1 . Hip with HIPAA
2 . Unlimited Call Coverage
MARKETING
10 Critical Components Don Thaler
At any given moment , there may be a stack of paperwork waiting for you , patients calling for an appointment , colleagues looking to confer with you on medical records , or pharmacies with medication inquiries . The truth is that administrative work stacks up and it can be difficult to stay true to your passion of patient care .
If this sounds like you , or if you simply recognize that the work required to manage the business side of your practice , it might be time to consider the benefits of outsourcing a portion of the workload to a professional answering service .
Fortunately , there are many ways an answering service can help relieve the burden of a ringing phone , allowing you to focus on providing the best care for your patients . Although they may not be able to diagnose a case of type 3 Hemochromatosis for you , they can screen , organize and prioritize your patient calls . They can schedule , reschedule or track appointments . They can even assist in keeping your electronic medical records updated .
Now , how do you go about choosing the right one ? After all , proper handling of your patient ’ s calls is a crticial part of your operations . One crossed wire and a patient could receive the wrong , often detrimental , information . That is simply not acceptable when there are matters of health at stake . When choosing the best medical answering service for your practice , ask yourself if they possess these 10 critical components :
1 . Hip with HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects the privacy of patient information and medical records . This can be a sticky wicket for the average answering service , not trained and versed in the rules and protections of the act . The law applies not just to healthcare providers but their business associates as well . That means an elite answering service , your business partner in compliant communication , needs to be just as judicious as your administrators , not only as a representation of best practices , but because it ’ s the law .
An elite medical answering service will be fully HIPAA compliant , with each agent specifically trained in best HIPAA practices via industry-approved programs . This training should not just be a one-and-done situation , but it should be completed on an annual basis at minimum .
Not only the people , but the programs used to handle information need a special touch . The most common practices in answering service information communication fail to meet the standard of security required by HIPAA . As all providers know , you can ’ t simply send patient information through a regular text message or even worse , an unsecured , unvalidated e-mail . A medical answering service must have special encryption software to ensure the highest level of security when dealing with Protected Health Information . Their program should provide not only ideal ideal security measures , but also remain simple for you and your staff to use .
2 . Unlimited Call Coverage
24 hour , around-the-clock call coverage can translate into more revenue and higher patient satisfaction . 1 By providing around the clock call coverage , a medical answering service extends the hours you can make appointments or turn cancelled appointments into rescheduled ones .
An elite medical answering service provides after hours call coverage when the office is closed , but also improves coverage during office hours . By handling overflow during peak work hours , an answering service cuts hold or wait times , in addition to prioritizing patients for potential call back .
Beyond peak call times , call coverage should also be available on demand . That means you are able to easily flip your phone lines over to your answering service provider when you are busy with a patient , must step into a meeting , want to cover a lunch break , or just need to focus on the task at hand without any interruption .
For instance , a patient has an urgent question regarding a medication they were prescribed earlier that day . They
31 TODAY ’ S PRACTICE : CHANGING THE BUSINESS OF MEDICINE