When a disaster occurs, one key to successfully navigating it is to maintain an open communication channel so your patients can reach you whenever they need to. In addition to normal healthcare needs, in the middle of a crisis, such as a pandemic, patients have a heightened sense of concern about their health and well-being.
Make sure you’re available for them when they need you most. This starts with answering your telephone.
Real People Not Automation
The first element of providing access for your patients in the midst of a disaster—whether of natural origin, human caused, or somewhere in between—is to make sure you have real people and not computers answering your telephone.
Your patients deserve the empathy of a person whenever they call, but this is more pronounced in the middle of a disaster or pandemic. Don’t rely on a mechanical machine or an electronic solution to inhumanely answer your phone calls. Voicemail is out, and an answering machine is a no-no. Real people answering your phone is the wise choice and the commonsense solution that your patients deserve and your callers expect.
Round-the-Clock Coverage
Though most phone calls happen during regular office hours, many of the more critical ones occur during the 75 percent of the time your office is closed. This means you need a person answering your phone 24/7. Since it isn’t practical for you to have someone in your office around the clock to do this, the smart solution is to outsource your phone calls to a professional 24/7 medical answering service.
Healthcare Specialists
Though just about any answering service can answer your phone during the evening and on weekends, select one that specializes in healthcare and staffs their operation with healthcare professionals who comprehend the importance of handling every phone call with precision, professionalism, and appropriate empathy.
Telephone answering services that focus on healthcare specialize in the medical industry. They don’t accept clients outside of their niche. They know that answering calls for plumbers, lawyers, entertainers, and those in other industries will only distract them from answering your calls in the best way possible.
Their focus on healthcare means they’ll provide laser-like attention on the needs of your patients and callers. Don’t accept anything less.
Summary
Just because there’s a pandemic occurring doesn’t mean you should give your patients anything less than your best. This starts with answering your telephone. Your patients deserve to have their phone calls answered 24/7 by real people who understand healthcare.
This high-level of service from a dedicated medical answering service may cost a few dollars more a month, but your practice is worth the investment and your patients are worth the extra attention.
Learn how medical answering service from MedConnectUSA can help your practice, clinic, or facility. Then get a free quote to discover how affordable their healthcare communication services are. Peter Lyle DeHaan is a freelance writer and call center authority.