As a medical or healthcare professional, chances are that your phones ring all day long, including during non-business hours. Keeping up with a high call volume around the clock can be challenging, and a constantly ringing phone can interrupt patient care and create a chaotic office environment.
Medical answering services are the secret weapon of many well-run healthcare offices. Hiring a medical answering service can solve a lot of problems, and greatly improve the level of care that you’re able to offer to your patients.
How can a medical answering service bring value to your practice?
One of the most common questions we get asked is “how much does a medical answering service cost?” Although an answering service can initially seem like an additional cost, they are surprisingly affordable, and can offer tremendous value to medical offices of every type.
Here are some of the ways that a medical answering service can bring real value to your practice:
- A medical answering service can free up a doctor or nurse’s time by only transferring the urgent after-hours calls.
- A medical answering service eliminates the need to hire additional in-house employees, helping you save on hourly labor costs, benefits, management, and overhead expenses.
- Hiring a medical answering service to handle both overflow and after-hours calls ensures that all emergency callers are able to speak to a human.
How much does a medical answering service cost?
The cost of a medical answering service starts at about $39 per month, and it includes the options listed below. If your medical office experiences a higher call volume, or you are looking for additional service add-ons, other pricing options are available.
- 24/7 coverage
- Free email relay
- Free SMS relay
- Free local number
- Online portal access
Here at Answering Service Care, we understand that no two medical offices are the same, and we are here to create a custom bundle that fits your business’ needs and budget. In addition to offering multiple pricing options to fit your medical office’s needs, we are proud to also offer these must-haves:
HIPAA-compliance. All medical professionals, as well as any associates that they contract with, must adhere to specific guidelines outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to ensure that the privacy of their patients and their personal health information is protected.
This means that if a medical office hires an answering service, the answering service must be HIPAA compliant as well. Here at Answering Service Care, each of our live agents is HIPAA-certified and proficient in how HIPAA applies to callers, patients and your practice.
Message relay. Our live agents are professionally trained to ask the right questions to determine which callers are in the middle of an emergency, or need something urgently. This helps doctors and office managers prioritize which patients to respond to first.
Emergency call management. Emergencies happen at all hours, and medical offices must be available for their patients regardless of the time. A medical answering service can ensure that all incoming calls get answered, with a live agent speaking to your patients to determine if there’s a true emergency. From there, the agent can give proper instructions for issues that require an emergency room visit, and they’ll also be able to directly connect you with that patient, or relay a message to you.
Appointment scheduling. A medical answering service can manage your appointment book, making it easier for callers to make, change or cancel appointments.
