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.