type of redundancy ensures that vital services are always available.
For a medical office, disaster recovery services are a necessary offering of any telemessaging firm. Without these services, there is no way that the business can ensure availability to their clients and there is no way to ensure that their client's needs can be met in the event of a disaster. Medical offices need to be available 100% of the time. This means that, if you're considering using an answering service, you need to contract one that is capable of dealing with disasters in a way that does not compromise your patients.
