How Hiring an Answering Service Could Revolutionize Your OBGYN Practice
We’ve all seen the scenario in movies and TV shows: A woman goes into labor at the most inopportune time. In the middle of a wedding. In the back of a cab. In an elevator during an earthquake (Saved by the Bell, anyone?). Reality is usually a lot less dramatic (we hope), but OBGYN practices must have 24/7 support for when the baby is ready to be here right now! This is why hiring a HITRUST certified medical call center is not just important, it’s imperative!
Here are ways that a HITRUST certified medical answering service can support your practice:
- Appointment Scheduling: OBGYN practices often have busy schedules with numerous appointments. Answering services can schedule appointments, manage cancellations, and reschedule appointments as needed. This ensures that patients can easily book their visits without facing long wait times or difficulties in reaching the office.
- Patient Screening: Answering services can screen patients based on the urgency of their medical needs. For example, they can prioritize calls from pregnant women experiencing complications or those in need of urgent care. This helps OBGYN practices allocate resources effectively and provide timely assistance to patients in critical situations.
- After-Hours Support: Pregnancy and gynecological issues don’t always adhere to regular office hours (or elevators). Answering services provide 24/7 support, allowing patients to reach the practice even during evenings, weekends, and holidays. This ensures that patients can receive medical advice or assistance whenever they need it, improving patient satisfaction and reducing unnecessary visits to emergency rooms.
- Emergency Response: In cases of emergencies such as preterm labor or severe gynecological complications, answering services can follow predefined protocols to alert the on-call physician immediately. This ensures that patients receive timely medical attention, even outside of regular office hours.
- Patient Education and Support: Answering services can provide basic information and guidance to patients regarding prenatal care, postpartum recovery, birth control options, and other gynecological concerns. They can address common questions and concerns, offer reassurance, and direct patients to relevant resources or medical professionals when necessary.
- Message Management: Answering services can efficiently handle patient messages, prescription refill requests, and other administrative tasks, ensuring that no important communication gets overlooked or delayed.
- Privacy and Confidentiality: Answering services are trained to handle sensitive medical information with the utmost confidentiality and adhere to HIPAA regulations. This is why it’s so important to work with a service that is HITRUST certified. This ensures that patient privacy is maintained, and their medical records remain secure.
Answering services play a vital role in enhancing the efficiency, accessibility, and patient experience of OBGYN practices, allowing them to focus on providing high-quality medical care to women at all stages of life.