Is Your Medical Answering Service Actually Improving Patient Satisfaction?

Many medical practices turn to a medical answering service to ensure a prompt response when patients call, reducing long hold times and callbacks. These services offer 24/7 accessibility, facilitating patient communication and ensuring compliance. Virtual assistants can increase show rates, appointment scheduling, and in-office productivity.

Or, at least, they should.

Unfortunately, there are instances when a medical answering service can negatively affect patient satisfaction and your practice’s reputation. They may speak robotically, without the empathy and caring essential in the medical field. They may rush through calls, anxious to get to the next one. They can misdirect calls, such as scheduling an appointment instead of directing the call to an on-call provider or a nurse triage service that assists with urgent healthcare matters.

A lot can go wrong when you place your trust in the wrong medical answering service. Here, we’ll explore how to make sure it goes right and what to look for when selecting this essential partner.

Understanding the Connection Between Communication and Patient Satisfaction

Studies show that patient-centered communication is associated with increased patient satisfaction, adherence to medical recommendations, and improved health status. Good communication also develops trust between a provider and their patient. Poor communication, on the other hand, is one of the leading causes of medical errors.

So, what entails good communication? It’s direct, timely, knowledgeable, and empathetic. Patients who can reach a live person 24/7 feel more at ease. By asking your medical answering service a few key questions, you’re ensured a much better experience, and so are your patients.

Essential Questions to Ask Your Medical Answering Service Provider

To ensure your medical answering service is providing the communication level and service your patients need and deserve, it’s essential to ask about the following metrics, reporting, and training.

Service Quality Metrics

These metrics measure the effectiveness of your medical answering service. While there are numerous service quality metrics associated with patient satisfaction in healthcare, some of the critical metrics include:

• Call Abandonment Rate: This indicator tells you how many patients hang up before speaking with your virtual assistant. While some sources suggest an abandonment rate of 5% or lower is expected in the healthcare field, ideally, every call should be answered promptly, resulting in a 0% abandonment rate.
• Average Speed to Answer: ASA measures how long it takes for a call agent to answer the phone. To improve the patient experience, this number should be as low as possible.
• Call Handling Time: This metric represents the length of a phone call. Virtual receptionists in healthcare must strike a balance between empathetic communication and efficient call handling. An extended call handling time may mean your virtual operator needs more training.

Performance Tracking and Reporting

Consider how your medical virtual receptionists are performing in areas like First Call Resolution. This metric represents the percentage of patients who received answers to their questions or resolved their issue on the first call. In the healthcare industry, a low FCR may indicate a lack of access, reduced attention, and rushed call handling. All of these factors translate to decreased patient satisfaction.

Reporting should include comprehensive call and message logs detailing the activity of each call. Appointment data includes new, canceled, and rescheduled appointments. Secure, HIPAA-compliant call recordings and transcripts, while essential to ensuring an optimized patient experience, must be safeguarded with encryption and access control.

Staff Training and Expertise

One of the most important aspects to consider is staff training and their expertise. Many call centers specialize in multiple industries. Because answering services are so vital to healthcare and the practices and patients that rely on them, it’s critical to work with a company focused on the medical field.

Staff training should include medical and specialty-specific terminology. Urgent call processing should also be a top priority. Training in HIPAA compliance and the specific protocols used in each practice should also be required.

Key Performance Indicators to Monitor

Key performance indicators (KPIs) indicate the quality of the patient experience, HIPAA compliance, and operational efficiency. Some of the essential KPIs to consider include:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Net Promoter scores indicate patient loyalty and how likely they are to recommend your practice to others.
• Patient Satisfaction Score (PSAT): Patient satisfaction in healthcare is one of the most important KPIs to consider. At notifyMD®, our patient outreach services include surveys requesting feedback on our virtual assistants and your overall medical practice’s performance. A low score warrants immediate attention.

Red Flags: Signs Your Answering Service May Be Hurting Patient Satisfaction

Making sure your medical answering service is a good match for you, your staff, and your patients is essential to ensure the service is positively impacting your practice and patients.

Fortunately, there are specific signs to look for that suggest your answering service may be reducing, instead of improving, patient satisfaction. The following represent the top red flags to be aware of:

• Missed and Short Calls: When you check your reports, do you notice most calls are taking only a few minutes or less? While scheduling an appointment for a current patient may only take minutes, urgent or complex situations require active listening and genuine empathy.
• Misdirected Calls: When virtual receptionists are unable to route calls effectively, they put your patients and practice at risk. In healthcare, urgent calls are not uncommon, and knowing when to direct calls to on-call providers or emergency rooms is essential.
• Extended Hold Times: Medical practitioners hire healthcare answering services to reduce hold times and calls sent to voicemail. If reports suggest an increase in either of these metrics, you are probably not partnering with the right medical answering service.

Best Practices for Maximizing Patient Satisfaction Through Your Answering Service

The best medical answering services maximize patient satisfaction measures by ensuring timely, accurate, and compassionate communications. They should also integrate with your EHR and EMR platforms. This integration ensures streamlined and knowledgeable communications, secure handling of patient information, and reduced administrative workloads.

Trust is an essential component of the doctor-patient relationship. In today’s environment, it’s critical to vet your third-party service providers and confirm they are HIPAA-compliant. Because of the increasing number of data breaches and ransomware attacks, over 80% of hospitals and health systems have adopted HITRUST as an industry standard. Ensure optimum data patient protection by looking for medical answering services that have earned HITRUST certification.

At notifyMD®, we are committed to providing your practice with well-trained virtual assistants who respond with empathy and become part of your valued team. We are also the first answering service to become HITRUST certified. To learn more about how we ensure patient satisfaction, contact notifyMD® today.