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Originally Posted On: https://24x7doctorsansweringservice.com/benefits-from-using-an-after-hours-medical-answering-service/

 

Time is money, but an after hours answering service does even more than save you time. The numerous benefits will improve your service efficiency and quality.

The doctor-patient relationship is one of the most sacred relationships to humankind and communication is a significant part of this relationship.

You may be giving countless hours of care to your patients during the day, but does your work stop once you close your doors? Absolutely not! Even after business hours and weekends, your patients will still want to communicate with you.

Now, if you find it hard to be available 24/ 7, the next best thing you can get is an after hours answering service.

Your patients will not only get the personalized help they need, but they’ll get it immediately when they need it without long holding times. For you to get a better understanding of how an after hours answering service can benefit your practice, here are the top 7 benefits to help you make an informed decision about medical answering services.

1. Save Money

Every minute that you or your staff spends answering phone calls is time that could have been devoted to more important tasks like taking care of patients. Of course, all calls are important so it’s unethical to ignore calls and it could essentially ruin your business if you’re never available.

While you have the option to hire more staff and delegate the task, adding more employees can be quite expensive and may be an added burden to you. Instead, hiring an after hours answering service stands as a better option and will save you money. You see, the company will offer you 24/7 medical answering services. Even better, you’ll only get to pay for the time they spend talking to your patients.

Even if you have several branches in different locations, you’ll have one point of contact where all your patients call. This means you won’t have to pay multiple receptionists just to answer calls. This will reduce employee costs in terms of salaries, insurance, paid leaves, training, and other benefits.

Beyond that, you’ll decrease liability as well. You’ll get 100% irrefutable records that you can get any time you need.

2. Decrease Hold Time

Your patients also have busy lives like you and truth be told, no one likes waiting on the phone. As much as you want, you may not be able to immediately answer all calls, which places your patients on hold. Some may choose to wait while others may not.

To eliminate this dilemma for them, having an after hours medical answering service means that they never have to wait on hold. Someone will always be on the other end waiting to receive their call. Live callers will use customized scripts that will help them act as a part of your office then use software to upload all data to your system.

This will give you enough time to concentrate on your patients and address their needs in a reasonable time. In turn, this will increase their satisfaction, and encourage them to come back and refer your practice to others. It’s a win-win for everyone.

3. Protect Your Privacy and Personal Time

How many times have you had to leave the dinner table because of a medical call? Too many times and your family, as much as they understand your job, may not necessarily appreciate it.

Unfortunately, you can never set time for emergency calls because they can come at any time. But to get more of that personal time, having a medical answering service will go a long way.

You see, with an answering service, your patients will get to interact with medical professionals that will evaluate all calls, address any issues they can, and only contact you when they have an emergency that you need to handle.

4. More Than Medical Answering Services

Answering and redirecting calls is the most crucial aspect, but these services offer so much more. Some of the best medical answering services in the market will provide basic customer services, process payments safely, book appointments, collect leads, and much more depending on your needs. This will allow you and your staff to concentrate on other business-critical tasks.

5. Get it Done Your Way

An after hours answering service follows directives and rules according to their clients. If you need them to use or avoid certain terms and phrases for liability or legal restrictions, they will do just that.

They will use the kind of tone you want, whether professional, fun, or friendly when interacting with your patients and adapt to all your needs. They will resolve customer issues as you direct and help patients any way you deem fit.

6. Protect/Improve Your Reputation

We cannot stress enough how important reputation is to your business. Reputation management is a vital part of your practice because the one thing that matters is the customer’s perception of you. If you’re unavailable to answer calls, customers will deem you unreliable, and your reputation will start to dwindle.

With an answering service, however, all calls will be received with professionalism, enthusiasm, empathy, and dedication, regardless of the time of day. This will keep your customers happy and satisfied, which will, in turn, help build your reputation and improve your business.

7. Maintain HIPAA Compliance

Outsourcing an answering service allows you to maintain your HIPAA compliance. Most of these medical answering services meet and sometimes exceed the HIPAA standards.

Patient privacy is paramount, and the government monitors it closely. This means you need to hire a medical answering service that meets the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act because they can be trusted with patient records.

Hire the Best After Hours Answering Service to Enjoy These Benefits

All these benefits of an after hours answering service will help you retain satisfied patients and improve your doctor-patient relationships. Efficient operators will help you avoid waiting times, and patients will get the information they need. You and your physicians will only have to address the emergency calls, which will increase productivity and improve your business.

Now that you know how important it is and how beneficial it’ll be to your business, please get in touch with us for a quote. We’ll be more than glad to assist you with these services. We have medical professionals that will not just answer your calls but also help your patients in any way you need.