For a medical facility, selecting the right professional answering service company is crucial to the success of your practice. You should ask yourelf the following questions: What will be the level of service? Will the services remain available during the after-hours? Do they follow the best practices for call handling? In this business, patient care holds the supremacy. It is imperative to make your facility a preferred choice for the customers. However, finding a reliable after hour answering service can be much more difficult than it sounds to be. It is important to avoid the common pitfalls and weed out the services that fail to stand by their commitment. Here’s how you can mitigate some common problems:
If It Lacks HIPAA Compliance:
As per the regulations cited in HIPAA, it is necessary for every medical answering service to provide proper training to its employees. In the healthcare industry, security and confidentiality of vital patient-related data are extremely important. The service providers need to provide the highest level of care and attention to maintain its privacy. You should prefer a company having huge experience of working in this industry with a competent and well-trained team of call operators. Check the HIPAA Compliance designation of the company. The employees should be properly trained about the urgency of patient care and escalation process to be followed for emergency situations.
If It Doesn’t Provide Call Recording Services:
You shouldn’t opt for an after hour answering service that fails to provide timely records of the calls handled by its executives. The representatives should prepare detailed notes and documentation of every call. It helps in conducting internal reviews and audits on the services provided by the company. If it can’t provide call recordings at your request, you shouldn’t expect the comprehensive support for managing the patient calls.
If It Lacks Communication Abilities:
When running a medical practice, it is important to answer the patients calls as soon as you can. However, not all answering services provide the same level of competence and communication. Their representatives may not be answering quickly. You can mitigate this issue by choosing a service known for its professionalism and reliability. Ask about their process of handling the patient calls. They should have a guaranteed time for answering the calls. For example, it should offer to answer every call after 1-2 rings. Also, inquire about the call escalation process followed by the service provider.
If It Doesn’t Provide Complete Suite of Services:
Answering the calls is the baseline for selecting a call center service. However, you can expect a lot more from your service partner. Apart from handling the calls, these companies can provide services like delivering the message, scheduling the appointments, and triaging the services. Look for a company that offers all these services.
Avoid these mistakes and compare the best answering services for an informed decision-making.
