A medical answering service can help your practice provide better patient care and remain HIPAA-compliant.
The past several years have been volatile for the medical field. From frequently-changing government regulations to a growing number of retiring baby boomers, it’s more important than ever to consider an answering service for your medical office.
24/7 Availability
Even though you and your office staff go home at night, there are still patients that find it more convenient to schedule appointments or ask questions about their prescriptions outside of regular office hours. Instead of hiring a full-time employee to work nights and weekends, you can simply hire a medical answering service to take care of those calls for you. Not only will this make your patients happy, but it also helps ensure that you continue to earn the business of your patients.
Guaranteed professionalism
A high-quality medical answering service will operate with a guarantee of professionalism while on the phone with your patients, so you can rest assured that your patients will receive the customer service treatment they deserve. Your in-office staff can focus on providing the best quality customer service to patients in your office, while MAP manages all of your patients over the phone with the same quality of customer service.
HIPAA-compliance
One of the most significant challenges any medical office faces is ensuring that they remain HIPAA-compliant. HIPAA rules are often in flux, and violating HIPAA can come with severe penalties, so having a HIPAA-compliant office is essential to your peace of mind and long-term success.
A medical answering service that takes HIPAA seriously will be up to date on the latest regulations and train their agents accordingly, so you don’t need to worry about violations associated with your account.
Reduced office overhead
A medical answering service is also a great way to reduce overhead in your office. Instead of hiring another full-time employee to handle the influx of calls, you can simply outsource that aspect of the business to a streamlined and cost-effective answering service. This will also give your office staff the time they need to handle the other important aspects of your business.
Reduced no-shows
No-shows can have a significant negative impact on your office. In addition to missing out on the revenue from an appointment, no-shows put you in the difficult position of billing a patient, or simply absorbing the loss — neither of which are desirable options.
A medical answering service is a great way to reduce no-shows. You can set up a structure where patients are called the night before (or day of) their appointment, in order to both remind them and confirm that they will still be taking the appointment. If they cannot make it, calling in advance gives you (or your answering service) an opportunity to find someone to fill that appointment slot.
These are just a few of the many ways that a medical answering service can benefit organizations in the healthcare industry. To learn more about how an answering service can benefit your practice, please call MAP Communications and take advantage of our 100% free 7-day trial.
Here are some related articles you might be interested in:
How A Call Overflow Answering Service Can Help Your Medical Practice
The Benefits of Having an Answering Service Set Your Appointments
