It doesn’t matter if you are a small group of physicians or a busy hospital, physician answering service, hiring a medical answering service will do your business good. They have ready infrastructure, tools, and a team of expert staff that is trained exclusively to fit your business needs as well as requirements. When you outsource your administrative services to a reliable partner, they work as an extension to your practice.

Despite its many benefits, medical practitioners often worry that Physician Answering Services Cost will increase their bottom line and make their practice less profitable. However, did you know that it is actually quite the opposite.

When you hire answering service experts, you are able to boost your productivity as well as patient service that automatically increases profits as well as your reputation in the market.

An answering service will manage your calendar, reschedule or modify your appointments, handle urgent calls, relay messages to the correct person, and do lots more! These administrative experts are HIPAA compliant which means that they will handle all the patient records as per the legal requirements.

A physician answering service helps boost your productivity as well as patient service which increases profits and your reputation in the market.

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Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about medical answering services. This detailed information about their scope of work will allow you to make an informed decision to bring them onboard.

What is the turnaround time to manage patient issues or concerns?

Usually, the customer service department of a physician answering service will be available for your patients 24/7. These flexible hours of operation allow your patrons to find expert help whenever they need one. They are able to take the calls 365 days and solve their queries immediately. As a result, your patients trust you more and are encouraged to stay with you longer.

Is the phone available during the day as well?

Yes. The specialised customer service team not only answers calls during business hours but also outside of it. Even if you call during the lunch hour, you will be connected to an agent who will be happy to help you. These agents are trained to either answer the queries themselves or expertly direct the call to the concerned person/department. Either way, there is always a human voice at the other end of the line who is more than happy to assist you. It is this willingness to help your patrons every time they call that makes your brand more trustable.

Can they set appointments?

Yes! This is one of the core competencies of a physician answering service provider. They are able to integrate their systems with your in-house appointment scheduling mechanism so that the appointments can be scheduled or modified that get updated real time. Your agents will also send reminders or update cancellations. Staying up to date with the appointments will help you take on more patients and reduce the number of no-shows.

How soon do they answer the customer call?

A robust answering service will have the requisite team size to handle the incoming and outgoing call operations for your business. This means that the wait time is less and the calls get answered as soon as they ring. Since these teams are scalable, you can set a provision for increasing the team size when you are experiencing exceptionally high call flow or ramp down when the call flow is less. With this flexibility, all your patient calls get answered and you get only billed for the agents that were actually working for you!

Are the operators bilingual?

Due to global nature of businesses these days, it has become mandatory for answering services to service all kinds of callers. When the operators are bilingual, the calls get routed to agents who speak the requested language. If you have a lot of customers who speak a different tongue, then you can request your service provider to offer you bilingual service. Needless to say, you can integrate as many languages as you like for your operations, depending upon your practice size and the number of patients that you cater.

How does billing work?

Before you sign the dotted line, make sure that you have thoroughly understood the billing cycle, charges, fees etc. You must also educate yourself about the fine print of the deal so as to avoid any last minute shocks at the time of billing. When looking for a service provider, it is always a good idea to work with someone who is able to give you multiple billing options so that you can choose the one that works for you!

These service providers lighten your administrative load so that you can serve your patients with efficiency. So, if you want to expand your medical practice, it is time to delegate the non-core duties to other experts.

Have you or someone you know considered using a physician answering service?