Managing High Incoming Calls in a Medical Office
Many medical practices report being overwhelmed with the volume of calls they receive each day and sinking a lot of time into handling them. These offices may find themselves hiring more employees to handle more calls — but this isn’t the only option. With the right medical office call management approach, a high call volume can become much more workable.
What Causes High Call Volume?
A high call volume can occur for any number of reasons in healthcare. On one hand, more calls can indicate that your practice is gaining popularity and receiving an influx of new patients. On the other hand, a high call volume can relate to:
- Inefficient patient communications
- A lack of communication options
- A wide-ratio of patients to employees
Finding the source of your high call volume can be a great first step. Many practices are determining ways to reduce the volume of telephone calls and improve overall call management for a more effective use of phone lines as a form of patient communication.
Call Management Tips for Medical Offices
Consider these ideas to improve communication with patients while reducing the volume of telephone calls:
- Offer more lines of communication: Providing options like an online platform, a chat function and email can help reduce call volume and make your phone lines more manageable.
- Take better messages: Establish parameters for how to take a message to ensure your staff is collecting the right information, like contact numbers, description of the problem and health history. A stronger message-taking system prevents the constant back and forth between you and your patients over the phone.
- Schedule staff strategically: Your call volume likely reaches its peak at a certain point in the day. Make sure you’re prepared by scheduling the bulk of your front office employees to work at this time. Working with a call answering service like AnswerHero™ can also help with overflow and reduce the number of calls your staff has to manage.
Implement Call Management for Your Medical Office With AnswerHero™
Medical practice call management is within reach with the right partner. AnswerHero™ offers 24/7, bilingual call answering services to help your team handle a high call volume. To learn how our call answering services can help, check out our pricing plans or contact us today!
