Top Six Medical Answering Service Solutions
How do you know your patients are in good hands when they call after hours?
If you are building up an established medical practice in the United States, you know that having a high-quality answering service is essential. It’s the lifeline your patients have to your services when they need them most.
Having a professional medical answering service is the backbone to the efficiency of care and ensuring no patient is left stranded.
There are a dizzying number of answering services available to physicians’ practices. Read on and we will walk you through how to choose the best medical answering service for your needs.
What Is A Healthcare Answering Service?
Many physicians understand the general concept behind a medical office answering service. The service representatives provide basic medical advice to patients when no one in the practice is available to take their call.
The service is available 24/7 so that patients aren’t left without help. Patients like these services too because it allows them to speak to a person, not a computer, when in need.
The representatives can also forward a patient’s concerns to a doctor on call when a true emergency arises. This is a helpful way to filter only essential emergencies and increase the efficiency of care after hours.
What To Look For In A Medical Answering Service
The first thing to make sure an answering service offer is a team of HIPAA-compliant representatives. Every person handling calls from your patient needs to respect the patient’s medical privacy as required by law. Nearly all services provide training with agreements to representatives, so this should be a given.
Depending on your practice region, it may be important to choose an answering service that offers bilingual or multilingual call handling. If a large portion of your practice is Spanish-speaking, several bilingual answering services are available to meet your patients’ needs.
Your call center should be vigilant about data protection and patient privacy. It is essential for physicians’ offices to scrutinize call centers practices for data protection systems and ask about any previous data leaks due to hackers or other threats. There should be no doubt that your answering service has safeguarded your patients’ private medical information.
The Top Six Answering Services For Your Medical Practice
There are dozens of good evidence-based answering services that will need the above criteria. Here are six of the very top services that have been vetted for professionalism and excellence in care.
1. MAP Communications
MAP Communications is widely used by hospitals and primary care practices to boost efficiency with patient care after hours. The company is able to schedule appointments integrated with your scheduling system. If needed, the representatives will forward time-sensitive information to the right department.
There are an array of packages billed monthly depending on the practice goals. MAP Communications has been a trusted answering service provider in nearly every US city since 1991.
2. Telelink
Telelink is another major provider that offers phone backup primarily to energy companies with lone workers that need safety monitoring. However, they can also provide services to doctors, dentists, and other large health groups. The 24/7 answering service is a quality option with well-trained call handlers. The on-call dispatching can be trusted to take in and forward essential information at any time of day or night.
3. Call 4 Health
Call 4 Health is a great option that offers quality nurse triage. They staff calls with a registered nurse that can give professional advice and triage patients late at night.
This service is included in addition to a full answering service that covers basic phone intake. There are an array of packages to cover practice needs, and the company offers personalized bundles however the practice would like.
4. Med Connect USA
Med Connect USA is another company that has been around for three decades. Their 24/7 service provides disaster recovery in addition to message intake, voicemail, and a full answering suite.
We recommend this company to practices that want to establish a long-term business relationship with a trusted brand.
5. Patient Calls
Patient Calls is a leader in HIPAA-compliant medical triage. Their offerings save doctors time from having to worry about HIPAA compliance and unnecessary calls, allowing them to focus on streamlining their practice.
Patient Calls also offers a hospice line for groups that need it to securely and sensitively handle calls from friends and family. Patient Calls stands out as one of the few providers of hospice care answering services.
The company is also highly regarded for larger practices that have a massive patient panel. They are well-staffed and won’t lead to long waiting times for patients even when the call volume is high.
6. TeleMed
TeleMed is the oldest and one of the most trusted companies on this list. They have been providing 24/7 patient care as backup to physicians since 1986.
They have the full capabilities of the other answering services on this list. This includes call handling, appointment scheduling, hospice lines, and message management.
Their MyOffice offering allows for daytime call answering at an affordable price.
45,000 US practices trust TeleMed for answering services.
The Right Call Service For Your Practice
There are numerous reputable call service providers available for doctors and dentists, hospitals, and large health organizations. The challenge is finding the right service to best suit your practice needs at an affordable cost.
We can help clear away the confusion in finding the perfect medical answering service for your group. Contact us today and get free quotes from multiple call services based on your practice’s specific needs.
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