When it comes to running a medical practice, nothing is more important than your patients. After all, they are the ones who make it possible for you to make a living. Plus we live in a competitive world today and your patients have the choice of your practice or another doctor. When patients contact you, they should enjoy prompt, courteous, and efficient service, and some medical professionals still believe a live answering service for doctors is the best choice, but is it really? Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
Typical Live Answering Service for Doctors
A typical live medical answering service has someone there to answer the phone when a patient calls. It’s true, people like to speak to a human, but in some cases, this can present problems. For example, some humans may not treat your patients in the manner they are accustomed to. No matter how well you take care of your patients, one rude answering service employee can wreak havoc with your good name, because this person is representing you.
A state of art, automated answering service for doctors is never rude to your patients, and never puts them on hold. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting and waiting, especially when you have an emergency situation on your hands. The top automated systems pick up after the first ring, and allow the caller to select the right options.
Rude or insensitive people are only one of many issues which can arise from a live answering service for doctors. People at a live service may have specific instructions to only contact you or the physician on call, when there is an actual emergency. However, you might get many interruptions during your off hours, because the service fails to separate emergency from non-emergency calls. This is a good way to ruin a lovely evening at home.
Since a live answering service for doctors is manned by people, it is subject to the same frailties of all humans. In other words, mistakes will be made. It’s possible an emergency situation may be overlooked or the doctor may not be notified in time. When dealing with emergency medical situations, time is of the essence and there is absolutely no room for errors. The best automated answering services operate in the same manner each and every time. This eliminates most of the errors human beings often make. In addition, a live service can be very expensive and once you have an automated flat rate answering service for doctors, you’ll notice a huge difference in the monthly charges.
