How to Choose the Best Medical Answering System for Your Practice

Adding a medical answering service to your medical practice can have many benefits. For patients, it allows them to connect with medical care 24/7, 365 days of the year. For providers, it can improve an office’s organization and give providers confidence that their patients are cared for outside of office hours. 

There are many different medical answering services available that a practice can choose from, each with its own unique service package. As you browse your options, here are some important questions to keep in mind to help choose the best medical answering system for your practice.

Is It HIPAA Secure?

Many businesses use answering services to handle calls after-hours. Medical office answering services are special because they must put a premium on security. A HIPAA secure answering system will require patients to verify their identity, provide secure messaging, and more. By using a HIPAA secure answering system, doctors and patients can be confident that sensitive medical information will remain private. 

What Does It Cost?

An after-hours answering service can be invaluable to your patients’ and providers’ peace of mind, but the cost could put a real dent in your budget. Depending on your practice’s needs and total budget, you may have to be strategic about which answering service you choose. Answering services often offer a number of different service bundles. For larger practices, an expansive bundle that offers mobile apps, doctor paging, and secure messaging may be ideal to maximize your office’s efficiency. For smaller practices, a mobile app alone might do the trick. 

It’s also important you understand how much you can expect to pay for actual calls. Check to see if you’ll be billed by call volume, call time, or some combination of the two. Some answering services also charge a fee to set up call integration software with your practice, so be sure to factor that into your budget as well and choose the service that offers your practice the most value. 

Who Is The Service Staffed By?

When patients need help after hours, the person they connect with through your chosen after hours answering service becomes a direct extension of your practice. You want to be sure your patients are receiving the same level of care and respect they would receive if they were sitting in your office. An answering service that provides a full call list and access to recorded calls for your review is a great option for ensuring your patients are receiving the care they deserve. By choosing a medical answering service that places customer service at a premium, you never need to worry that your patients aren’t getting outstanding service when your team is away.

Can It Integrate With Your Practice?

Many calls placed to medical practices after hours deal with appointment scheduling. If you don’t use an answering service, catching up on scheduling messages that may have been left after hours likely takes up a lot of your office staff’s mornings. If you choose an answering service that integrates with your office’s software, the service’s staff can handle after hours appointments and keep your scheduling clean and up to date. Instead of spending hours playing catch-up and returning phone calls the next morning, your in-office staff can pick up right where answering service operators leave off. By choosing an after hours answering service that can integrate with your practice’s workflow and procedures, your practice’s organization and efficiency will increase dramatically. 

Medical answering services are not one-size-fits-all. Your practice has unique needs, and by using these questions you’ll be able to find the answering service that best fits your office and your patients.