Medical Answering Service vs. Generic Answering Service
When you decide that you'd like to get an answering service for your business, it may be tempting to simply go with a generic live answering service. Don't let yourself think that all answering services are equal, as each offers different services and benefits. If your business is a medical practice, then you may wish to look at getting a medical answering service instead of a generic one.
One of the biggest benefits with a medical answering service is the fact the hold time for your patients can be much less than what they'd experience if you went with a generic answering service. With a generic service, the representative will not only be receiving calls for your practice, but also for other clients. This means that your patient may be stuck waiting to speak to a representative while the available reps are explaining confusing bills, or taking orders for office supplies. With a medical answering service, medical calls are the only type that they receive. The representatives understand that each and every call may be of a critical nature, and so give patients the care and attention that they both need and deserve.
Medical answering services are normally HIPAA certified, while most generic answering services are not, as they don't specialize in medical calls. Some medical answering services also have triage nurses available should a patient need answers to specific medical questions, or need their symptoms diagnosed quickly. These triage nurses can collect all of the information given by the customer and using their computer system finds the most likely cause of the ailment. If it's not of a critical nature, the nurses can also set an appointment for the patient, and forward the appointment information along with a printout or email attachment of the information that was originally given by the patient. If it is of a critical nature, the triage nurse can then tell the customer where to go or what to do in order to get the care they need immediately.
The timely manner in which the calls are answered and the more knowledgeable staff are only two of the reason that you may wish to go with a medical answering service. These services are not only available after hours, but can be put to use during business hours as well. You can set it up so that any time the lines to your office are busy, calls are forwarded to your medical answering service so that your patients can still be connected to someone that will be able to assist them.
About the Author:
MedConnectUSA is a leading provider of medical answering services and telemessaging services. MedConnectUSA has been serving the health care industry since 1991. MedConnectUSA handles routine and emergency calls for the medical industry only and all calls are answered by HIPAA trained, US operators.