The goal of every medical office should be providing exceptional patient care that rises above making appointments and offering procedures. Such lofty goals are exceptionally important to specialists, given that they are often held to a higher standard by their patients.
In those crucial moments when a patient needs urgent advice, voicemail will not do. The same goes when patients have pressing questions or require immediate assistance outside of regular office hours. So how does a specialist ensure seamless continuity 24/7? With a medical answering service.
Juggling Unique On-Call Schedules
The nature of their work forces specialists to keep odd schedules. Not only are their office hours non-standard, but they also need to juggle unique on-call schedules. Needless to say that specialists do not have the same type of standard scheduling and on-call rotations that general practitioners enjoy.
A more intricate system requires greater attention and a more delicate approach. This is where the medical answering service shines. For example, let us look at a busy orthopedic practice that is home to several surgeons. Each surgeon has a unique schedule governing clinical hours and surgical days. Emergencies also need to be covered.
The environment is a dynamic one that can create multiple pain points for patients. In addition, patients can find trying to reach their orthopedist extremely confusing. The results are easy enough to forecast:
- Delays – Struggling to reach a specialist can potentially delay critical care. At the very least, it leads to patient frustration and dissatisfaction.
- Conflicting Information – Messages never reaching the specialist or being incorrectly transmitted can lead to the patient receiving conflicting information.
- Patient Disconnection – A patient left frustrated or with conflicting information often feels unheard. This can lead to a disconnect between the patient and the practice.
Patients who feel isolated and unsupported outside of office hours are less likely to be loyal to a given specialist. They can just as easily choose to receive their care from someone else. At the very least, they are less likely to be enthusiastic about working with their specialists to achieve positive outcomes.
How the Medical Answering Service Changes Things
A medical answering service is built to address all the complexities that come with answering calls in a healthcare setting. Best of all, calls can be handed off seamlessly at any time of the day or night. A patient would never know that they are communicating with an answering service agent if things were done properly.
To make medical answering services work for specialists, five things are necessary:
- Customized On-Call Solutions – A one-size-fits-all approach to scheduling service doesn’t work for specialists. A specialist needs customized solutions that fit their unique schedule. Likewise for an office where multiple specialists work side-by-side.
- Intelligent Triage and Dispatch – Specialists need to be able to rely on intelligent, fully trained agents capable of providing proper triage and call dispatching. Lives could be at stake.
- Real Time Flexibility – Specialists also need real-time flexibility to account for emergencies and other last-minute changes. Schedules need to be interchangeable and swappable.
- Patient-Focused Mindset – Patients always come first. While an answering service is working for the specialist, the patient is the customer being served over the phone. Satisfaction is a top priority.
- Reliable Call Logging – The medical service should be able to provide reliable call logging day-in and day-out. Every call should be meticulously logged to create a clear audit trail.
Medical specialists need a reliable way to handle incoming phone calls. Whether around-the-clock or only after-hours, Apello’s medical answering services get the job done. Contact us to learn more about how we serve medical providers in nearly every specialty.
