When an emergency strikes, time is of the essence – and there should always be someone available to take your patient’s call.
To make sure all calls are taken and processed properly, many practices use emergency answering services. With live receptionists handling these situations, physicians can maximize their time and turn their attention to cases that need them the most.
Here are four reasons your practice needs medical answering services.
Emergency Answering Services Give You 24/7 Coverage
Through an answering service, patients could reach your medical office at any time and under any circumstance. You’re confident that a trained receptionist is always available to answer all calls and handle any situation calmly and professionally. Your patient will receive pertinent information, and your medical team will be alerted according to your protocols.
Moreover, the quality of service won’t be compromised, even if patients call after-hours. When someone calls because of a medical emergency, the last thing they want to hear is a robotic, automated voice reading a script. A medical emergency could be life-threatening, and they want a real and caring person on the other end of the line.
In addition, the circumstances of medical emergencies vary widely. Only a live and attentive agent could catch these nuances and provide the exact information that the patient needs.
Protect Your Physician’s Personal Time with Answering Services
The American Medical Association reports that 42% of physicians experience burnout, a condition where a doctor feels extreme emotional exhaustion and no longer finds their work meaningful.
A common culprit behind physician burnout is the sheer number of administrative tasks. After all, doctors didn’t enter medical care to spend the entire day answering calls and streamlining patient records.
Emergency answering services keep doctors and other medical professionals from burning out. With a live agent taking care of emergency calls, physicians don’t have to stand guard by the phone. They can rest assured knowing that urgent cases are communicated quickly and clearly to them and their staff.
Be HIPAA-Compliant
All agents working in medical answering services have mastered HIPAA compliance. When you outsource your emergency answering services, you don’t have to train a receptionist to be HIPAA-compliant. You’re confident that your receptionists will safeguard patient information.
In addition, all calls made through the phone number for your medical answering services are logged, recorded, and time-stamped. Your office can quickly access past information or produce irrefutable records if needed.
Save Resources with a Medical Answering Service
Outsourced emergency answering service cuts down staffing costs. For many practices, it’s expensive to hire, train, and retain an in-house receptionist. It becomes even costlier if you have multiple locations that need a dedicated agent.
In contrast, outsourced emergency services ensure you have trained receptionists who can handle a large volume of calls, even for multiple locations — and even during the physician’s time off.
In summary, medical emergency answering services create a win-win situation: patients get to talk to a sympathetic ear instead of an automated voice. At the same time, physicians have more time in their hands to do their primary duty and protect their personal lives.
