In the busy rush of a medical office, it’s easy to miss important phone calls from patients. Fortunately we have voicemail to help retrieve those missed calls. Unfortunately, using voicemail poorly can lead to patients feeling annoyed or leaving the clinic dissatisfied.
Using voicemail effectively requires planning and a consistent, diligent approach. Here are 4 useful tips for managing your voicemail messages.
1) Update your Recorded Message Everyday
If you have a message that reflects the specific day it makes it feel much more personalized and current. Having an old message that is clearly out of date shows tardiness and makes you seem less professional.
It is a good idea to write down your message before recording it. An example script could be:
“Thank you for calling [Practice Name]
Today is [Day] [Month/Date]
We are in the practice today, and taking care of patients.
If you have reached this message, we are sorry to have missed your call.
Please leave us a brief message with your call back number and we will call you back within 2 -4 hours.”
If you make it a practice to re-record the voicemail message everyday at the start of the day before the practice opens, it will keep patients feeling like you are to them and on top of your schedule.
Also remember to sound upbeat and friendly during the recording. Vocal tone is very important to making a patient feel engaged.
2) Set Clear Criteria for Cancellations or Reschedules
If you have a lot of cancellations or patients rescheduling in your clinic, you should leave some information on the voicemail detailing the cancellation policy of the practice.
And example might be:
“As part of our clinic policy, we cannot accept cancellations via voicemail. Please call back within 24 hours of your appointment if you need to speak to us about rescheduling. If an emergency has come up and you cannot visit us today, please note there may be a small cancellation fee. You can also email us via [email address] as an alternative.”
3) Check and reply to voicemail messages at least every 4 hours
When you get busy, it is easy to think that you will reply to voicemails as soon as you get ‘some time’. Yet this very rarely happens as planned.
It is far better to schedule a time during the day to reply to all voicemails. Ideally you should do this every 2 to 4 hours, and make sure all are replied to before leaving for the day.
You may like to block a certain time into your day to return the calls you need to. If you have a group of calls to return, it is advisable to do the calls together back-to-back at this time.
Doing the call returns in batches also helps you better focus on the task. You are will get more achieved doing them back to back rather than trying to return them one at a time when you can sneak in one or two calls.
4) Have a specific strategy for Telemedicine
If you have telemedicine patients in your clinic, you may need extra criteria for this booking calls with the doctor. Most of the notifications will be taken care of through the app, remember that some may have concerns the first time they use the service.
Consider adding something to your voicemail about the process.
An example could be:
“If you have reserved a time to speak with your doctor via video, please check your appointment has been confirmed online through the app. The doctor will call you within the time period listed, and will be available for the duration of the call. If you have any further questions before your call, you can leave a message and we will return your call within 2-4 hours.”
Want to Read More?
6 Professional Voicemail Scripts you Can Use by Blitz
Voicemail Scripts for the Doctors Office by OnSip
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