Medical Answering Service Essay

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Guide to Hiring a Medical Answering Service
In many aspects, a medical answering service provides the same service as an excellent medical receptionist. Successful medical practices realize that patients need to be greeted in a timely, and courteous manner. Patients who wait too long, are disconnected, or otherwise frustrated when they try to reach out for help, will go elsewhere. Medical professionals are highly concerned with their patient retention rates, as well as, new patient referrals. A medical answering service can provide huge benefits to both medical personnel and their patients. Following are some important tips to consider if you are planning on hiring a medical answering service.
Determine Services Needed
Not all answering …show more content…

Not only should calls be picked up on the first ring, the voice that reaches them should be warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable. Medical answering services should provide agents who are highly trained and certified by the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI), which provides validation that agents are proficient, and professional when receiving and delivering a caller’s message. The top medical answering services continuously educate, monitor, and evaluate their call agents to ascertain high quality standards are being met. Patients should not be forced to respond to a confusing menu of options before reaching a live person on the phone.
• Established Emergency Call Protocols
Basic answering services are not prepared to respond to emergency calls. Experienced medical answering services will have set procedures for responding to emergency calls, whether they occur day, or night, weekends, or holidays. Calls can be immediately rerouted to your place of preference, by phone, text, email, or fax.
• Nurse Triage Availability
A nurse triage package allows patient calls to be routed to a registered nurse anytime, day or night. Nurses are able to counsel patients on basic medical concerns, need to see a doctor, or advise them to go to an emergency

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