Let’s face it—there are no easy days at work as a doctor. The work doesn’t get easier for low-paid or fairly compensated doctors when it’s night-time. If you are working on call-back duty, then you surely have experienced getting calls in the middle of the night. However, out of all those night-time phone calls on average, how many of them really require an immediate response? Medical practice answering services eases this dilemma of picking up after-hour calls.
Step 1: Define How Calls are Dealt With Outside Office Hours and Set Simple Principles for It
First specify how after-hour calls will be handled. It is equally important to explain to the patients what classifies as an emergency situation. This is in comparison to things which could be dealt with the next day.
– “Something Needs Immediate Attention” Must be Explained Completely: Is it heart pains? Heavy bleeding? Unable to catch a breath? These can be categorized as an emergency.
– Patients Should be Adequately Informed: This can be done through using leaflets, your web page and even posters in the waiting areas. This would help them know as to what should be done at what level of emergency.
– Be Assertive: Give pointers on self-care of the symptoms. For Instance, “If you develop a slight fever, drink plenty of fluids. Take some pain medications and relax, and reach out to us the next day if it does not get better”.
Step 2: Employ Triage System or Call Interposer
Let’s say that a nurse triage line or an automated answering service is used in a hospital. This is done to ensure that only actual emergencies get forwarded to you. Now the question is, where do such services come in handy?
To address the question we can consider the following points:
– When every patient first talks to a nurse or a person who can find out if the situation needs rushing. This is to see if it’ll go further and would need immediate help.
– You receive less non-emergency case disturbance in your office and can concentrate on more serious cases.
– Likewise, this also eases the patients. Since their issues are sure to be treated with the utmost urgency. Even when they are able to speak to someone else and not you.
Step 3: Start Ranking the Calls Like a Boss
In the medical field, calls from patients can get disturbing at times since they are not always emergency cases. To manage after hours calls, be specific and prioritise correctly. This begs the question, what is the correct way to do so:
1. Easily Visualize Life Threatening Situations: Severe pain, breathing troubles, and chest pain to the extent that one is haemorrhaging. All point to life threatening conditions and should get priority.
2. If You’re Mildly Unwell or in Pain: Then rest assured that such issues will be dealt with after hours for example a mild fever or ache. Even though it requires follow ups or treatment there is no emergency.
3. General or Overview Call: If you called to check on a medication refill or if you have an appointment scheduled. Then most likely a case like this can wait until morning.
Step 4: Finding Ideal Policies
To begin with, let’s focus on boundaries. Sure, you’re a practicing healthcare provider, but aren’t you a human being too? You should be able to relax with a loved one as well as recharge for work if needed.
– No Use of Personal Phones: Prevent personal contact using an on-call number or service. There is no reason for patients to reach out to your phone.
– Set Time Limits: When necessary, keep it short for the patients that actually make urgent calls. Tell them the next steps after reassuring them and providing instruction on what to do. Don’t engage in lengthy talks if you don’t have to.
– Backup Support Available: In case you’re in a bigger clinic, take turns with fellow practitioners and when on-call let them do the work.
Step 6: Do Not Shy Away from Technology and Lean on It
There are many communication methods that can automate the answering of phones during non-working hours. These include auto-messaging services, patient portals, and answering services.
– Automated messages are good as they can give out information regarding situations such as procedures during an emergency.
– Patients portals are also handy as it gives the patients the room to ask simple and nonurgent questions. These questions are generally the ones which will only need an answer during the actual visiting hours.
– Answering services as they answer important calls instead of the 2 AM refill requests.
Last Words: Remain Calm While Dealing with Your Patients
Managing something like after hour calls is not really that complicated. It is really all about having the right set of ideas and tools. In short, patient satisfaction is the top priority, and with the right efforts nothing sounds that complicated.
Do not forget that calls are only one part of the equation. Managing expectations is something far more complex.
