Select a Medical Answering Service that Takes HIPAA Guidelines Seriously
Too many answering services put their healthcare clients at risk when it comes to following HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) guidelines. Some aren’t aware of HIPAA, others assume it doesn’t apply to them, and more than a few think they can take shortcuts and not get caught. But it’s not only […]
Holiday Aftermath: Let’s Review How Your Medical Answering Service Did
We often fall into a different mode during the holidays. As much as we try to keep business as usual between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, it’s hard to do so. With holiday parties, treats, and events to distract us and steal our time, many people give into the season, with a plan to emerge […]
Is a Medical Answering Service an Investment or an Expense?
A common element among healthcare providers is having a medical answering service take calls after office hours and even provide office-hours support. Some business managers view their doctors answering service as an expense that they must seek to contain or even eliminate, if they get overly aggressive. Other business managers cite their medical answering service […]
What Are Common On-Call Scenarios for Medical Practices?
The healthcare industry is an around-the-clock effort that never closes. This is because people’s health concerns don’t follow a convenient nine-to-five, Monday-through-Friday schedule. That’s why most medical practices tap the services of a professional medical answering service. They want to be available to their patients 24/7, whenever a need arises, but they must also guard […]
Tips to Lower Your Medical Answering Service Bill
Healthcare providers are stuck between rising costs and lower reimbursement rates. This can trigger a cost-cutting initiative. When considering this, remember that the cost of a medical answering service is a small fraction of what it would take to hire an office receptionist. It’s a veritable bargain with a high-value return that patients appreciate. Yet […]
Should You Go with a Local Medical Answering Service?
With today’s advanced technology it doesn’t really matter where your answering service is located. They can be next door, across town, or in a different state. They can even be in a different country. But is that what you want? Should you hire a local medical answering service instead? Though it’s feasible for your answering […]
Why Medical Answering Services Matter
Some doctors don’t care who’s answering their phone, as long as it’s answered. This view is shortsighted, as the doctor’s career and their practice’s success are at stake. That’s why it’s critical to hire a quality answering service. But beyond hiring a quality answering service is to hire a quality medical answering service. Here’s why […]
Do You Want Your Answering Service to Be a Generalist or a Specialist
Most telephone answering services will take on a wide range of clientele, from roofer, to funeral home, to property management company, to consultant, to attorney. Oh yeah, they’ll handle healthcare too. Really? These answering services try to be all things to all people. They’re generalists. Some do okay on it and others not so well. […]
HIPAA Raises the Bar on Text Messages, What You Need to Know
Recent changes to HIPAA raise questions as to the compliancy of text messaging. Rest assured texting remains compliant, however the devil is in the details when it comes to the use of this messaging medium by your office or medical answering services.
4 Effective Ways to Drive Patient Acquisition
Patient Acquisition—A medical practice may not seem to have much in common with a retail business, but there is one important aspect they both share: the constant need to build customer and patient bases. Even your current base is subject to attrition due to factors such as families moving out of town.Your marketing plan should […]
