Everyone knows that physicians face medical emergencies and unexpected situations on a daily basis. That’s why having 24/7 availability is so important in the healthcare industry these days. From having someone to answer patients’ doubts to being able to schedule and reschedule appointments quickly, being available can make or break a medical practice.
However, no human being can be on the phone 24/7, 365 days of the year. You and your team need to rest, get breaks from time to time, and you’ll probably want to enjoy your holidays, too. So how can you stay available all the time, without actually being glued to the phone yourself?
In recent years, answering services have steadily gained popularity – especially in the healthcare industry -. A custom medical answering service will allow your patients and customers get in touch with you easily, regardless of time or date. Despite this, many business owners don’t know about the benefits that answering services can provide. These are some of the benefits that outsourcing answering services can bring to your healthcare business:
It brings more professionalism to your business:
First impressions matter in both business and healthcare. The first contact that potential customers have with your practice can encourage them to use your services or put them off your business for good. Outsourcing your answering services will ensure that your customers encounter a professional, warm, and knowledgeable voice on the other side of the line as soon as they make their call.
It gives your on-site staff more leeway to perform other tasks:
Although answering calls can seem like a simple task, it really isn’t. A receptionist can be in charge of many duties, from scheduling calls to referring enquiries to other departments. Add on-site duties, and you’ll probably get overworked, exhausted staff that won’t be able to perform to their full abilities. By outsourcing an answering service, you’ll take a huge load off your staff’s shoulders, giving them more time to perform on-site tasks.
24/7 availability, 365 days a year:
Medical emergencies and patient doubts don’t constraint themselves to office hours. And if a customer can’t reach you when needed, they might just look for answers elsewhere. However, it’s not possible to be personally available all the time. You also need to rest, spend time with your loved ones – and hey, someone has to go grocery shopping! But an answering service can literally be the answer to your availability problems. These services can provide a team of live operators who are available 24/7 thanks to working from different time zones. In case of an emergency, they can redirect calls to you or other on-site staff per your instructions.
Keep an efficient schedule:
Calling customers to schedule appointments can take a lot of time. Add in cancellations and rescheduling, and it’s easy to see why some business end up losing money if they can’t make the most efficient use of their business hours. Keeping up with a constantly changing schedule to make sure no time slots are wasted can be a time-consuming process. But you can delegate this responsibility by outsourcing an answering service. Their operators will be able to schedule or reschedule appointments, making sure that your time is used effectively.
Higher customer satisfaction:
There’s nothing quite like human touch to enhance a business. Rather than having to deal with automatic voice calls or impersonal web chats. Many people believe that answering service operators aren’t fully-qualified professionals, but that’s not the case. Hiring the best answering service for your business means having experts available to answer your customer queries and help your business grow thanks to their satisfaction.
The service can be tailored to your needs:
Not every business has the same needs, and the right answering service will understand that. Maybe you only need to hire the service on certain hours or days, or you might need them to carry out specific tasks. Being able to hire exactly the services you need will allow you to reduce costs while improving effectiveness, client satisfaction, and revenue.
Overall, outsourcing a medical answering service can allow you to create a better, more satisfying experience for your customers while still reducing your costs. The right answering service can also help your on-site staff perform better, since you’ll be reducing their workload.
The importance of having a business with 24/7 availability can’t be overstated, especially in the healthcare industry. Fortunately, your business can be available full time without making you go over your budget. Making sure that your patients and customers’ calls and questions don’t go unanswered can be a decisive factor for the success of your practice.
