No family is immune to the ravages of alcohol abuse and drug addiction. And if you run an answering service with addiction medicine or rehab centers on your client roster, then you and your customer service representatives know just how challenging it can be to cater to this ballooning population. While the ideal call center scenario for a drug or alcohol abuse hotline would be one with specially-trained staff and medical personnel manning the phones, the majority of call centers cannot boast this level of expertise. So, how can your answering service be a viable option for drug and alcohol treatment centers? We’ll take you through a 4-point plan with the tools you need to succeed.

#1. When it comes to manning an addiction hotline, empathy is everything.

If you teach your call center staff nothing else, be sure that empathy is at the forefront of their classroom training. Whether you receive calls from concerned family members and friends of people suffering from the disease of addiction, or you are speaking directly with someone who may be ready to check themselves into rehab, your listening skills and compassion have to be second to none. If an addict does not feel that you are truly ready and able to assist them, they won’t stay on the line long enough to wait for you to transfer them to the rehab’s on-call staff. A CSR’s phone etiquette may just be the make-it-or-break-it moment for an addict on the fence. So, help them to refine it and create an atmosphere of support and sensitivity.

#2. A well-planned and well-written call script will account for every type of call and will offer appropriate phrasing to navigate challenging situations.

Answering services that offer scripted, personalized call handling gives you the ability to write empathy and compassion directly into the CSRs’ dialogue. Phrases such as, “We are here to help,” “It’s good that you called in today,” “We will certainly get you the information you need,” and “Let me connect you with one of our experienced counselors,” are all strong transitions that will steer the conversation down the right road.

In addition, it’s important to ensure that the script is clearly laid out and starts off with an opening question that will lead to a specific path. Something along the lines of, “Hello, my name is James. Are you calling for drug and alcohol treatment?” would work. The path to follow might be labeled “Yes – Calling for Treatment.” Continue by asking if the individual is calling for themselves or someone else, and probe further by checking to see if this is a life-threatening emergency, and if the caller is experiencing suicidal ideation. Anything that helps the CSR quickly choose the best path and get the caller transferred to an on-call counselor or an emergency helpline, or easily answer questions, is ideal.

Below we’ve included some sample answering service scripts for drug addiction centers. Feel free to use any of them as inspiration when setting up your own call handling:

• Script Sample 1: This script sample offers pretty straightforward call handling. We are asking the caller if they are having an emergency or not, but gathering the same information and submitting the call to the same person no matter the answer.
• Script Sample 2: This script sample is a bit more involved. After determining if the caller is having an emergency, we ask if they would like for us to contact the on-call employee or just send a routine message. Here we can either go out to the rotating on-call schedule to reach out, or we can just send a standard message. If the caller is not having an emergency we are just gathering information as normal and sending an email through.
• Script Sample 3: This script sample is the most complex of the three as there are multiple calls paths to choose from. The caller could be calling to check in for treatment, they could have questions about the program, or they could be calling to speak with someone specific from the residential facility. Each path has us gathering the same information, but if the caller is calling to check in or if they have questions, we are attempting to transfer the caller. If they want to speak to someone specific we are just sending a message through.

#3. Advanced study of the call script is necessary to maintain call flow and effortless communication.

In most call centers, customer service representatives may never see a script until the first time it pops on their screen with a pending call. While that is fine for straightforward accounts where a simple message is all that is needed, that approach can be detrimental when fielding inbound calls for an account where a certain level of finesse is essential to proper call handling. For medical offices, treatment centers, counseling offices, and the like, taking the time to talk through the script and role play difficult scenarios, such as a caller who is crying or mentions self-harm, will go a long way to ensuring that CSRs are prepared for any situation, know exactly which call path to take, and complete the interaction with the utmost professionalism and care.

#4. Include several key pieces of information in the account’s FAQs, and organize them into categories for faster response time.

When your ability to quickly answer callers’ questions is as strong as your ability to empathize with their concerns, it will improve call quality and lend itself to the impression that operators work directly for the treatment center. That is why a strong Frequently Asked Questions section should be a point of focus during initial account programming. Nearly every FAQs section includes typical details, such as the type of account, the business address, website, etc. This will need to be amplified with questions about the facility and programs offered. For example, consider adding information regarding accepted insurance plans, the counselor-to-patient ratio, types of therapies offered, inpatient accommodations and lengths of stay, outpatient treatment programs, and crisis hotline numbers.

Answering calls for any addiction treatment center will present its own set of challenges, and this is one type of account that may prove to be emotionally draining for call center staff. But there is nothing that thorough scripting and comprehensive training cannot overcome. In a perfect world, no one would need drug and alcohol rehab. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world; however, as call center professionals, we can do our part to take what is likely an incredibly uncomfortable experience for the caller and turn it into a positive first step down the road to recovery.

The post 4 Tips to Setting up An Answering Service for a Drug Addiction or Recovery Hotline appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

Below we’ve outlined common call handling scenarios and broke them down into both good and bad practices so you know what to implement for your own answering service, and what to steer clear of.

#1. A Driving Initial Greeting

Good Practice: If you’re outsourcing, a good call handling practice is to ask a driving question up front to help steer the call. While asking “how may I help you?” would work in a regular office, it opens up a window for callers to start rambling.

A better approach is to ask a question like “are you calling to schedule an appointment?” or “is this an emergency?” so that your virtual receptionists can maintain control over the call. In addition, this approach also works to eliminate any excess talk time, which could eventually burn right through your wallet.

Bad Practice: Aside from asking a general “how may I help you?” to open the call, adding a lengthy, complicated greeting is also a recipe for disaster. For example: “Hello and thank you for calling the pediatric dental office of Dr. Lugiewicz, where we strive to make your child smile. How may I help you today?” is definitely something your answering service should not be saying.

If your service is strictly answering calls for your office only, then it may be fine to have them use that greeting. However, in most cases answering services answer for many different businesses, so they probably don’t have the time to perfect your greeting specifically. Not to mention it will also sound uber unprofessional when it inevitably gets botched.

Pro tip: If you do want your answering service to say a custom greeting, see if your service can add a custom recording that would play each time someone calls. That way you can eliminate the room for error and still make sure your callers know they have reached the right place. 

#2. Multiple Call Paths

Good Practice: Another good call handling practice is to screen callers to see why they are calling, and handle accordingly. For example, existing patients may become frustrated if they have to provide the same information over and over again each time they call, like their date of birth, their insurance, their address, how they heard about you, etc.

Now, while a patient’s address or insurance may change from visit to visit, a good practice would just be to ask “has your address or insurance changed since the last time you’ve been here?” instead of asking “what is your address?” and “what is your insurance?” That way the caller can either reply “yes” or “no” and if “yes”, they can then proceed to provide their new information.

Bad Practice: Asking every single caller the exact same information is a surefire way to tick off your patients, especially if they’re having an emergency. Imagine if an OBGYN practice asked a woman in labor what her insurance is and how she heard about the practice when a baby is literally drop kicking it’s way out. You’d have one unhappy woman on your hands and probably some not so great reviews to deal with.

Having multiple call paths for your operators to choose from is the key to make everyone happy. Not only does it make for a better call experience for the patient, but it also makes it easier for the office staff to prioritize messages and return calls accordingly.

#3. Add FAQs

Good Practice: If your answering service isn’t able to answer basic questions, they’ll wind up spending more time taking messages, which means more time you have to spend calling people back. While all accounts should be programmed with basic FAQs, it’s good practice to include other frequently asked questions that are sure to come up. For example, you’d probably want to include things like:

• Insurance information: Do you accept insurance? What insurance do you accept? Can patients pay out of pocket?
• Key contacts: Who are the doctors at your practice? If your business name is similar to other medical offices, callers may be confused and may ask if they are calling Dr. Smith’s office.
• Location: Many medical offices have multiple locations, which would be important to include within your FAQs. It’s also helpful to add in recognizable landmarks surrounding your practice just in case callers are lost and need help finding your building.
• Services: Depending on the type of medical practice you run, you may offer different services. For example, a mental health clinic may offer counseling services, massage therapy services, hypnotherapy services, etc.

Bad Practice: Not adding any FAQs to your account is definitely a good way to set the operators, and your business, up for failure. Many times people call just to ask questions, so imagine how frustrating it would be to your callers when they can’t find their answer online, and they can’t get an answer from your business, either. A good answering service experience will leave the caller feeling like they got something accomplished.

Pro tip: Adding too many FAQs is also bad practice. While you want the operators to be able to answer questions, there are some things that are better left unsaid. At least, they’re better left unsaid by your answering service. So, make like Goldilocks and find the perfect balance.

#4. Take Advantage of Appointment Scheduling

Good Practice: You may be using an answering service to help schedule appointments. A good practice for scheduling appointments is to use a user-friendly scheduling platform that the virtual receptionists will have no problem accessing or scheduling on. Whether the software is accessed via your website, or it’s a shared platform like Google Calendar, the easier it is to use, the less problems you’ll encounter.

Pro tip: If your practice has multiple  locations, you’ll want to set up calendars for each to avoid double booking. If you’re using your own calendar, you should implement a type of drop down that will allow the operators to select different locations.

Bad Practice: Most people are calling their doctors office to schedule an appointment. So, if you have a web based scheduling system and are not giving the answering service access to it, you’ll end up with angry patients. It can be very frustrating for a patient to take the time to call your office, only to be told they have to leave their information for a call back.

It also creates more work on your side, when you or your office staff have to call these people back to schedule them yourselves. Most answering services are capable of scheduling, so make your callers happy and take advantage of those features!

#5. Setup Emergency Dispatching

Good Practice: If you run a medical practice, you’ll definitely be receiving phone calls for emergencies. Whether little Timmy fell down the well and broke his arm, or little Suzie is breaking out in hives from eating too many cookies, there’s no telling what could come up. But, as a medical provider, you have to be prepared for it all, which means your answering service also needs to be prepared.

Setting up an on-call system is definitely a must. Often times patients or parents of patients will look for guidance from your office first before jumping the gun and going right to the emergency room. Something your callers could think is the worst of the worst may not be that bad, or they may put something really bad off when it actually should be dealt with right away. However, without a doctor to speak to after hours, they may not know! Your on-call system should be easy and straight forward so that your callers can be helped as soon as possible.

Bad Practice: For starters, not having an emergency dispatch protocol is the worst of all the bad practices fathomable. I don’t know how many times I’ve called my doctor after hours with questions or concerns and been left hanging (the answer is zero times, because my doctor knows the deal).

Assuming you do have an emergency protocol, don’t make it complicated. Complicated procedures lead to mistakes, mistakes lead to people not being taken care of, and people not being taken care of leads to no more business for you. So, set up a simple on-call procedure that is straightforward and everyone will be a-okay.

The post 5 Easy Ways Medical Offices Can Improve Their Answering Service appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

Since answering services are considered to be business associates, they adhere to all guidelines outlined by HIPAA as they would have access to your patients’ private health information (PHI). For example, if your patient calls your number that is forwarded to the answering service and the receptionist jots down their name and medical issue – that’s PHI. A business associate would include any person or company that produces, receives, communicates or maintains PHI on behalf of a covered entity, like a health care provider.

If your answering service says they are 100% HIPAA compliant, then there are some things they shouldn’t be doing, as well as some things that they should be doing. We’ve listed both sets of points below.

5 Things Your Answering Service Should Never Do:

To maintain HIPAA compliance, there are 5 things a HIPAA compliant answering service should never do. If you experience any of the below, then you’re in danger of being able to answer the question ‘How your answering service can get you fined by HIPAA.’

#1: Your Answering Service Shouldn’t be Texting Protected Health Information

If your answering service is texting you protected health information, they could be violating HIPAA regulations. Unless your business is not governed by HIPAA, you need to make sure that all patient information stays protected. While cell phones may have passwords, they can easily be stolen or hacked into, thus revealing patient information that would no longer be protected.

If you are receiving texts from your answering service, they should either be encrypted, or they should simply be alerting you of a new message, devoid of any PHI. At which point you should be able to log into a secure web portal or a secure mobile app to access those messages. If your answering service does not have a web portal or a mobile app, usually you would be able to call them back to retrieve the information verbally.

An easy way to encrypt your text messages would be download the app called Signal, which is available for both iPhone and Androids. However, in order for you to maintain encryption and security, both parties would have to have the app. So, this may be difficult if you’re working with a third party like an answering service.

Pro tip: While you may get written consent from a few patients to disclose PHI via text between yourself and the service, you may not get it from others. So, you’d have to see if your answering service has the capability to distinguish between those messages. Otherwise, they’d all have to be sent in a uniform format. 

#2: Your Answering Service Shouldn’t be Emailing Protected Health Information

In addition to texting, answering services should not be emailing any protected health information either. So, if your answering service is emailing you, the message should either be encrypted or it should just have a standard alert which instructs you to log into your secure portal to view the information (or to call back for further details). If the patient has given written consent that information can be sent via email from the service to your practice without being encrypted, you’ll want to check with your service to see if emails for those specific patients can be customized accordingly. Otherwise, they’ll also have to be sent in a uniform format.

Similarly, this also goes for your answering service’s customer support department. Sometimes, if calls get escalated or if customer service needs to intervene, they may send a follow up email that contains the caller’s information. However, this could also be considered a HIPAA violation. A good support team will direct you to your online portal to view the details of the call.

The only way to really ensure that your emails are protected would be to have them encrypted. Some standard encryption methods are:

• Transport Layer Security: TLS encryption is composed of two layers; the TLS Record Protocol and the TLS Handshake Protocol. The Record Protocol provides a safe and secure connection, while the Handshake Protocol allows both users to verify each other and to agree to a specific encrypted system before any data is passed through.
• Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions: S/MIME encryption is a method of encryption that uses two types of keys, both private and public, which provides a specific function to protect your data. In addition, it allows you to add a digital signature to your emails which would verify  you as the legitimate sender.

#3: Your Answering Service Shouldn’t be Paging Protected Health Information

Like texting and emailing, sending PHI to an alpha pager would also be considered a HIPAA violation. Since the information that is passed through to the pager is not encrypted, the data is not safe. In addition, alpha pagers are not protected by any sort of password, like a cell phone could be. So, if you happen to set your alpha pager down somewhere outside of your own office, there is a chance it could be stolen and the messages on it would be susceptible for anyone to see.

While sending messages via alpha pager is a no-go, there are some HIPAA compliant pagers on the market which would be appropriate to use. However, as paging is no longer a common form of communication, your coverage area may be limited.

#4: Your Answering Service Shouldn’t be Leaving Protected Health Information on a Voicemail

If you’re having your answering service reach out for urgent situations, there is room for HIPAA violation here as well. If your answering service does not reach you, they should either leave no message, or at the very most they should leave a call back number so you can contact them back to retrieve the information. If your answering service is leaving patient information on your voicemail, they are violating HIPAA.

Essentially, your answering service should not be leaving PHI on any sort of device that is susceptible to data breaches, whether it be as a text, email, page, or voicemail. Ironically, though, sending patient information via fax is considered to be HIPAA compliant.

Pro tip: Similarly to emailing and texting, you may be able to leave PHI on a voicemail if the patient consents. Again, this information would be passed between the answering service and the physician, and the patient would not be involved. If they are okay with this transaction of information, you’d have to check with your service to see if they can customize protocols accordingly. 

#5: Your Answering Service Shouldn’t be Giving out Medical Advice

While this one isn’t necessarily a violation under HIPAA, it is still a huge liabilty for any medical provider. Under no circumstances should your answering service be giving out medical advice to patients, as they would be doing it on behalf of a trained physician but with no real consent from the doctor to do so.

For example, it would be fine for one person to give another person advice to take Aspirin if they had a headache, but not as an entity that is talking to patients on behalf of a medical provider. This is because the patient could later come back and say that “Joe from the answering service advised me to take this” even though that person didn’t have any background knowledge of the patient’s health history.

Really, the only medical advice your answering service should be giving is to call 911 if it’s a true medical emergency. Otherwise, they should inform the caller that they cannot give advice since they are the answering service, but that they can take down their information to have their call returned by a licensed medical physician.

5 Things Your Answering Service Should Always Do:

While there are several things that your answering service shouldn’t be doing in terms of HIPAA, there are also a handful of things that your answering service should be doing to keep your patients’ information safe. For example:

#1: Your Answering Service Should be Secure

Ensuring that your answering service is secure is very important to maintain the privacy of your patients.

Having a secure call center is more than just having secure systems and software. This also means that the operators handling your calls should be in paperless environments so that they cannot write any information down, and they should also be free of their cell phones while at their computers. This eliminates the chance of them texting or taking pictures of private health information.

#2: Your Answering Service Should Have HIPAA Training

Your answering service should have at least one HIPAA Compliancy Officer on site that is available to train all of the agents handling your calls on current HIPAA regulations. While the agents may not need an extensive 6 week course on HIPAA, they need to at least know the basics so that they can handle your calls properly.

Additionally, your answering service’s HIPAA Compliancy Officer should be kept up to date on all HIPAA regulations via training seminars and be able to provide periodic training to the operators so that they can be kept up to date as well.

#3: Your Answering Service Should Have Procedures in Place for Data Breaches

In the event that data is breached, your answering service should have a plan in place and they should be as transparent as possible with their customers. For example, if one or all of their systems gets hacked into, the first thing they should do is have their IT team shut everything down so that no further access can be made into the system except for them. Then, they should try to determine what information was stolen, if any.

From there, they should send out correspondence to all of their customers that it affected letting them know of the breach, what information was or could have been stolen, and ways to go about protecting their information from here on out. For example, allowing your customers to purchase identity protection on your dime for a certain time frame after the incident occurred (e.g.,  6 months to a year) is a great way to say that you’re sorry. While it doesn’t fix what happened, it’s a step in the right direction and may encourage your customers to stay customers.

#4: Your Answering Service Should Enter into a Business Associates Agreement with Your Practice

An important step of partnering with an answering service is to enter into a Business Associates Agreement (also known as a BAA) so that you can disclose protected health information (PHI) securely under HIPAA. Once the contract is signed, you are then able to disclose PHI with your answering service safely.

However, if your practice is not protected under a BAA and your answering service happens to violate HIPAA, your medical practice could be held liable and face up to a million dollars per violation. So, imagine if you get 10 calls in one night, and each one incurred a violation, you’d be facing up to 10 million dollars in fines and a severely damaged reputation.

#5: Your Answering Service Should Have a Secure Means of Retrieving Your Messages

As stated briefly above, your answering service should give you a secure method to retrieve your messages. Typically, services will give you access to a secure online portal and/or a secure mobile app that you would have to log into to retrieve message details. In some cases, you may even be able to add other users that would be able to log into the portal as well in the event you are not in or if there are several physicians that should be receiving the messages as well.

If your answering service does not offer an online portal or a mobile app, then usually you would be able to call them  back to retrieve the messages verbally. However, keep in mind that this may be considered billable usage on your line so it’s important to confirm those details prior to signing up, in case that will not work for you and your practice.

The post The Top 5 Ways Your Answering Service May Be Violating HIPAA. appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

Once you’ve made the decision to outsource phone support to an answering service, the next thing you have to decide is how you want the service to handle your calls. Obviously, call center representatives aren’t going to know the ins and outs of your practice. However, there are many ways to give the people answering your line a better feel for what it is that you do and the type of assistance your callers will require.

While answering services may not be able to see patients for you, what they can do is screen calls and schedule appointments, and in some cases, push the information they gather from your callers directly into your CRM software. There’s a lot to consider before you take the plunge, so take a look at the tips and tricks below, and you’ll be well on your way to getting the most out of your call center!

1. HIPAA Compliance: This is a must anytime Protected Health Information is changing hands.
2. Scheduling Appointments: We’ve included a few key points on the calls that drive your practice.
3. Emergency Calls: When time is of the essence, flawless programming is of the utmost importance.
4. Prescription Refills: Some refills just can’t wait and may warrant separate call handling.
5. The Right FAQs: While operators can’t give out medical advice, they can certainly address general questions.
6. Customer Relationship Management & Other Integrations: CRM and other software integrations will give your staff more time to focus on in-office patients who need your undivided attention.
7. Hospital & Consult Calls: Depending on the nature of the practice, consult calls may be considered emergencies.
8. Specific People: When people ask for doctors and staff directly, this ensures that the operators know who they are.
9. Overflow & After-Hours: In many cases, call handling will be different based on your business hours.
10. Download the Mobile App: Find out how technology can keep you informed and on time.
11. Stick to the Basics: Common call types and straightforward scripts make life easier for operators and callers alike.
12. Repeat Callers: Even the most fine-tuned practice can let return calls fall by the wayside. Be prepared for repeats.
13. Triaging Techniques: Use pointed questions or an IVR recording to filter out priority calls.
14. Look for a Free Trial: Don’t rely on anyone else’s opinion. Do your research, make use of the trial period, and choose the service that’s right for you.

HIPAA Compliance

First things first. Any kind of medical practice, or any office where Protected Health Information (PHI) is changing hands, is going to need a HIPAA compliant answering service. Data privacy for covered entities is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, so you’ll want to make sure that the service you choose is up to speed.

1. Patient information cannot be transmitted via text or email; however, those message delivery methods are still viable, adhering to the following:

• A generic text or email that states something along the lines of, “You have a new message. Please dial your forward number for more information.” This may require specific programming or software that will enable you to customize the outbound message.
• PHI must not be included.

2. Fax remains HIPAA compliant, so that is another option for message delivery.

3. Some services may give you access to an online portal where you’ll be able to view all of your messages and listen to call recordings in a secure environment.

4. If you have requested text notification, you may want to delegate internally who will be receiving what. For example, urgent messages might be sent to the on-call physician, while general messages could be addressed by an office manager.

Scheduling Appointments

The majority of people who call a doctor’s office will probably want to schedule, cancel, or reschedule an appointment, and hiring an answering service that has the ability to manage your calendar will take a lot off your plate. While you’ll have to do your research on which scheduling platform integrations are available with prospective call centers, in most cases, your service will be able to book appointments directly on your website, integrate with Google Calendar, or use proprietary scheduling software.

Typically, if a service is HIPAA compliant, operators should not be able to view or edit previously scheduled appointments, so cancellation and reschedule requests will need to be handled outside of the calendar. You may want operators to take a message for those calls. For same-day cancellations, it might be beneficial to transfer callers to you during business hours to avoid unnecessary prep for a no-show appointment.

Appointment Setting 101

Consider these questions when you’re establishing appointment setting parameters.

• What days and times can appointments be scheduled?
• Can operators schedule more than one patient per time slot?
• What is the duration of each appointment, or do you offer services of varying lengths?
• Should your lunch hour be blocked out?
• Do you offer evening or weekend appointments?
• Do you have multiple practice locations, but all intake calls are directed to the same line?

Also, try to think of every possible scenario so that the scripting makes sense.

• If you have a different protocol for new patients as opposed to existing patients, you’ll want to address proper scripting. For example, existing patients may only need to provide their name and number for a quick look up in your system, whereas if a new patient calls, you may need to ask for their insurance information, address, referral source, date of birth, etc.
• If your practice sees children, or if caregivers frequently call in lieu of patients (e.g., elder care, hospice, etc.), perhaps you should have your service set up a screening question to ask if the caller is the patient or if they’re calling on behalf of the patient.
• If you only accept certain medical plans, it would help to ask upfront if the patient will be using insurance to avoid scheduling self-pay appointments that the patient cannot afford.
• If you have several doctors in your practice, or if certain doctors are not accepting new patients, operators should inquire as to which doctor the patient would like to see, and each practitioner should have their own calendar.
• Emergency appointments may be best scheduled by your office staff rather than the call center, as operators will not be able to “tweak” availability or move things around to accommodate an urgent need.

Emergency Calls

In addition to scheduling appointments, another call type that you can be sure you’ll receive is emergencies. Unless you have an ironclad immune system or ridiculously good luck, you’ve likely been sick at some point. When you don’t feel well, sometimes you just want to talk to your doctor. If it is after hours or no one is available, you may be left telling your story to a message machine. And with busy practices, who knows when that message will be picked up? Having a live operator field emergency calls rather than pushing everyone to voicemail gives patients a sense of relief.

Emergency Scripting Considerations

• Adding screening questions will help ensure that only true medical emergencies are being handled right away. For example, the operator could open with, “Are you calling regarding an emergency?” And a secondary question could be asked such as, “Can this wait until business hours, or do you need to speak with the doctor urgently?”
• Most services have some sort of ER system in place. Before signing up with a call center, it’s of the utmost importance that you decide on the appropriate protocol for calls that warrant immediate attention. For example, your account can be programmed to transfer emergency calls directly to the on-call practitioner.

Emergency Message Notification

If calls are to be transferred, determine which hours operators should connect calls to you vs. sending a message.

If there is a reach on-call, you may want to find out if you are able to call in to the service and have them patch you through to the patient so that you can protect your own privacy.

You may use any combination of emergency notification such as:

• Warm Transferring Calls – the operator will remain on the line with the caller and give you the opportunity to accept or decline the call. If the call is declined, the operator returns to the caller and continues with information gathering or closes the call.
• Reaching On-Call Staff – after the caller disconnects, the operator will dial through your on-call staff list as many times as you would like. Note that voicemail messages including patient information are not HIPAA compliant. Instead, the operator can leave a message such as, “This is your answering service. You have a new urgent call. Please dial your forward number for assistance.”
• Texting – for a HIPAA compliant text message, the message itself cannot include patient information.
• Emailing – this is compliant, as long as the email does not include patient information.
• Paging – this is compliant, as long as the page is numeric only, as opposed to alpha-numeric.
• Faxing

Prescription Refills

While prescription refill calls are generally not urgent, there are times when a refill request cannot wait. For this call type, you’ll want to add a screening question – perhaps something along the lines of, “Have you already run out?” or, “Are you about to run out?” If the patient has already run out, and it is critical that they re-up, these calls could result in some sort of transfer or urgent text. If the patient still has some time before they run out, your service could give the caller the option to call back during normal business hours or leave their information and have the office follow up with them on the next business day. Patients can also be referred to their pharmacy, as pharmacists can often submit electronic refill requests on the patient’s behalf.

The Right FAQs

Though FAQs aren’t really part of your “call handling,” they do help out the operators substantially. You don’t want to overload them with information regarding your practice, but they should be able to answer basic questions and have a few details on the more common questions that your callers ask. For example, your FAQs could include the following:

• Your location
• Your business hours
• The office phone and/or fax number
• What insurance plans you accept
• Can a patient pay out-of-pocket? If so what are the prices?
• What services do you provide? Is it a standard family practice, or do you specialize in anything in particular?
• List the names of all the doctors in the practice
• Is there an email address where callers can send general inquiries?
• Is there a website?
• Do you have a cancellation policy?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) & Other Integrations

We can all agree that perhaps the most annoying aspect of your first appointment with a new doctor is the time spent filling out a seemingly endless clipboard of paperwork. Perhaps even more annoying than filling it out is the job of the individuals who have to enter every piece of data into the office’s CRM system. Tedious, right? While an answering service can’t do all of your work for you, the right service can be a huge asset to any medical office’s front desk team by asking essential information in that first phone call and sending the details to your records system.

• A Medical Answering Service with CRM integrations are a huge time-saver. By pushing each caller’s data directly to your database, you’ll have the information at your fingertips. Sure, you’ll still have work to do – but less time spent filling up your database is more time spent ensuring that your patients have the best possible in-office experience.
• Calendar integrations eliminate the need for you to book appointments on your own. (See the section on Scheduling Appointments).
• With an email integration, your service may be able to send out new patient paperwork that can be completed prior to the office visit. Alternately, they can push data into your outbound mail system, e.g., MailChimp or Constant Contact, so that you can email important documents in one click.

Hospital Calls or Consult Calls from Other Medical Professionals

Does your office receive calls from neighboring hospitals, practices, or home care services that may be treating your patients? If so, consider how these calls should be handled when they reach the service. Some information that may be helpful to you would be:

• Name of the medical facility they are calling from
• Caller’s name and/or Doctor’s name
• Call back number
• Patient’s name
• Patient’s date of birth
• Location of the patient (if admitted, floor and room number)
• What the call is regarding

Depending on the facility, issue (e.g., an emergency consult), or time of day, a message alone may not be suitable. You may want certain calls transferred to the office during business hours, and for after-hours calls, a reach on-call protocol may be necessary.

Specific People

Sometimes, callers will ask to speak directly with a doctor or staff member. While you may not be available to speak with them, you’ll still want them to know that their call is important to you, and you will be in touch with them as soon as you are available. A Specific Person path really comes in handy, especially if you have a number of practitioners and support staff in your practice. Generally, your script would be programmed with a drop-down list of all the individuals that may be requested along with a small identifier next to each name. For example, whom did the caller ask to speak with?

• Dr. Jones (Neurologist)
• Dr. Smith (Physical Therapist)
• Dr. Richardson (Counselor)
• Ms. Williams (Office Manager)

This way, if someone calls and asks to speak with the office manager but doesn’t give a name, the operator will be able to look at this list and see that Ms. Williams is the office manager. If it is important to you to have your answering service seem like your actual office, this minor tidbit of information could create that feel.

Overflow & After-Hours

Even if you are fully-staffed during business hours, chances are good that you’ll miss a few calls. And no matter what office you run, there will always be someone who tries to reach you after-hours. If you’ve ever called your doctor’s office, only to be met with a super annoying voicemail system instead of a live operator , then from a patient’s perspective, you can see the value in using a service for overflow and after-hours calls. The value for your personnel is that they don’t have to waste precious minutes listening to voicemail. Messages have already been taken and are available for review, so you can immediately begin returning calls and getting patients the assistance they need.

• Typically, services will allow you to set up some sort of business hours/after-hours handling. During your open hours, the operators will have one set of instructions, and after hours, they’ll use a different script.
• If the practice is open and calls are set to roll over to the service when no one is available, operators can let your patients know that due to a high volume of calls, they are taking messages on the office’s behalf. If callers are leery about leaving a message, you may also give them the option to try back later.
• After hours, operators can let your patients know that the office is closed, but they would be happy to take a message and have the call returned when the office re-opens. Or, if it’s an emergency, the script can be built with a reach on-call step to get in touch with the on-call staff.

Download the Mobile App

As technology continues to evolve, people and businesses are forced to evolve with it. Many answering services now offer a mobile app that you can download to retrieve your messages. Having this feature available to someone who can’t sit idly by a computer is a must in patient care industries. If you’re out and receive an urgent message, you can log in to your mobile app, view the details of the call, and possibly even listen to it, if your answering service offers call recording.

• For offices with rotating on-call staff, or in cases where callers request a specific person, your call center may be able to provide a unique login ID for each of your staff members.
• Permissions may be set to provide complete access to all calls, or partial access, where only calls that pertain to the particular individual may be seen.

Stick to the Basics

When you start using an answering service, your first reaction is often to overload the operators with information about your practice, and hope for the best. Would that same approach work for a new in-house receptionist who is just learning the ropes? Not likely. So, while it is important that you provide the service with key FAQs such as address, hours, and a description of what you do, callers and operators alike will have more successful interactions if you stick to the basics. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Providing too many options for the operator can be overwhelming and may result in mishandled calls. Remember that your call center is there to lend a helping hand, not to run your business for you.
• Keep in mind that while your service may answer for 100 doctors’ offices, no two accounts are the same. Thus, what works for one account may not necessarily be appropriate for another.
• It’s always a good idea to have an All Other Calls path in your script. If a caller’s request or issue doesn’t match the primary path options, the operator will still have an avenue by which to document the nature of the call.

Repeat Callers

Even if messages are gathered and sent swiftly, a busy practice may need more than 24 hours to return a patient’s call. That being said, not every patient can wait 24 hours. They may grow weary of sitting by the phone and dial your office again instead, stating that they called yesterday and haven’t heard back. How should your service handle these calls? Should the operator simply take another message? Should the call be considered urgent? Or should they try and patch the call through to the office? Preparing your service for these types of scenarios will ensure that calls are handled as efficiently as possible and minimize frustration on the part of the caller.

Triaging Techniques

What if you only want to use an answering service for after-hours emergencies? If that is the case, then many of the tips above won’t apply – but, there are still options that you can explore to keep call handling crisp.

• Have a screening question up front. For example, “You’ve reached the emergency after-hours service for Dr. Smith. This is Gabby. Are you calling with emergency?” If the caller responds in the affirmative, the operator could reach out to the on-call doctor. If it is not an emergency, you might want the operator to say something along the lines of, “I apologize, but this line is for emergencies only. Please try calling back during regular business hours.”
• Include a brief list of what is considered an emergency, e.g., bleeding, pain, post-op complications, suicidal thoughts, etc. You certainly don’t want to leave this judgment up to the operators, so having a short rundown of emergent issues will help them triage calls appropriately and follow the proper procedures for true emergencies.
• Add IVR to your line. This would be an upfront recording and could say something such as, “You have reached the after-hours answering service for the Office of Dr. Jones. If this is a true medical emergency, please hang up and dial 9-1-1, or go to your nearest emergency room. If you need to speak with the doctor urgently, please press 1 to be transferred to an agent.”

Having these types of screeners will filter out legitimate emergencies from callers who just want a direct line to you and your staff. In turn, you may have less usage and a lower monthly invoice.

Look for a Free Trial

If you’re in the market for a medical answering service, be sure to do your due diligence before signing on. While online reviews may be useful to a degree, nothing compares to your own experience and opinion. That’s where a free trial comes in. Most services will offer a trial period that will give you a solid understanding of how your calls will flow, the professionalism of the operators manning your phones, the availability and help offered via customer support channels, your average minutes usage, and more.  To find the best fit for you, take advantage of everything the free trial offers, and place test calls if you’re not ready to forward your lines. The sooner you sign on with the right service, the sooner you’ll be home for those family dinners you’ve been missing!

The post 14 Medical Answering Service Must Haves appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

Example A: Go ahead, Bob.

In this scene, Betty was a superstar. She did everything right during the live call. Despite Bob’s attempt to weasel Dr. Marvin’s number out of her, she politely told him that she could not give out that number. Instead, she attempted to reach the doctor on the other line, letting him know who was calling and giving him the opportunity to either take the call or have Betty take a message. No personal information was exchanged and the call was handled promptly and professionally.

But let’s take a look at what happens when Bob shows up at the call center’s door asking for his physicians information. The Mid-Manhattan Exchange is responsible for a slew of HIPAA answering service violations, leaving the call center vulnerable to a serious security breach.

Example B: Lake Winnipesaukee

Violation #1 – Who’s allowed into your call center?

Bob, masquerading as Detective Roberts from Homicide, knocks on the door and is permitted to waltz onto the call center floor with ease. The door isn’t being monitored by anyone other than Betty and her colleagues. And you can pretty much bet there are no security cameras.

Violation #2 – What about signing in?

Betty doesn’t bother to check or verify “Detective Roberts'” identification even though he is flashing a very obvious Blue Shield badge. He hasn’t been asked to sign in. And he hasn’t been given clearance to access the facility by call center security. He just asks for information and receives it. No questions asked – except by Bob!

Violation #3 – Protected information is in plain sight.

Way back when, we used to write down messages on those little pink notepads, just like Betty and her colleagues. Those days are gone, and for good reason. All of that paper leaves a visible trail of protected information that could quickly fall into the wrong hands.

Violation #4 – Stop writing. Start typing.

Betty and her colleagues are using paper and pens to write everything down. This opens the door for fraud or misconduct in the workplace that could result in a data breach. When call center representatives document calls, the records should be solely electronic and they should become inaccessible to representatives as soon as they are entered. Otherwise, your call center can pretty much forget about HIPAA compliance.

Violation #5 – PHI is called Protected Health Information for a reason!

Now, granted, Betty gave out Dr. Marvin’s address and not a patient’s personal records. But the principle is the same. When it comes to call center transactions, protected health information can’t be shared with just anyone – not even if they are pretty convincing as a detective in a trench coat. It can’t be discussed aloud in public places where other people may be able to overhear. It can’t be transmitted via email unless encrypted, and it can’t be sent via text message. Messages documented by your call center can only be communicated by fax.

So, what has Bob taught us? Well, first off, never trust a guy in a trench coat. Unless he’s Clark Kent or something. And second, if you are a call center employee, verify verify verify. Don’t just let anyone onto the floor. Don’t just give anyone information, whether on the phone or in person. Don’t discuss PHI in public, don’t have sensitive paperwork or messages hanging around, and avoid using pen and paper as much as possible. Learn the proper security protocols set forth by your employer, and follow them to the letter. It not only protects those whose lines you are answering, but it protects you and your medical answering service from shady characters like Bob Wiley. Enough said.

The post A lesson in HIPAA compliance in answering services from What About Bob. appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.