Searching for an answering service to partner with your practice for customer and call support can be quite exhausting. Your patients and prospective patients are the bones of your medical practice, and finding a provider you can trust might turn out to be a time-consuming process.
If this is the first time you are looking into healthcare call centers, you might be wondering where to start, who the most professional provider is and how to identify a good from the bad service. However, finding the right answering service is as easy as knowing what questions you should ask. Some of the top questions you should ask are listed below.
What is the company’s billing cycle?
You should be aware that there are firms out there that operate on a 28-day billing cycle. This means that you receive a total of 13 invoices every year instead of only 12 invoices from companies that use the 30 days cycle system.
Are calls been answered offshore?
If your patients are in the United States, then you have to make sure that their calls are answered by U.S. based services. You can even break down this question further by asking for clarification on the number of offices the service provider has. You might be lucky to find out that the company can service your patients’ calls within the same locality as your office.
Are charges for per minute or per call?
Unless you expect long calls all through, wrong numbers and hang ups can quickly add up to your monthly bill quite fast. Most of the time, per minute plans are a better options, but do not forget to ask if the billing system has second increment limitations.
Are you operating a one call environment?
Some providers claim that calls will be answered within the first ring, but they will place a caller on hold until one of their staff members can actually get around to dealing with it. A one call environment requires that the provider’s operators can only answer one call at a time.
What does the pricing plan include?
Cheap may look great on your monthly expenses sheet, but could be disastrous for patients trying to reach you. While some providers do offer low cost plans, they inevitably recover their losses by including hidden charges for services such as dialing out, holidays call processing, and others. Ensure that your call plan contains all these extra services or you will be in for a shocker when you receive the bill.
There is a huge number of questions you can ask potential providers, but these five, will truly make a difference in which provider you decide to trust with your patients and prospects. Be sure to check out No More Phone Tag healthcare call centers services and features to find out what they can offer you.
