Operating a medical practice is a demanding proposition that requires unified communication between the front and back-office staff and clinicians. It can often be difficult for medical practices to juggle all required tasks to maintain the daily operations, especially while attempting to field endless incoming calls that come in after the office closes. For those that need help managing the phones and improving patient engagement after regular business hours, a doctor after hours answering service is an excellent solution.

What is an After Hours Medical Answering Service?

Before understanding how to choose the best answering service, it is important to understand the purpose of the service. With a focus on the healthcare industry, after hours medical answering services provide the trustworthy management of a medical office’s phone lines per HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). They also give the appearance to your patients that an in-house receptionist is fielding their call.

Features of a Great After Hours Answering Service

When searching for the best service, consider the following:

Appointment Setting and Reminders

After hours answering service receptionists can access the medical practice’s calendar to set up appointments for patients. These same services should also be able to remind patients of upcoming appointments to reduce no-shows and cancellations.

Call Recording

The best medical answering services must be able to record and archive calls for access and review later.

Message Taking

Message-taking services are a critical aspect of the job that allows the patient to provide information that is forwarded to relevant medical staff within the practice.

Payment Processing

Some of the best doctor after hours answering service companies accept debit and credit card payments through the phone so patients can pay outstanding balances or copayments.

Secure Messenger

Many medical answering services provide HIPAA-compliant messenger options allowing the medical staff or receptionists to securely text message patients. These messengers are most commonly available using mobile applications.

System Integrations

Some of the best services offer system integrations with leading practice management software and electronic medical records systems. These integrations offer features like saving messages and audio recordings directly into the database or showing a patient’s chart when they call the office for quicker responses to questions.

While a doctor after hours answering service is not necessary for every medical practice, it can help run the office more efficiently after normal business hours. For practices that do not have many patients, the answering service can provide better customer engagement which helps grow new business. Therefore, if you need help managing phone lines after hours then a medical answering service could be your best solution.