Four Signs of a Great Physician Answering Service

There are some unmistakable signs that make a great company. Successful companies all share some features irrespective of the domains of activity. This post deals with the features that mark out of a great physician answering service from the rest.

Custom-made packages

Physicians answering service companies offer a wide spectrum of services to doctors and clinics. Some doctors prefer to get the calls diverted to these companies in their off-duty hours. Some others want this service only when they are on vacation. Some others seek the answering services during the peak business

hours when they are too busy to attend calls.

That is why the best medical answering companies offer customized service. They realize that what is good for a seasoned cardiologist may not be good for an up and coming dentist. These companies can tailor their service based on the requirement and budget of the customer.

Uninterrupted power

For an outsider, what a physician answering service does is quite simple: answering calls that are directed to a doctor, recording the callers’ or patients’ details and, if required, diverting the emergency calls to the doctor or another doctor recommended by their client.

None of these processes require electricity. However, the back-end operations behind the call-answering activity are not that simple. For instance, they store all the patient information in their secure database. They send periodic reports to doctors in the form of email, fax and text messages. You need computers, printers, modems, facsimile machines, and internet connection for these activities.

Good companies ensure that these machines work non-stop 24 x 7. They will have generators and battery back-ups which can be put instantly into use when power black-outs happen.

Trained call answering executives

Nothing is more important for an answering company than the employees that work in the firm. If they are great in their work, the firm by default will be great. The employees should have the following characteristics:

• They must be local.
• They must have pleasing telephone etiquette.
• They must be trained in customer service and HIPAA guidelines.
• They must understand the grave urgency of medical emergencies and must be able to act accordingly in a responsible manner.

One-month free trial

This is something that only truly great physician answering service companies such as Cullens Communications offer. They allow you to avail their service for one-month free trial. If you are satisfied with their service, which you will be more often than not, you can continue with them. If you are not, you do not have to pay.

Tips for Choosing Top Medical Answering Services for Your Practice

Choosing a reliable and efficient answering service is key to the success of a growing medical practice because it takes care of one of the toughest areas of your practice – dealing with calls from patients. There are many companies offering medical answering services but you must know how to choose the right one for your type of practice to get the best results.

The best medical answering services offer various types of call answering services including after hours answering service, weekends answering service, or answering calls only during lunch hours. These services ensure that the calls are answered professionally. The call agents generally follow a script approved by the doctors so that callers do not know their calls are being answered by an outsourced agency.

Is Their Track Record Good?

Choosing telephone answering services that are professional and prompt can help you deal with the problem of handling the calls from your patients better. You must research the main players in the field and find out their track record before you sign up with them. You must analyze the way they collect and use patients’ data.

Compliance with HIPAA and HITECH regulations is imperative for a qualified answering service. They must make sure the personal information of your patients is kept confidential and not shared with anyone without the permission of the concerned person or authority. The operators undergo regular training to be current with the latest regulations applicable to the medical call answering industry.


Are They Offering Customized Packages?

Choosing a call answering service that offers customized packages to meet the specific call answering needs of your medical office will help you cut down the costs substantially. They will be able to offer you only those services and features that you need. You won’t end up paying for something that’s completely useless to your practice.

Any medical answering service is as good as the technology it uses. The industry has seen rapid changes in the technology employed to deliver the best results. It is now easy to handle very high call volumes with relative ease and deliver high quality voice quality and call experience to your patients using the latest machines and techniques available.

The best medical answering services are those which are backed by outstanding customer service. It is important to handle calls from your patients with a lot of compassion and understanding. Companies with long years of experience in handling hundreds of calls daily will know how to treat calls of diverse nature from various types of patients.