What Does Your Answering Service Say About You?

You’re probably wondering if that’s a trick question. What would they say? That you pay your bills on time? That you’re a good customer who never complains? Well, actually it is a bit of a trick question. What we’re talking about here, is what your service says about you when it’s on the line talking to your patients. How do they act? How do they interact? What’s the impression your patients come away with after talking with their (your!) representative? Maybe it’s time you gave it some thought, because if your patients are coming away with negative vibes, your practice could be in trouble.

Don’t take this lightly

While you’ve been busy taking care of your patients, spending time to keep up with the latest medical advances in your field, and doing the thousand-and-one-things it takes to be a great doctor, your answering service could be cutting you off at the knees. How? Simply by being rude, uninformed, and uninterested when your patients call. Since your patients assume the people answering the phone are part of your practice or office staff, it reflects badly on – you guessed it right, you! The buck stops right at your desk. So maybe it’s time to check on what’s going on out there in answering service land? That would be a wise course of action.

People hate complaining

Especially when it comes to their doctor. That doctor-patient relationship is as strong as it ever was. So, it’s quite possible your patients are having a bad experience but not bringing it to your attention – although you can be sure they’re telling their family and friends about it. In any case, it has the same effect. Your professionalism is taking a big hit, and you may not even be aware of it.

What can you do?

Let’s hope everything is fine, and your answering service is doing a super job. That would be great to know. But, let’s say they’re not doing the job they were hired to do. So, while that’s not great to know, it gives you a heads up to tackle to situation before it worsens or your reputation goes down the drain. How do you determine this? Just go right to the source – your patients.

Talk to them

And here’s the best thing: You don’t even have to get involved. Have a member of your staff handle it. The pretense? Your practice is always trying to improve, so you’d like to know if they’re happy with the way they’re being handled on the phone. No big deal. It’ll take only seconds, but the information you get could be very important on the way your practice is perceived by the people who mean the most – your patients!

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