How are your staff members’ phone answering skills? Whether you’re confident in your team’s skills and are looking to grow or you know they need help, the right tools and training can help get you where you want to go. Learn how to help your practice excel at answering patient phone calls.
Stick to the Script
Without standards for answering patients’ calls, you’re leaving a lot to chance. Your staff members may be great communicators, but they can still make costly mistakes when fielding phone calls. A script is a good way to avoid these pitfalls. Here is an example of a great phone call flow.
First, educate your staff on telephone etiquette. Answer all inbound calls with a warm greeting and a thank you for calling your practice. From there, they should take down the caller’s name and ask how they can help the caller. For a jumpstart on a great patient experience, staff should speak clearly in an upbeat tone and use the caller’s name naturally throughout the conversation.
Next, make sure your team is well-versed in your services. Many patients need help figuring out what they need. This is where your team can explain your services and present your practice as helpful and professional.
From here, your staff can close the deal and schedule the patient’s appointment or procedure. After the appointment is on the calendar, have the staff ask the patient if he or she has any outstanding questions they can help answer. Once your staff has answered all questions and confirmed the appointment time with the patient, have them thank the patient by name for choosing your practice.
Keep HIPAA Protocol in Mind on the Phone
From accidental HIPAA violations during phone calls1 to missed opportunities to offer services, mistakes are inevitable when your staff makes it up as they go on the phone.
One of the quickest ways to lose a patient is to commit a HIPAA violation. For instance, if an adult patient’s family members call about their care, your staff needs to know what they can and cannot say and what the patient has given consent to share. Make sure your staff knows proper HIPAA protocol.
Answer Promptly
Missed phone calls, long holds, and waiting for someone to answer the phone are major turn-offs for your patients. Without ever having the chance to talk to them, you could lose new patients just because you didn’t have protocols in place to ensure a seamless, convenient experience.
Your phone line is the first point of contact patients have with your practice. Many people simply avoid dentist offices, and most are looking for any excuse not to schedule an appointment. Any fumble in the over-the-phone experience can give them that excuse.
Make sure your team is answering patient phone calls as quickly as possible and confident in their ability to efficiently and knowledgeably navigate these calls. Try calling your front office with a random phone number to test your practice’s over-the-phone experience. This can give you a great idea of your potential patients’ first impressions and where your team needs improvement.
Get the Tools You Need
Maintaining a smooth patient experience on your phone line can be hard to do if you are receiving more calls than you can take or have a long list of patients to call with appointment reminders.
Fortunately, you can streamline this process and allow your front office to focus on taking care of patients with communication tools, like our Voicemail Drops and 2-Way Communication. You can prerecord messages like appointment reminders and deliver ringless voice messages to patients’ voicemail boxes. This has two major benefits:
- Convenience. Patients can listen to the message at their leisure, and there’s no risk of disturbing their daily routine.
- Efficiency. Your staff members can make or answer more calls. Taking back those valuable minutes can save you time and money.
Take Control of Your Patient Experience
Dental Intelligence has the tools and expertise to help you intelligently shape the future of your practice, avoid missed phone calls, and improve communication. Let us help your practice put its best foot forward by answering patient phone calls and showing patients you care. Schedule a demo today!
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