24 Oct How to Select a Flat Rate Medical Answering Service for Your Practice

While running a medical practice, the ability to communicate clearly and efficiently with the patients is critical. For this reason, using a flat-rate medical answering service will go a long way in receiving calls, scheduling appointments, and even providing necessary information where it is needed. Nonetheless, not all services are good enough. 

Factors such as patient satisfaction and the overall effectiveness of the practice are hinged on picking the right service. Consider the following steps to help you find the most appropriate flat-rate medical answering service.

Have a Plan on How the Answering Service Would Be Useful

You should first savor your practice’s specifics before reaching out to leading flat rate answering service companies. There should be factors in consideration, such as:

• Call activity: How many calls do you get in a day or a week? Make sure the service has the necessary capacity to deal with your volume and does so in a timely manner.
• Hours of operation: Is 24-hour service required or only after-hours service?
• Type of calls: Will the service perform emergency calls, appointment bookings, or general inquiries? Some services may specialize in one type of call more than the other, so if you have one, you should consider specializing in it.
• Multilingual capability: If your practice serves a diverse community, consider a service that can offer multilingual support.

Once you create a checklist of your specific requirements, it will be easier to select a provider who can address those needs.

Check HIPAA Compliance

The healthcare industry has a responsibility to keep its patient data private. For that reason, every medical answering service that you’re thinking about should be HIPAA compliant. This makes sure that every patient’s information is safe and confidential. Make sure that the provider has stringent data protection policies such as utilizing encryption and protecting data with secure storage solutions in order to avoid breaches.

Request the providers for documentation or certifications that exhibit their compliance with the guidelines. This will help avoid data breaches or legal complications due to the service provider’s non-compliance.

Evaluate Their Work History

Medical answering services should be however differentiated from other general answering services in that they require specific niche knowledge of the healthcare industry and the people in it. Consider those providers that have experience with medical practices. They need to know how to communicate with patients, when to take calls and when to give importance to patients who have urgent requirements.

Knowing all the emergency situations, collecting the relevant data, as well as speaking the language, such a provider would, for instance, enhance the ability to deal with emergency calls or provide accurate information. It will, therefore, contribute to the better practice environment which is professional for the users of your services- the patients.

Assess the Quality and Reliability of the Services

During the purchase of a service such as a flat rate medical answering service, trust of the provider is the most important aspect, among other things. You have to ensure that there are no long wait periods or constant disconnections when patients feel the need to call someone and want to know that the person will answer on the other end. 

Moreover, the service should be able to manage challenging scenarios such as periods when patients are calling frequently and en masse, e.g. during flu season or times when the practice is in high demand.

You can also add to the assessment of the quality of the service by requesting other clients, current or past, for their references. It would also be worthwhile to check the reviews and testimonials of how other medical practices have used the service and succeeded. A reliable provider of such services should offer consistent performance and satisfaction of the clients.

Review the Pricing and Contract Provisions 

The primary disadvantage of flat-rate services is that the aspersions on bills are always rather offensive—at least there is one. However, it is worth taking the time to scrutinize the pricing and contract terms as well. Check if there are any after-hours calls or service package surcharges. Verify what is included in the flat rates and inquire about additional charges. 

In the same way, evaluate the terms of the contract. Will you be tied up to a contract and how long, or do you have a leeway to cancel in case the service rendered is discouraging? A good business provider is one that has flexible contract terms as this exhibits a commitment to service delivery.

Conclusion

It is apparent from the above discussion that the flat-rate medical answering service that you opt for is of fundamental importance and can either bolster or undermine your practice. Putting emphasis on factors such as compliance, experience, service quality, and pricing can help you find a provider who is well-suited for you and your patients. Do not be in a rush to select a provider; instead, spend sufficient time looking for and assessing their options, and you will make the right choice that will benefit not only your practice but also your patients.

The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition.

Some links are sponsored. Products, services and providers are not tested, warranted or endorsed.

Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.

Last Updated on October 24, 2024 by Marie Benz MD FAAD