Key Takeaways
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Too many transfers frustrate callers and cause staff to handle the same issue twice.
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Phone tag delays care, slows billing, and pulls staff away from in-office patients.
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Long hold times diminish patient trust and can push them to other practices.
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Voicemail backlogs increase when messages are hard to review and share.
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Fragmented communication tools create delays, missed messages, and burnout.
Ring. Hold. Transfer. Hold. Voicemail. Repeat. Does that sound like a typical day at your medical practice? If so, your phone setup might be creating more work than necessary.
It’s not unusual, of course, for practices to deal with at least one hundred calls daily. However, if any of these five signs sound familiar, it may be time to make a change.
#1: Calls Get Passed Around Too Much
An occasional call transfer isn’t out of the ordinary, especially for larger healthcare practices. But when patients have to wait on hold longer, they typically get increasingly frustrated.
The Problem
Callers have to repeat themselves, and many end up waiting to speak to the most appropriate member of your practice staff. Long waits and repeated transfers can frustrate patients and lead them to abandon the call.
The Solution
Ensure calls are routed to the right staff member the first time. RingRx’s built-in phone tree and Call Routing tools enable you to separate new patient calls from established ones and distribute them to the right department or team member before anyone picks up. That means fewer transfers, shorter waits, and a lower number of hang-ups.
#2: You Play an Endless Game of Phone Tag
Phone tag occurs when your office and a patient keep missing each other. It’s frustrating for both sides and wastes valuable time.
The Problem
A simple patient question turns into a multi-call free-for-all. Repeated callbacks take staff away from other tasks. Patients lose patience when they cannot reach the practice or get an answer.
The Solution
Provide patients with another way to get an answer. With HIPAA-compliant texting from RingRx, staff can confirm appointments, send reminders, and complete other routine administrative tasks without another round of voicemails. Our mobile app also lets calls follow staff when they’re away from their desks, so fewer patient inquiries go unanswered in the first place.
#3: Patients Wait Too Long on Hold
Americans spend 37 billion hours annually waiting in line. Patients don’t want to add time spent on hold with their healthcare provider to that total.
The Problem
Lengthy hold times lower patient trust. Greater telephone wait times are associated with lower patient perceptions of their ability to obtain urgent care promptly. Some calls get dropped or misrouted, and staff rush through conversations to catch up.
The Solution
RingRx call queues route calls to available staff. A queue dashboard tracks activity and provides alarms when maximum wait-time or caller-count thresholds are exceeded, helping administrators identify backlogs and respond. Along with call scripts, this helps staff handle routine questions more quickly.
#4: Your Voicemail Inbox Always Has a Backlog
Voicemail is appropriate for appointment rescheduling or cancellation requests, general billing or insurance questions, requests for records or documentation, and non-urgent prescription refill requests that can wait for the next business day. It can also be used for general practice questions, such as hours or location.
The Problem
The messages patients leave often require staff to replay them, record the details, and pass the request to the right team member.
The Solution
Make voicemail quicker to deal with. Keep your greeting between 10 and 30 seconds, and include your practice name, hours, and the best way to reach you. Point callers toward routine requests like rescheduling, billing questions, records, and non-urgent refills. RingRx’s HIPAA-compliant voicemail includes automatic transcription (Grow and Clinic plans), and our voicemail-to-email notifications let your staff know right away when a new message is in the secure message portal.
#5: Your Fragmented Communication Channels Cause Confusion
Healthcare systems work with an average of more than 11 digital vendors to communicate with patients. That leads to unnecessary confusion for your practice and its patients.
The Problem
Every communication channel your practice employs typically isn’t part of the same system, so your staff has to switch between screens to piece together a patient’s story. Information doesn’t get shared quickly, and delays accrue, leading to administrative task burnout.
The Solution
Use a phone system that has all your communication channels in one place. RingRx combines calling, texting, HIPAA-compliant fax, and video (currently in beta) in a single cloud-based platform. A standard business associate agreement (BAA) is available on all plans.
Give Your Practice Staff Time Back with RingRx
RingRx is a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone system built for healthcare. Calling, texting, fax, and video (currently in beta) are combined in a single platform to help staff manage patient communications.
Are you ready to see how much work your phones can save for you and your practice staff? Start your free 14-day trial today.
Additional resources for optimizing your RingRx phone system include:
