We are in the middle of an unprecedented situation. It’s affecting everyone, but the healthcare industry stands at the epicenter of it. They feel the pressure more profoundly than anyone else. As practices, clinics, and healthcare facilities struggle to grapple with this trying situation of meeting increased patient demand, often with less staff and under limiting restrictions, they turn to their answering service to help them maintain essential communications with their patients.
How do you know if your answering service is able to respond to the increased workload that you need them to manage? There is no sure answer, but there are several leading indicators common to well-prepared medical answering services.
Decades of Service
How long has your answering service been in business? Business longevity implies capability. In short, new answering services haven’t had the opportunity to prove themselves over time. They may be good, or they may not be good. Who knows?
You want a medical answering service that has been around for the long term. Ten years is a start, but several decades of service is better. A medical answering service that has been in business for three decades has gained a wealth of experience. They pass on that know how to their clients in the form of exceptional service and delighted callers.
Ensures Needed Reliability
What steps has your answering service taken to ensure ongoing reliability? In an effort to save money, many answering services don’t invest in redundancy and backups. The best medical answering services do.
As a bonus, look for a multi-location medical answering service that can send calls from one location to another. This will ensure that you receive the best possible service from the most available representative, regardless of the situation.
Has a Quality Mindset
Everyone talks about providing quality service but only a handful of answering services actually do so. It starts with focused new employee training and orientation. It continues with ongoing quality assurance (QA) assessments of all staff. These medical answering services have a dedicated QA professional to evaluate staff performance on a regular basis.
The goal of a QA program is to reinforce what each answering service employee does well and encourage them in ways they can further improve. Yet few healthcare answering services have this quality mindset so ingrained into their operation.
The Next Step
When selecting a quality medical answering service to meet the needs of your practice, clinic, or healthcare facility, go with one that has stood the test of time. Select a medical answering service that has a record of several decades of service. Next, pick a provider that has built out a robust platform to ensure that they can provide reliable service regardless of the scenario. Third, look for a medical answering service that puts quality first in actual practice and backs it up with a robust QA program.
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.
