Is it time to upgrade the medical answering service software at your healthcare organization?
It should be: Managing after-hours patient calls efficiently can boost patient satisfaction and provider well-being while maximizing your revenue and streamlining operations after hours.
By automatically routing urgent calls and integrating seamlessly with electronic health records (EHRs), the right after-hours solution ensures that urgent needs are met swiftly and securely to provide an optimal experience for patients and staff alike.
The bottom line? Upgrading your medical answering service software can simplify the on-call experience, making it easier and more efficient. Read on to explore four ways a new medical answering service software can transform your after-hours process.
Challenges With Medical Answering Service Software
A traditional medical answering service uses call centers or basic triaging systems that can cause inefficiencies and errors, including:
- If they aren’t medical professionals, call-center employees may not be able to accurately assess urgency level of each call.
- Systems may not be able to be customized to fit organizations’ and providers’ specific needs and preferences.
- Calls are handled outside of practice management (PM) and electronic health record (EHR) systems which can result in critical delays in patient care.
Simplifying Care Coordination
Medical answering service software can streamline care coordination by integrating with EHRs and PM systems and enabling secure communication between patients and providers.
EHR integration empowers providers with immediate access to patient data, from medical histories to current prescriptions and allergies. That’s crucial because on-call providers often respond to patients who they haven’t personally treated, so they have to look up each person’s medical history in the EHR—which takes time. But an integrated solution can automatically display a snapshot of the patient’s chart, enabling providers to make well-informed decisions, enhancing patient care and mitigating the risk of errors.
Plus, the software also streamlines communication between patients and providers. Patients can easily send messages to their healthcare team, including photos, in a HIPAA-compliant system. That’s especially useful when a patient misses a providers’ return call. Traditionally, since the provider can’t leave a voicemail containing protected health information (PHI), they might get caught in a game of “phone tag.” But with a modern after-hours solution, the providers could simply send them a secure message and speed up the process.
Streamline Communication By Routing Urgent And Non-Urgent Calls
Many third-party answering services employ staff who lack medical training and may struggle to accurately assess the urgency of incoming calls. This can lead to providers receiving non-urgent calls, like requests to schedule an appointment or a prescription refill, which would be more appropriately handled during business hours.
But modern medical answering service software streamlines communication by automatically routing urgent and non-urgent calls. Urgent calls are directed to the appropriate on-call provider, ensuring prompt attention to critical patient needs, while non-urgent calls are recorded in the EHR or PM system so administrative staff can follow up during regular business hours. This process ensures that all patient calls are addressed promptly and on-call providers only receive urgent calls.
If the system has dynamic call routing rules that can be tailored to specific times of day or days of the week, organizations can get an added layer of flexibility. This feature ensures that calls are directed to the most suitable personnel based on their availability and expertise.
Automate Documentation Of Patient Calls
Imagine an after-hours call solution that records and transcribes each call, allowing providers to concentrate on patient care without the hassle of manual documentation. If these transcriptions seamlessly integrate into your EHR, you can ensure that all patient interactions are accurately and consistently documented while saving time.
Furthermore, the right medical answering solution software will include templated notes and the ability to manually add custom notes—including instructions for administrative staff to follow up with patients during the next business day. By automating the documentation of patient calls, your organization can enhance the quality of patient care, ensure all patients receive the follow-up communication they expect and streamline overall operations.
Maximize Revenue
By ensuring no patient request goes unnoticed and enabling your staff to follow up on after-hours inquiries for appointments or prescription refills, you’re on the path to increased patient satisfaction and loyalty—as well as a more efficient and profitable healthcare organization.
When patients call after hours with a non-urgent request, you can automatically route those needs into a worklist for administrative staff to action the next day. Your on-call providers can focus on urgent needs while staff never miss a chance to schedule a patient’s care—so your organization never loses a chance to bring in revenue.
Improve The Patient Experience
It’s not just providers: The right medical answering service software significantly enhances the patient experience, too, by ensuring that urgent calls are promptly addressed and that every interaction is smooth and personalized.
With features like HIPAA-compliant text messaging, patients can communicate securely and directly with their healthcare providers, reducing the frustration of long wait times. This level of responsiveness and personalized attention not only meets but often exceeds patient expectations, fostering a sense of trust and satisfaction that is crucial to the patient-provider relationship.
Ready to evaluate medical answering service software? Make sure the vendor you choose can prioritize and route calls appropriately and integrate with your EHR or PM system. These features can streamline documentation, improve efficiency and provide valuable insights into patient interactions.
Security and compliance are non-negotiable: Ensure the software you select is HIPAA-compliant and equipped with robust data encryption. By doing so, you’re not only protecting patient privacy but also adhering to industry standards and regulations.
By taking these factors into account and choosing a medical answering service software that aligns with your organization’s and providers’ needs, you can revolutionize after-hours patient care, elevate provider experiences, and bolster the overall efficiency and profitability of your practice.
