There is no denying that the healthcare industry has been revolutionized thanks to modern technologies. From innovative treatments, to new ways to provide medical education, and many life-saving devices, modern medicine has greatly improved our quality of life and even our life expectancy.
However, there are still many ways in which modern technologies can help improve the quality of healthcare services. Being able to provide great customer service is a factor that many medical practices tend to overlook, but it can have a significant effect on your patients’ satisfaction. A medical practice is, of course, still a business. This means that it needs to be able to provide great services that maintain and expand your customer base, improve quality of service, and reduce costs.
Modern technologies and globalization have given way to many new types of services which can help your medical practice thrive and grow. These options include virtual answering services, which allow you to create a virtual reception that can take care of a multitude of tasks for your practice.
These are 3 of the main reasons to outsource your medical call center.
Reason #1. To cut costs while still improving the quality of your services.
In this day and age, it is absolutely necessary to ensure that your medical office is equipped to answer each and every phone call. Additionally, the person taking the calls must be professional, friendly, and knowledgeable enough to answer inquiries. A phone call is often your office’s first point of contact with potential patients, and it is very important to give a great first impression.
But in many cases, medical office staff have to carry out many different tasks during their work hours. They record information, welcome patients, prepare the supplies for each procedure, and keep your inventory updated. By the time the phone rings, they are tired, overworked, and trying to focus on something else.
Unfortunately, hiring a dedicated, on-site call center is completely impossible for many small medical practices. This would require you to go through the lengthy and expensive process of hiring new staff, training them, and then having to pay full-time wages. In some cases, your physical office may not even be able to accommodate new staff.
But a virtual answering service can be a simple, affordable, and effective solution for this problem. A virtual call center provides operators who are already trained to provide high-quality customer service, and you won’t have to pay a full salary. Instead, you will only be charge for the amount of time when the operators are actually working. Saving money on your call center will allow you to use extra funds to improve other areas of your practice.
Your new virtual call center will keep your phones running 24/7, even when your office is closed. Your customer service will improve, and patients will always be able to reach your practice regardless of time and date. And you won’t even have to break your budget to achieve this!
Reason #2. To reduce the amount of no-shows and last-minute cancellations.
It’s not uncommon for patients to forget about their medical appointments or for them to cancel at the last minute. No-shows can cost your practice thousands of dollars per year, and they create empty spots in your schedule. Having to reschedule after a cancellation can also considerably lengthen your waiting lists.
But when you outsource your medical call center, you can choose to have operators send out automated reminders to each patient shortly before their appointment. Operators will also be able to effectively book appointments so that your schedule is as productive as possible.
Automated reminders can help reduce no-shows at your practice. As a result, you will have shorter waiting lists, which will increase your patients’ satisfaction. These reminders can also help you set up a more time-efficient schedule, ensuring that your work hours aren’t underutilized.
Reason #3. To make sure that you are following up on all your patients properly.
Do you often feel like your office isn’t able to follow up on patients the way you would like to? With so many scheduled appointments, providers to call, and tasks to attend to, it can be easy to forget about the patients that you have seen recently.
Call center operators can make sure to schedule follow-up appointments as needed and send out reminders to ensure that your patients won’t forget to come to your office after a procedure or illness. Making sure that patients don’t skip these appointments can help prevent health complications.
Your new virtual receptionists can also collect information regarding your patients’ satisfaction levels and feedback. This information can point out which areas you need to improve on, allowing your practice to continue to grow and expand.
