Having voice mail set up in your office may be enough when you first start out, but as your practice continues to grow you may eventually find yourself needing something more to handle calls after hours. You may even get to the point that you need help with calls during hours so that your staff is free to take care of more pressing matters. If you find yourself interested in hiring a call answering service, there are several different options that you can look at.
You may decide that you simply need to have a little bit more information available to your customers outside of your voicemail, and go with an automated answering service. An automated answering service will give your customers a menu that they can navigate by speaking into the phone or using the keypad whenever they call. This will allow you to give them access to more information without turning it into one long, drawn out message that they have to listen to while waiting to get to voicemail. While this can be a standalone option, you may also wish to incorporate a live answering service with it as well. This way, customers can get the information they need through the automated answering service or they may choose to speak with a live representative.
A live answering service would connect your patients with an actual person instead of having them go to a recording. These representatives may simply be there to answer basic questions about your business, or can even act as a part of your office by setting appointments, taking messages, and routing important calls to the proper person. This can be done after hours as well as during. Important messages can be forwarded in multiple ways to ensure that you get the messages in a timely manner. Messages can be sent to you by email, text messages, faxes, and voicemail, whichever you prefer.
The price for these services can vary considerably depending upon the company that you go with. Some companies charge depending upon how much call volume you receive, while others may charge a flat rate for every minute that the service is used. Some call answering services may also want you to sign a contract that gives you a minimum amount of call traffic that you must bring in a month, as well as a maximum amount that will be handled. Be sure that the provider you're interested in spells out exactly how much you will be charged as well as any additional charges and fees that you may be facing if your volume ever fluctuates.
About the Author:
MedConnectUSA is a leading provider of medical answering services and telemessaging services. MedConnectUSA has been serving the health care industry since 1991. MedConnectUSA handles routine and emergency calls for the medical industry only and all calls are answered by HIPAA trained, US operators.