Considering how busy medical practices typically are, doctors and their staff have been relying on the services of medical answering systems. Their support has proven to be different over the years. And as the call has increased for medical practices to offer more efficient and effective services, the need for a reputable medical answering service has never been greater.
The question remains: what does one look for when choosing answering services? To help you be efficient, effective, and improve on the care of your patients, our team has compiled the top factors that you should be on the lookout for.
Compliance with HIPAA provisions
Also known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the HIPAA was enacted to protect the health information of patients from malicious parties. According to the provisions of the HIPAA, personal health information should be stored, accessed, and transmitted in a safe and secure manner. The same standards apply to the answering service.
This is one factor that should be treated with utmost importance. If this is not the case, you may find yourself paying a hefty fine.
Triage services
Our team recommends that you choose a medical answering service that has a nurse triage feature. Your answering service should be able to gather information from the patient and transfer the information to the nurse triage. This is important when the patient is in critical condition and emergency services are needed. The patient will not need to communicate the information to the doctor for a second time.
24/7 Scheduling patient appointments setting
Be on the lookout for a medical answering service that can offer appointment scheduling software. From the comfort of their home, your patients should be able to book appointments with their doctors. The same applies to cancellations.
With an answering service of such a nature, you can reduce the number of no-shows to your medical practice. This will reduce the expenses and costs, save on time as well as make your staff more efficient.
Real-time scheduling
A medical answering service should come with the needed security features to allow selected personnel to change on-call personnel. Machines and systems can bring about errors in communication and alter the efficiency and effectiveness of your practice. You can only expect chaos from such a scenario.
An answering machine with on-call real-time scheduling will always call upon the right personnel at the right time.
Languages
This particular feature should be considered if you are working in a multilingual neighborhood. It will allow you to offer your services to a larger pool of clients.
Coverage hours
What good is in an answering service if it cannot cover your medical practice after hours? Look for a service that offers 24/ 7 coverage. This offers you peace of mind, knowing that the service is available when needed.
A 24/7 service saves up on costs as you don’t have to hire front office staff for both day and night shifts.
