Answering Service
Importance Of Medical Appointment Scheduling
On March 6, 2020 by 12oaksMany patients have been complaining about long waits in medical offices and clinics. This is indeed true, and its effect has been felt most by patients who end up wasting a lot of resources. This is not fair for the patients, and it is high time for doctors to organize themselves by scheduling medical appointments. You have all the resources that you will need to help you create a system for appointments.
There have been many technological advancements, aimed to increase the efficiency in hospital operations. Besides, many innovations in the medical field have enabled a lot of improvement in the health sector. Unlike before, where one had to manually book to get access to a doctor or had to physically pass by the hospital’s front desk to fill an appointment form, things have changed for the better.
Nowadays, several online scheduling software makes it easier for patients to connect with doctors and book an appointment. You can do this through your mobile phone without having to visit the hospital. Discussed below is the importance of medical appointment scheduling.
Patient Satisfaction
The good thing about medical appointment scheduling is that it takes care of the needs of the patients without costing them too much. Patients don’t need to make long queues in the hospitals, which causes them to waste a lot of time, which would have been used to do something else.
With a scheduling system, patients can plan themselves such that they know what time they need to be at the hospital. Through online appointment scheduling, a patient has the liberty to pick a day and time to see the doctor, depending on their commitments and the severity of their condition. Also, this system allows the doctor to have time for their activities because they don’t have a long queue waiting to be served.
No Shows
Medical officers can minimize the rates of no shows in hospitals. No shows occur as a result of patients not turning up for appointments. Some turn up for appointments but come in very late, inconveniencing the medical personnel. Through an automated scheduling system, one can send automated reminders to the patients, to remind them of their upcoming appointments.
This could either be done through email or SMS. You also need to remember that every open slot will cost the hospital money. Through an online system, you will be able to determine how many slots are free, and maybe find a way of filling those slots with other patients. This ensures that you do not lose your revenue.
New Patients
Having a medical appointment system helps to increase the number of new patients. This is because it makes it more easy and faster for patients seeking medical services to find you. It bridges the gap between doctors and potential clients. This is a win-win for both parties because the doctors can connect with new clients, and the clients, on the other hand, get treatment.
Lack of a medical appointment scheduling service (or systems) results in patients and doctors wasting a lot of resources such as time and money. It is an inefficient way of operation. Every medical office should invest in an advanced method of booking appointments, to improve efficiency.
Answering Service
Comprehensive Answering Service Pricing Guide for Medical Offices
On May 21, 2019 by 12oaksWhen looking to utilize an answering service for your medical practice, you may wonder about the various factors which will influence the cost of such a service. These days, there are lots of specialized answering services that are able to provide a massive range of different features to clients. Making the right choices when choosing an answering service can be aided by having an understanding of how pricing works within the industry. Thus, here is a comprehensive answering service pricing guide.
Specialized Answering Services Cost Extra
Answering services which are not generalized and specific to certain industries will cost more money. A medical answering service that is specialized will usually involve responders that can respond to communications in a fashion that is typical of a particular field of business. Most common types of specialized services include services for law firms, emergency locksmiths, plumbers as well as medical services.
There are lots of benefits that come with choosing a service that has been specifically tailored to communications that are typical within your line of work. For example, medical professionals can benefit significantly by having a service where responders understand how the process of securing a potential client for medical advice works. In general, if possible, choosing a service tailored to your business is best.
Answering Services Available 24/7
It may come as no surprise that utilizing a medical office answering service that is able to be fully operational throughout all hours of the day will cost your business more money. The money that is required in order to have operators around during odd hours of business such as in the middle of the night is quite high. Because of this, these service providers end up charging clients more if they want a 24/7 service.
It’s worth noting that sometimes the option of outsourcing the answering process to countries in other time zones is possible. However, this comes at the cost of having a sense of continuity with each incoming form of communication. In addition, logistical problems may arise by having to utilize two different areas of service.
Services Available In Multiple Languages
Certain businesses deal with communications that are in languages other than English. Businesses which have clients from all of the world may have to respond to calls and messages in a vast range of different languages. Furthermore, certain companies may specifically target a group of individuals that speak a language other English. Either way, being able to use an answering service that has operators that can speak various languages will cost more.
The extra costs that are associated with having bilingual or multilingual operators will depend on the language that is desired. Languages that are commonly spoken in America such as Spanish will cost much less than more rare languages such as Korean. For most companies that do business in multiple languages, it will be absolutely essential that they use an answering process which allows for communications in the languages they work with. Thus, in these situations, the increased costs are something that can’t be avoided, less the business wants to forgo using these services altogether.
Answering Service
The Right Answering Service for Your Medical Practice
On April 5, 2019 by 12oaksAn answering service is that service that handles both the incoming and outgoing business communications. These communications may include; answering phone calls, replying to emails or text messages, transferring calls or even making appointments. In short, an answering service offers customer service.
WHAT TO CONSIDER;
Adherence to HIPAA
HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The best answering service for a medical practice is the one that complies with the HIPAA. This is because it’s crucial for health information to be guarded when using the answering service. The HIPAA ensures the protection of patient’s health information. In case of any issue with the breach of health information, the doctor is held liable even if the answering service is the cause. Therefore it’s very critical that when choosing an answering service for medical practice select the one that completely and truly complies with HIPAA. Here is what you need to know about HIPAA.
24 Hour answering service
An answering service for medical practice should have 24/hour coverage. 24/hour coverage ensures that patients can always keep in touch at any time. it also enables patients to call in case of an emergency and get help, or in case they wish to cancel appointments or if they wish to seek clarification on any prescriptions given earlier on.
Scheduling of appointments
Choose an answering service that has the appointment scheduling feature. This feature should be able to make appointments, change appointments or even cancel an appointment. It should also be able to offer reminders on any appointments which help in reducing cases of patients scheduled for appointments not showing up. Such answering service helps in increasing the efficiency in the scheduling of the appointments process.
Nurse Triage Component
A nurse triage service involves the sorting of patients so as to determine the order of treatment in regards to urgency. Having an answering service that includes the nurse triage service ensures that you offer high-quality healthcare support to your patients. This is possible whereby the answering service gets all the information that the nurse triage requires and then transfers it to the triage service via a secure portal. This feature ensures that at all times the patient can pass their health information without repeating them when they come for treatments or appointments.
Medical practices are very critical in the sense that they deal with the health and lives of human beings. This fact makes it very important to choose an answering service that will ensure quality services to the patients.
Answering Service
Features of a Good Answering Service
On March 30, 2019 by 12oaksWhen looking for an answering service, it’s natural you want to pick the best one. After all, it’s the reputation of your business that is on the line every time your customers or suppliers interact with anybody representing your company. Call answering services are vital in your business. They provide a virtual phone call reception and ensures that all your calls are attended around the clock. Good answering service is worth it; you can trust it and above all its services are the best. So, how do you determine an answering service is best? Check the following features of good answering service.
Flexible pricing
Good answering service does not have to be the most expensive or the cheapest one, but the one with a variety of pricing options that suits your plan. Mostly, the services are priced per call or per minute. Prices that are a flat rate or the ones that have few plans are not likely to be cost effective. However, different price models allow you to pay the services according to your usage.
24/7 availability
Good answering service is available around the clock. So, when shopping for an answering service, you have to determine whether it handles calls only during the business hours or around the clock. With your calls being handled 24/7, it means that your customer queries will be handled any time whether on weekends, at night or during the normal business hours.
Good reputation
A good answering service has a good reputation. Check their reviews online to get an insight into how the company operates and how they treat their customers. Although not all reviews are accurate, they are good indicators of a company’s performance. Also, you don’t have to read the company’s reviews; you can get referrals from your friends, former clients or your business associates.
Provide a free trial
A good company is confident enough to let you try their services or product for free. Most trial periods last between a week to a month. A good answering service will be ready to work with you diligently within that time frame to iron out any drawback you may come across. Of course, they would want to sign you up to their service eventually, but making you happy will be their priority.
When shopping for an answering service, you have to make careful consideration before settling to your decision. It is going to handle your daily business activities and schedule appointments, and thus they need to be the best. So, look for a company that its services are always available, flexible and they would want to see you happy.