5 Handy Tips to Enhance Patient Phone Access
Communication with patients is an essential aspect of healthcare. This involves doctor-patient communication and interaction between your medical staff and patients. Patient phone access is a strong link to enhance communication in healthcare practice. This year, you need strategies to improve phone access to your patients with these 5 handy tips. The best way to realize this is by working with a reputable doctor answering agency.
After-hours phone answering
Medical practices and healthcare facilities need to let patients contact them after office hours. It’s not good to have patients rely on automated solutions where phones are more likely to go unanswered for ages. This might drive patients away. Patients have genuine reasons to call your practice regardless of time. It’s obvious that they need a real person to answer their questions or offer a solution to their concerns. The best way to allow this is by allowing phone answering after office hours.
Overflow phone answering service
Hiring an answering service will come in handy during busy office hours. This will allow staff to focus on their work. You’ll have peace of mind that someone will pick all calls. These promote seamless patient phone access during very busy periods in your facility. It lessens chances of call overflows that might overwhelm in house staff. Agents from a professional phone answering agency will handle all calls regardless of whether its day or night.
Easier appointment setting
It’s highly recommended to get doctor answering service with appointment setting as part of their portfolio. You’ll be sure that scheduling appointments, handling cancellations, and changing appointments are in hands of professionals. During appointment cancellation, these professionals know the best way to do it without annoying the patient. These will handle all appointment requirements in a timely manner.
Eliminate automated customer service
Patients call your practice looking forward to talking to a real person. Therefore, eliminate any phone automation that callers have to deal with. The best way to enhance your phone communication is by allowing callers to talk to a live person, not a computer. You can best manage this by replacing telephone automation with agents from an answering agency.
Review on-call protocols from a patients’ perspective
Finally, it’s very important to review all on-call protocols from the patients’ perspective. This must focus on not overwhelming your staff. Your healthcare practice must focus on serving all patients in the best way possible without compromising quality care. Therefore, ensure that all your protocols are in line with your aspirations. The best way is to adjust the protocols to balance your needs with those of your patients. Luckily, a professional phone answering agency will understand your needs and adjust effectively.
Final thought
Hiring a professional medical answering service does more than lowering your budget. Your practice will benefit from better-streamlined processes backed by improvement in patient phone access. Offering unlimited access to your office through the phone enhances the patient experience. It allows patients getting a live person to talk to at the other end. Patients will reach your office any time or day for emergencies of just raising health concerns.
