Today’s medical answering services can certainly go above and beyond simply answering calls and taking messages. One of the more common services is scheduling patient appointments. Some medical offices like it; others don’t. What about your office?
No doubt there are pros and cons to leaving appointment scheduling to an answering service. But that’s true with any service a provider might offer. Decision makers need to weigh the pros and cons to determine whether it’s right for them.
The Pros
We believe the pros outweigh the cons, so let’s start with them. At the top of the list is patient accessibility and convenience. Leaving appointment scheduling to an answering service gives patience 24/7 access. They can make, modify, or cancel appointments at any time of the night or day. Patients find that convenient, especially when they work odd hours.
This particular benefit is enhanced when the answering service has access to a fully integrated, real-time booking platform that is accessible by both the medical office and answering service staff.
Here are four more pros:
- Increased Productivity – Leaving appointment scheduling to an answering service frees office staff to focus their attention on more critical tasks. They can be more productive. They can do a better job of managing patient care.
- Better Patient Experience – The patient experience is improved both in-office and on the phone. The answering service handling appointments should mean lower wait times. And office personnel not having to handle the task can pay more attention to patients.
- Continuity of Care – Combining appointment scheduling with other answering services ensures seamless communication around the clock, enhancing continuity of care.
- Cost Effectiveness – For busy medical offices with large call volumes, letting an answering service handle appointment scheduling could actually cost less than bringing on new staff.
Leaving appointment scheduling to an answering service can be pretty attractive to a busy office that doesn’t seem to have enough time to do everything. But there are some disadvantages. Let us look at them.
The Cons
The biggest disadvantage of leaving appointment scheduling to an answering service is the potential for errors. Although proper training, good communication, and reliable software can keep errors to a minimum, they still happen. And when they do, they cause friction.
Other cons include:
- Less Control – Medical offices have less control over the appointment scheduling process when they put it in the hands of an answering service.
- Technical Issues – Technology doesn’t always work as it should. When technology problems arise, an additional player in the mix can complicate matters.
- Lack of Knowledge – Medical office personnel tend to develop a full body of knowledge about their patients. Answering service personnel obviously do not have such knowledge.
- Impersonal Scripts – Answering services rely on scripts to guide phone calls. The scripts may seem impersonal in some medical settings.
There is also the potential that answering services could end up costing more. The only way to know for sure is to do a cost analysis that takes a deep dive into all the options. It is also worth noting that some of the disadvantages can be addressed effectively enough to make them non-issues.
Let’s Talk About Your Circumstances
Standard procedure dictates that we try to sell you on medical answering services to ease the burden posed by booking appointments. We do believe that a medical answering service is the right choice for many medical offices. But it’s not always the right choice.
Let us get together and talk about your circumstances. If a medical answering service would benefit your office, we would appreciate the opportunity to explain how.
