Three Things to Ask When Hiring Medical Answering Services

Posted by Olovanderson on June 11th, 2018

Sometimes, simple things can cause complications and difficulties. We are wired to expect that big work brings big problems so we prepare ourselves for it. This is why when something as simple as setting aside extra time to answer medical concerns of your patients can escalate to something you would not be able to handle. Thankfully, there is the option to get physicians answering services company to help with this concern.

There is no doubt that a medical answering service is an ultimate solution. However, you cannot just blindly hire the first company you talk with. There are many points to consider. You need to look into many factors to ensure that your work really would become easier when you hire them. Below are some evaluating points you should look into when you are interviewing or discussing with a couple of answering service providers.

1.Pricing and Setup

When looking for a service provider, you should not look for one that is cost-effective. When we say cost-effective, it does not literally translate to cheap. Sometimes, paying more and getting better services is more practical than paying less and having to work to fill the gaps that are not provided by the answering service company.

Also, make it a point to check if there are other additional charges such as activation fees and monthly maintenance fees. It is important to be clear with this aspect as budgeting is no joke.

2.Wide Variety of Services

As we have said, you want to hire a medical answering service provider because you want to take off the responsibilities from your shoulders. If the service provider only provides limited services with only a few options, then the worst thing that could happen is they can actually make the work more difficult for you.

The first thing to check is their availability — it should preferably be 24/7. This is because medical emergencies can happen anytime and you want your patients and clients to have someone attend to their queries real-time.

Next, check if the agents are at least bilingual or better, multi-lingual. This is very beneficial especially if the area you are servicing is composed of people who have the different ethnical background.

3.Experience and Tenure

It has almost become a requirement and standard to hire a service provider with experienced agents. They should already be knowledgeable in dealing with inbound calls. Additionally, they must know what to do when scheduling appointments and taking notes of messages with specific details. There are a lot of answering service providers out there that specialize in taking inbound calls. So, look for one that already has experience in the healthcare field.

More than anything else, you should also check if the service provider is compliant with the regulations set by the HIPAA in order to ensure the safety, security, and confidentiality of the data from the patients.

These are just the basic things you need to look into when you choose physicians answering services company. Of course, you may have your specific needs so make sure you take note of them and do not forget to ask them to your prospects.

If you want to hire medical answering services, the author of this article suggests Nomorephonetag.com.