To Help Retain Patients Make Sure You Treat Them Right When They Call
How you handle your patients’ telephone calls plays an important role in keeping them as your patients. Yes, the provision of expert healthcare is the key determining factor, but professional and effective telephone communication can either detract from or enhance the relationship between you and your patient. Patients have options, and they’re not afraid to use them. If their phone call is bungled, their next call might be to someone else. Don’t put your patients’ loyalty at risk. Use a professional medical answering service to tip the balance in your favor.
Here are some of the benefits your patients will experience when you use a professional medical answering service.
A Prompt Answer:
When someone calls your office after hours, they’re often anxious. They may not feel well, have an urgent issue, or be short on time. Maybe all three. The last thing they’ll tolerate is listening to the phone ring.
They deserve for your medical answering service to answer their call quickly. This doesn’t mean every call must be answered within a couple seconds. That’s unrealistic. However, letting it ring endlessly is unacceptable. Answering within two or three rings is a good goal and no longer than five. Five rings takes thirty seconds and most people find that acceptable.
A Caring Voice:
Just as doctors are noted for their good bedside manner, one that comforts patients and puts them at ease, so too with the telephone. People who answer your phone should exude empathy. They must be helpful, calm, and courteous. This also comforts patients and puts them at ease. When they hear a caring voice, they know they’ll soon get the help they seek. A professional medical answering service can do this.
Quick Appointment Scheduling:
Patients calling for an appointment hope to keep their time on the phone short. They want to schedule an appointment, and they don’t want it to take long. Fast, efficient, and accurate results are what they seek when they call for an appointment. If your answering service can’t deliver, your patient probably won’t give you a second chance. Instead they’ll call someone else.
Trained Professionals:
Though it’s unrealistic to have degreed healthcare providers answer your phone, it’s not unrealistic for them to have a working knowledge of the healthcare industry. Your patients deserve nothing less. Make sure your medical answering service has staff that understands healthcare and can communicate effectively with your patients.
Quick Attention:
Sometimes a patient calls with an urgent medical concern. They’re worried, and the last thing they want is to hold or wait. That’s why it’s critical to respond fast to an urgent situation or emergency. Leading medical answering services know how to handle these types of situations.
Confidentiality:
Patients need to have confidence that the personal information and healthcare situation they share over the phone will be treated with respect. Not only is it a legal, HIPAA requirement to keep patients’ personal information private, it’s also ethical. Your staff knows this and so should your answering service. Make sure your medical answering service is HIPAA-compliant in all they do.
Summary:
Your medical answering service plays a huge role in the success of your practice, clinic, or organization. If they treat your patients right, your patients will be loyal to you and will continue to use your healthcare services for many years to come. Don’t skimp on this with a cheap answering service that lets your patients down. Instead hire a professional medical answering service to give your patients the professional experience they expect.
With offices across the United States and decades of experience, outsource answering service from Endicott Communications can help enhance your communication with your customers and callers. Click here to learn more.