When a person is interested in becoming your patient what is the first thing she does? She calls the office to talk to one of your staff. Chances are she may get the answering service if your staff is busy, and this is the first impression of your business she will encounter. Answering services for medical offices are all about image, and this image is yours.
Good or Bad Image?
What kind of image do you project to the public? You might think it is one of compassionate care and understanding, but is it? Your patients may think highly of you, but their opinions can be swayed by several issues, such as:
• Long waits in the office – no one likes to sit in a chair for hours and although this is sometimes unavoidable, the doctor who overbooks consistently runs the risk of offending many patients.
• Long waiting periods on the phone – it can be just as frustrating to sit on hold for a long time, as to sit inside of a waiting room. If you want to irritate your patients before they even get to the office, make them wait for a very long time and see to it they are disconnected after about ten minutes.
• Incompetent staff – do you have the right people in your office? If not, you could be losing a great deal of business. Maybe it’s time to check things out for yourself to see how everyone is doing.
• Incompetent answering services for medical offices – Your answering service is your staff (whether it’s automated or not) and it is an extension of your practice. If your services are incompetent, patients may see you as incompetent also.
Improving Your Image
Would you like to improve your image with patients? Logic dictates you should work on decreasing waiting times and increasing patient confidence.
Lessening Waiting Times and Increasing Competency
If you are overbooking consistently you might want to increase your office hours. Your patients will appreciate it and it might make it easier and less stressful on you. In fact, it might create less stress for your staff, and this can increase moral and attitude, which is a good formula for a more competent staff.
For a better image, check out competent answering services for medical offices. It’s very easy when you contact No More Phone Tag. They offer a free, no obligation trial for a full 14 days, and they have some of the lowest rates in the business.
