Archive for the tag 'front desk receptionist'

Online Doctor Appointment Scheduler –A Layperson’s Guide

Dr. Maulik December 16th, 2009

Online patient appointment scheduler is software that fixes up patients’ appointments with health care provider by patient self-service. Other than patient login to doctor’s scheduler to book appointment, they can also make call to the system and ask for appointments, the system, in the voice of an virtual receptionist,  automatically arranges the schedule without bothering medical staff at counter. A top class online appointment scheduler usually has multiple funxtions.  For instance, it can be used as front desk standby receptionist that pickup a business call when doctor’s staff is too busy.

Such virtual assistant or virtual receptionist can speak to your patients in a very professional way. Also, health care providers can also use them as patient reminder software. i.e. the calls can be made to patients from the automated system about their forthcoming appointments or any schedule with health care center.  Automated reminder call has been proven effiective in slash patient no-shows and increase practice revenu.

More and more health care providers are now opting for automated office that has online patient appointment scheduler for better medical management. 24/7 customer service support makes the clinic more accessible and famous among other competitors. Another benefit of getting office automated with online patient appointment planner is it can synchronize the schedules with Google calendar, which make your schedule accessible on handheld devices such as Blackberry, SmartPhone and iPhone. For health care providers who travel frequently, this system has proved itself as perfect tool for manage your schedule away from office and computer.

Other benefits that come with patient reminder system include customization. A doctor can tailor the system as per his or her medical specialty. Also, the system comes with multilingual options such as French, English, and Spanish for better communication with foreign patients.

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Why should you switch to an Online Doctor Appointment Scheduler?

Dr. Maulik November 29th, 2009

Although, it is said that humans are more intelligent than machines but it will not be wrong if we say that machines are more dependable than humans. Even we as humans do not trust other humans but we trust the computers. Technology has really made machines so powerful that they have outperformed humans in efficiency and reliability.

As any other office, medical offices also have receptionists to help doctors coordinate with the patients and perform jobs like answering to the queries of patients, fixing appointments and do a basic level of management. With the advances of technology these routine jobs can be done very well with medical software for online appointment schedule. A medical professional who is a little techno savvy can get the information of all the appointments directly on to his handheld device like iphone or blackberry, if the online appointment scheduler is synchronized with the Google calendar. Some of the best software also let you know about the appointments by single word command SMS or using a text message.

A virtual receptionist is also capable of communicating in several languages such as English, French, Spanish and Chinese. Look out for a Doctor Appointment Scheduler that should also has patient reminder services bundled with it so that it can also help you from loosing any revenue resulting from no shows by patient. This is done by either and automated email notification and a telephonic reminder to the patient. Things will be a lot easier to handle with you will have an automated office. An online appointment scheduler works all the responsibilities of a virtual receptionist and also able to respond to your patients using an automated answering machine.

We have seen the advantages of a doctor appointment scheduler but there are few things you should consider when you decide to purchase such software.

Before you decide to buy and online doctor appointment scheduler make sure that it is HIPAA compliant to ensure security and privacy of the conversation as well as patient information. You should also ask for additional features that the product has when compared with the competitive products. One such important feature you should look for is the ability of the software to let you customize it as per your medical specialty.

Do not shy away from asking for a Demo of the short listed medical software as it will give you a clear picture of the features supported as well as let you have a look at the user interface of the system.

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Online scheduler –an automated system for patient appointments

Dr. Maulik November 10th, 2009

Have you ever wonder how to tackle hundreds of patients’ call at a time without recruiting dozens of front office receptionists? The condition that may make things more thinkable is none of those calls should come busy i.e. the patients should never get a busy-tone! Well, all this is possible with a single wise step –installing an online scheduler, an automated system for fixing patients’ appointments.

Online patient scheduler is a system that fixes appointments that the patient books. Advanced version of online patient scheduler also synchronizes the data with Google Calendar that can be directly viewed on handheld devices such as iPhone, SmartPhone and BlackBerry. This has been proven to be very helpful for the health care providers who are away from their centers but still want to keep an eye on their schedules. No matter whether the task is to be performed during or after the office hours -as all this comes with a 24/7 service!

The best part of online appointment scheduler system is it can perform multiple tasks that even a virtual human receptionist cannot. Apart from fixing the schedules, the system can be fed with tailored answers and can be played as and when required. In this way, it turns an answering machine with a sweet voice that a caller would love to hear. In addition, the software can also perform the tasks of patient reminding by making calls automatically. Patient reminder service can call the patients and remind them about their forthcoming appointments with doctors or a formal visit to the health care center. The system can also be rescheduled to make important follow ups. Its multi-language options (such as Spanish, English, and French etc) make it easy for the doctors to tackle customers who are foreigners.

There are many firms and companies that provide the system free of cost –i.e. no installation charges. The system that can work as online scheduler, answering machine and patients’ follow ups can boost the sales and betters the revenue. An ideal for health care centers, online appointment scheduler is a no-nonsense way to tackle patients without having any hassles. The software is designed in a user friendly way that is quite easy to operate and it does not require any hi-fi configuration at office system.

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Finally, the solution to the ‘new patient curse’

Martin Wright May 3rd, 2009

Paperwork, loads and loads of paperwork! That’s what goes through the mind of many doctors in private practice without a virtual medical office receptionist when a new patient walks in the door. Of course there is the initial excitement of your practice growing but then the reality sinks in a short time after that.

There is a routine common to every new patient visiting a privately owned medical practice for the first time. The paperwork and the processing involved is time consuming and can be cumbersome for both patients and medical staff. Patients have to fill forms that allow the release of information, insurance forms, forms about their medical history and HIPAA agreements. If your practice is receiving a steady flow of new patients and you would like this trend to continue, do not let the paperwork overwhelm you and your staff. It’s time to let technology work in your favor.

A virtual medical office receptionist will ease the burden of paperwork for both your patients and your staff. Your patients will especially enjoy the convenience of scheduling their own appointments with the help of a medical assistant online. What’s more they can do this from the comfort of their homes as opposed to spending several hours in a medical reception.

A remote receptionist service allows new patients to enter their insurance information and other medical history into a HIPAA compliant website. This virtual receptionist saves you the cumbersome task of having to cross check the new patient’s health insurance to ensure that it can be accepted at your practice. A virtual medical office receptionist will do the cross checking of the new patient’s insurance as well as ensure that the HMO that covers the patient approves you as a physician. When the patient is sure that their visit will be covered by their health insurance they can go ahead and schedule an appointment.

Your remote receptionist service will also act as a backup receptionist. In any busy medical practice a front desk receptionist is required to attend to patients waiting in the lounge as well as answer phone calls. This can be cumbersome and your medical office assistant may not be able to work efficiently enough. A virtual medical office assistant can greatly ease this burden. When your regular receptionist is busy attending to the needs of patients waiting in the lounge, the backup receptionist can answer any incoming phone calls. This remote receptionist service can assist both old and new patients in scheduling appointments. The virtual receptionist will forward any calls that are of a more complex nature. Your regular receptionist will also be spared the burden of having to assist new patients in filling out bulky forms, processing and filling them.

Remote receptionist services are also 24/7 backup receptionists. Patients can call any time of the day to schedule appointments or log in online to do the same.

Many doctors reading this may be tempted to shrug off the idea of a virtual medical office assistant as an unnecessary luxury. It is a necessity to those who want their practice to run efficiently. Once you give the virtual receptionist a try you will be left wondering how you ever got by without it in the first place.

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Virtual Medical Answering Service – Pay per Call or Flat Fee ?

Richard E PANTALONY April 18th, 2009

When it comes to medical answering there are many services out there to choose from. But what narrows your search is the ability to stay out of long-term contracts, and be in charge of how you would like to be invoiced. It is important to know what is available before you jump into a service package with a vendor. Once again do your homework, shop around (Search google using on “medical answering” and you will find everything on the Internet), and ask copious amounts of questions of the vendor.

The first question you should ask yourself when choosing medical answering service is what you intend to use it for? Will it be mainly used as a back up or will it be your main front desk receptionist for answering the phone? Are you intending to use it as an after hours appointment scheduler , or will it be used for callbacks and reminders or other functions? This then brings into question how feature rich do you want your package to be?

The more features you purchase the better your overall price will be relative to a basic package with limited options. This will also mean you could probably negotiate for more flexibility when it comes to invoicing. Do not be afraid to ask for what you want in a package, technical support, and billing options. If you shop around and get competitive pricing perhaps you can use those prices to leverage a better deal from your medical answering vendor of choice.

Although purchasing an online virtual medical answering service may not be the largest expenditure your business will ever make but it could well be the most important one. This means you should not jump at the first service that impresses you. Watch the demonstrations and take advantage of the free trial offers, which are generally for 30 days each. DO NOT be afraid to say no if you are not satisfied after the trial ends. Make a call and try a different package.

Pay per call medical answering packages are probably a wise choice for after hours use because the number of after hour calls will in all likelihood be fewer than what you will receive during regular office hours. You can purchase a package with numerous features sufficient for after hours use and pay [depending on the vendor] $50.00 per month. This will include 50 calls, and if you average ten after hours calls a day for 20 days @ $1.00 per call, that’s $150.00 per month extra for paid calls with an excellent medical answering service package.

Flat fee monthly pricing is more cost effective if you are going to be using your virtual medical answering service more often throughout the regular workday. Regular hours use could include back up phone duties, reminder calls, sick days or vacation leave. Perhaps you would like to transfer one of your employees permanently to other more important office tasks, let the virtual answering service be your new office workhorse. An all-inclusive monthly flat fee on a premium package works for these scenarios.

Whatever your reasons for using your new virtual medical answering service, calculate the number of phone calls on average during the time you will be using the service the most and which options you are likely to use more frequently, and base your choice on these factors.

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Virtual Medical Office Receptionist: Things to ponder before buying this service

Martin Wright February 25th, 2009


I have penned many articles about online appointment explaining its benefits and why every doctor in private practice should invest in it. At the risk of sounding repetitive it is important for me to point out that the services of online appointment are a big plus for any medical practice. There will be reduced pressure, patients will be more satisfied and will most likely visit your practice another time.

Best of all online appointments is having a speech-recognition capable virtual receptionist enable patient self-service appointment by phone. This modern service will help you reduce patient now-shows and generally reduce your operating costs. That said it is vital for me to point out also that not all remote receptionist services are good. So, how do you make sure that you get value for your money?

The Internet is awash with many types of virtual medical office receptionist service providers. However, not all are good or are suitable for your medical practice. It can be tricky for a potential buyer to choose the right service but the following tips should increase your chances of getting a good return for your investment.

Know what you need first

A virtual receptionist can do many things but you may not need all them. It is therefore important to have list of what you are looking for in a front desk receptionist service before committing to buy. What you need depends on the nature of your practice. If you have a problem with patient no-shows for instance, then you need a service that offers ‘call backs’ to remind patients of their forthcoming appointments.

Initial investment

Just like any other businessperson a medical practitioner should be savvy enough to know that tying huge sums of money by paying for services that will be used in the future is not a very good idea. The future is very uncertain and you don’t want a situation whereby the company offering you the service goes under with your one year’s service subscription! Whenever possible, pay in small amounts e.g. for a month’s service. If within that one month you’re not satisfied with what you are getting then you have the liberty of shopping elsewhere.

Operating costs

One of the biggest reasons why many doctors invest in a remote receptionist service is to increase their bottom line. If the service you are buying does not help you to reduce costs and therefore bolster profits especially during these challenging economic times then it makes no economic sense at all to invest in it. Don’t go for a service that requires installation of software or hardware. There are very good receptionist services that are solely based on the web. Go for those ones as you need not call a technician to fix them in your office because they are not working.

Benefits

The main goal of most businesses is to maximize profits. So, ask yourself what you stand to gain by investing in a given type of remote receptionist service. Other than the ability to provide ‘call back’ services, a good receptionist service should also act as a back up receptionist. This will enable your practice to handle pressure especially when there is an upsurge of patients with each needing attention. In addition, if the human receptionist is out for one reason or another the backup receptionist can ‘take over’. This would in turn prevent unnecessary losses in revenue due to customer dissatisfaction.

Thus, as you plan to give your practice a boost make sure you bear these few points in mind. You will end up with a better service at a lower cost and ultimately more returns.

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Virtual Medical Office Receptionist: A Good Investment Now and In The Future

Martin Wright February 2nd, 2009

Medical professionals should be a happy lot especially due to the fact that health related practices and the education sector are some of the areas that have managed to remain steady even with the current economic tantrums. Despite the recession people still have to go to school and seek medical care. However, it is important to note that the recession has been so severe such that some people are even postponing visits to the doctor. That means that the profits are not as high as they used to be before the recession set in.

Due to this medical practitioners are devising ways of beating their competitors. They are doing major restructuring and changing the way they normally run their business. One way of doing this is to ensure that the overall customer satisfaction is looked into. Private medical practices are ensuring that the medical receptionist not only helps in retaining the usual clients but also attracts new ones. Unfortunately most health practitioners have realized that human receptionist can only do so much. When overstretched, the human receptionist caves in easily. A medical clinic receptionist can only take one phone call at a time, attend to one or two clients at a time and gets tired pretty fast. Human beings are also affected by their surrounding environment and the pressure that sometimes characterizes medical practices can sometimes take its toll on the medical office receptionist. This has made medical practitioners to invest in what is commonly referred to as a Virtual Medical Office Receptionist.

Unlike a human front desk receptionist a medical office assistant online will not get tired or sleepy on the job. It is an easy to install program that can complement the existing medical office staff and can do the necessary but otherwise repetitive and sometimes boring tasks. This program does not require any maintenance and will not complain or ask for a raise! A 24/7 backup receptionist as it is also known ensures that your office remains ‘open’ even after your normal office hours. It is capable of distinguishing between the important and less important calls and ensuring that the important ones get through to you in real time. This is a huge plus for your practice because patients will know you as a reliable medical practitioner and hence developing customer loyalty. In addition, such a health care receptionist will help your business cut the huge losses that are sometimes as a result of the patient no-shows.

Well, you may be saying to yourself, ‘that must cost a whole lot of money’. It all depends with what you want and the software provider. The market is awash with a lot of office automation software. However, before buying any kind of software ensure that you know exactly what you want. Once your ‘shopping list’ is ready then find the software that serves your purpose.  Get a program whose payment is done monthly so that you don’t tie up a lot of your money and the software is not delivering what you expected. Have some ‘exit route’ if a need to exit arises. With this information now you can buy the software that suits your practice well.

Give your medical practice a ‘facelift’ today by investing in a good back up receptionist.  It is a sure and cost effective way of not only beating this recession but also a worthwhile investment into the future!

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Your Medical Front Desk Receptionist Is the Tip of the Spear

Richard E PANTALONY December 19th, 2008

Think about what your medical front desk receptionist does all day long and you will realize how critical this presumably straightforward staffing position really is. They are on the frontline of your medical practice and deal with the day-to-day, hour-to-hour and minute-to-minute needs of your callers. Every one of these callers believes their reason for calling is THE most important matter to be dealt with and front desk receptionists are often juggling two or three calls at once!

Separating incoming calls and in-office patients is a mind-bending burden for the health care receptionist especially if the practice is an established one. They must be courteous, relatively outgoing, and even friendly without losing their professional edge. Each patient expects to be treated with respect and given the time of day. If they have been going to the same medical practitioner for some time, chances are they know the medical front desk receptionist as well or even better than the doctor.

It is an understatement that the medical receptionist’s job is chaotic but many medical practices now institute online voice recognition software to lighten the load. Virtual medical receptionist software is the answer for a busy medical practice that wants to keep its professional edge yet maintain a personalized atmosphere within. Allowing your receptionist the luxury of turning on your remote receptionist service every once and a while will give them the freedom to catch their breath and focus on important in-office functions when things get hectic.

The busier your practice becomes, more tasks will inevitably fall on the shoulders of the front desk receptionist. If this employee becomes overwhelmed, having the virtual medical receptionist system as a backup will make them more productive. If staff training were taking place than having the back up receptionist available would be helpful during on the job training periods.

Training your medical front desk receptionist to take on more office challenges is normal for a growing practice so this backup receptionist capability will be a windfall. Being able to trust that your valuable patients are well cared for not only in the examination room but also in the reception area makes for satisfied patients. Having a virtual receptionist as back up for your employee will improve the office environment by ensuring in-house patients are treated personally. As a medical practitioner your focus is your patients’ health and worrying about office operations is simply unacceptable.

Building a medical practice is not easy and requires a plan of action starting with the medical front desk receptionist. They are representative of the kind of practice you are trying to achieve so streamlining their effort with a virtual medical receptionist as back up will increase efficiency. Medical visits are stressful and wait times can be long, so having a virtual medical front desk receptionist frees your staff to provide in person assistance. Your call-in patients will not suffer because of a busy waiting room either.

Back up receptionist duties are vital to any medical practice especially newer or growing practices since staffing levels are being tested constantly by an increasing workload. You could hire a part time receptionist but this will add to your expenses. Considering the use of a remote receptionist service as your medical practice grows and prospers would be a prudent measure.

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