Author Archive
Medical Call Centers and Changing HealthCare for the Better
Posted by: | CommentsThe news is full of debates about the financial crisis in the United States. Government shutdowns have been threatened, programs are at risk for being cut, and one of the biggest issues, healthcare, cannot be decided on. Decisions being made are affecting people – not only the average individual, regardless of whether or not they carry insurance – but also medical providers. Physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals are surely feeling the pinch with Medicaid in jeopardy and FSA’s (Flexible Spending Accounts) having new limitations and other potential heath care cuts. With less insurance money coming in, medical practices are looking to cut costs.
But will cutting costs also cut quality care?
Typically when costs need to be cut, staff members are the first to feel it. If they are not let go, then they are feeling the pressure of taking on the additional work from those who have been let go. Phones ring in to machines, patients feel hurried through a phone call when it is answered, and patients in the office can often feel the stress of the environment around them. Unneeded stress is the United States’ number one health problem; shouldn’t you be trying to eliminate stress from your office?
Utilizing a medical call center to outsource some, or even all, of your phone needs is not only cost-effective, but also can assist in smoothing out your day-to-day operations, creating a stress-free environment for your staff and patients.
Depending on your needs, a call center can offer services for handling over-flow calls, after-hour services, or 24-hour phone answering services to support your call volume during, and after, office hours. Cosmopolitan Medical Communications offers all of these services, plus more! We can assist in data entry, automated appointment reminders, billing, post-discharge services; the list can go on. All for the fraction of the cost it would take to bring on staff members to fill these needs.
You can be assured that using Cosmopolitan Medical as your medical call center provider that you and your patients will receive the highest quality of service, making for happy customers and repeat visits. We measure our success by the success of our clients, so call us today and let us show you how we can help you.
Ready or Not…It can Happen to Anyone!
Posted by: | CommentsAsk any IT company and they will tell you that they have a full disaster recovery plan in place to back up data and keep their storage safe. It makes sense right? There is a lot of information within those tiny little machines that everyone is so connected to these days. However, have you ever thought about how important it is to have a disaster recovery plan in place for your medical facility?
Most doctors’ offices have rooms filled to the brim with files of patient information, but what happens if your office is flooded or damaged in a tornado? Can you rebuild with all that lost information?
Disasters may not be as large as a hurricane or tornado; it can be something as simple as a power outage or down phone lines. Whatever the case may be, you need to be prepared for these misfortunes to last a long time, as they sometimes do.
A good friend of mine is a funeral home manager in Phoenix, and once told me that their phone lines were out for three days straight. They typically have an after-hours service, but that staff is only able to handle evening phone calls. It was a struggle to make sure the lines were answered and the business kept moving forward during those three days, and it made them rethink their back-up plan.
When your phone lines are ringing busy, your patients will feel frustration. No one wants to hear a busy line when they need to talk to a doctor. Therefore, it is very important to arrange a back-up answering service available at a moment’s notice to take over your phone calls in the case of a disaster, no matter how large or how small.
Keeping a medical call center, such as Cosmopolitan Medical Communications, on standby is one key step in creating a disaster recovery plan. Switching over to a call center causes no interruptions in service and your patients will never even know there was a problem. A good medical call center will always be available to take calls when you need them the most.
Contact Cosmopolitan Medical Communications to talk with us about setting up an answering service, and disaster recovery plan, for your practice or hospital. We’re ready to help you out with whatever service best suits your needs, and the needs of your current, and future, patients.
It All Starts with a Phone Call
Posted by: | CommentsWhat does your phone service say about your practice?
A doctor/patient relationship always starts with a phone call. Once a potential patient gets a referral to your office, or finds you in a search online, their first move is to call and get a feel for your practice. If they hear a stressed out, busy or unprofessional voice on the other end, they may not feel welcome in your office and will move on to their next referral.
It’s been shown that people expect a warm, caring and thorough experience with a medical office, whether they are speaking with their doctor or the staff. You only have once chance to make a first impression, so it is imperative that whoever is answering your phones portrays your office culture.
When picking the best medical answering service for your practice, you need to make sure that they will represent you in the manner you feel appropriate. Choosing the wrong service can leave you open for liability issues and loss of patients. A few things to consider when researching your options are:
- Quality Team Members – What is the protocol for hiring team members? What is the training process? Hiring high quality, professional employees will convey over the phone. Your patients want to be treated warm, caring and with respect. They also want to know that whoever they are talking to are knowledgeable in the medical industry. Choose a service that has a thorough hiring process and in depth medical training.
- HIPAA Certified – If your practice needs to be HIPAA compliant, so should your answering service. Look for a medical answering service that has in-house employees. If they are working from home, they have an opportunity to access patient information from their residence.
Starting off on the right foot, or in this case phone call, is what will keep your patients coming back and also sending you referrals. Caring professionalism from the get-go is key and a medical answering service, like ours, can help you achieve that.
Medical Goes Digital – And how Cosmopolitan Can Help!
Posted by: | CommentsPut down the pen and paper, it’s time to upgrade your medical office to the digital world. As you may have heard, the federal government has issued new regulations that are requiring doctors and hospitals to make the switch to digital records by 2015 or pay a hefty financial fee (source: AZCentral.com). There are federal incentives to help practices and hospitals change over to software programs, but this does not mean the transfer will be smooth. The task of converting years of paper records to digital ones is time consuming and daunting. There are also HIPPA compliancy regulations to contend with.
There are so many benefits to going digital! You will save time not having to sort through piles of paperwork and endless filing cabinets. Save on space in your office as well as the cost for any off-site storage. A digital offices isn’t limited to patient records. Utilizing a medical software program allows patients to receive prescriptions quicker when you electronically send their prescription to the pharmacy of their choice. Banner hospitals has even reported that the use of digital records is also helping to reduce death by sepsis in their facilities by putting alerts in patients records to have doctors and nurses checks for signs of the disease.
So how can Cosmopolitan Medical Communications help?
Our high-tech facility is equipped to handle and enter any and all medical data directly into the software your practice or hospital decide to use for your digital records. Let us help you make the transfer over to digital during our graveyard shift, allowing you to continue running your practice smoothly during the day. All of Cosmopolitan Medical Communication’s team members are HIPAA compliant and certified, so there is no fear of any regulations being broken.
Turn No-Shows into Show-Ups and Increase Your Revenue!
Posted by: | CommentsIt is no question that no-shows affect your bottom line; missed appointments cost you money. However, it also can affect the care of your other patients. Empty appointment slots can be filled up with other patients who were in need of care sooner rather than later. Most medical offices will offset the cost of missed appointments by assessing a no-show fee to the patient, but then you are wasting time in the billing department. Your best bet would be to head off missed appointments before they happen.
Using Cosmopolitan Medical Communications as your automated appointment reminder service allows for patients to cancel or confirm their appointment or even speak with a live person. Results from automated appointment reminder calls are immediate and sent to your staff so that they have the opportunity to reschedule appointments as needed. This is a low-cost solution for most medical practices, all without sacrificing customer care. Our automated service follows your personalized script when calling your patients, has the ability to leave voicemails for patients who are not home and can handle databases for multiple offices. This service is fully HIPAA-compliant, so you can be worry free that your patient’s information is secure and your staff is free to complete other duties.
Cosmopolitan Medical understands that running a medical office can be difficult; however it shouldn’t mean that you harm that doctor to patient relationship that is so important. Call us today for our patient appointment reminder services that can decrease no-shows and increase your revenue, all while improving customer service overall.
It Always Seems to Happen In the Middle of the Night
Posted by: | CommentsAsk any mom and they will tell you, if their child is bound to get sick, it will happen in the middle of the night. The same goes for anyone really. Fevers break out at 2 AM, whooping cough comes around 3 AM, but of course everything is closed. People want their doctor’s offices to be available 24/7. They want the assurance that if their child, or whomever, gets sick they will get help right away. What does that mean for you and your medical staff? Red eyes and numerous pots of coffee? Not with Cosmopolitan Medical Communications as part of your team.
Cosmopolitan Medical Team Members are also trained to answer patient questions as best as possible, however, we also know that there are questions that only a physician should answer. In this case, we will be sure to leave a detailed message for the doctor to follow up with the patient during office hours the next day. Your patients will feel cared for and they will have the confidence that their health is in the best care possible, no matter what time of day or night.
Sleep in peace knowing that your patient’s calls are being answered in a courteous and professional manner, just as if you were answering the phone yourself. Cosmopolitan Medical Team Members will patch calls to the appropriate staff member when needed. We will follow an on-call schedule provided by your practices so as not to disturb anyone who does not need to be bothered. We are here to answer your phone calls around the clock so that you don’t have to.
One of Phoenix’s Best Places to Work – Cosmopolitan Medical Communications
Posted by: | CommentsFor the fifth year, Cosmopolitan Medical Communications has earned the honor of being ranked one of the best places to work in the Phoenix Business Journal’s Small –Sized business category. We worked hard at maintaining a supportive, engaged and fun work place for our employees, and our employees have spoken! The “Best Places to Work” list, which was started in 2003, recognizes Valley companies who, through a third party administered employee satisfaction survey, rank their respective companies as being the best places to work. The areas surveyed are varied parts of employee life, including workplace environment, leadership direction, culture, and management practices.
What makes us so special you ask? Our commitment to our clients starts with our commitment to our employees. We know that in order to procure the best customer service, we need happy employees. Cosmopolitan has been in the Phoenix area since opening our doors 35 years ago; however, our newly built office in Phoenix provides a safe and comfortable work environment where our Team Members can feel at “home.”. There are several break areas where our team can enjoy video games, air hockey and satellite television. Cosmopolitan Medical Communications also provides healthy incentives to our team members, such as discounted gym memberships and since our facility is a non-smoking environment, we offer incentives for people to quit smoking. Our leadership is hands-on with day-to-day operations and everyone in management has worked their way up from entry level positions. There is room to grow for everyone!
Cosmopolitan Medical Communications is proud to win this award and to also be able to provide a coveted work environment. For more information on working at Cosmopolitan Medical or to apply for a job, please visit our employment page.
This Call is Recorded for Quality Control Purposes
Posted by: | CommentsEveryone has heard this message at one point or another when engaging with a company on the phone. Call recording not only ensures quality control, but it also can aid in collecting customer information for database purposes. However, the healthcare industry has to be increasingly careful with the type of information recorded, how the information obtained is handled, and what is done with the information after it has been recorded. Cosmopolitan Medical Communications takes into account all HIPAA regulations and requirements when providing call recording services to our healthcare clients.
Recording calls is also effective in assisting medical practices and other healthcare organizations in the case of lawsuits or other discrepancies. Our clients may request voice clips of callers in order to determine what was said on a call. These recordings often help release our clients from any liability. We maintain call records for seven years, which is generally longer than our clients maintain call records, and is another service that helps protect our clients.
Cosmopolitan Medical Communications is aware how important it is to ensure the privacy of patients when dealing with companies in the healthcare industry. We assure that we meet every HIPAA compliancy when dealing with patients and their information so that they can be at ease knowing that their information will not be shared with others and is not available to anyone that has access to company call records.
Conquering Obstacles in the Healthcare Industry
Posted by: | CommentsWhile most medical answering services in the field that offer medical business process outsourcing are only comfortable with the typical offerings of medical transcription, telemarketing and, more recently, lead generation, Cosmopolitan Medical is up for the challenge of taking on far more healthcare business processes. We are prepared to partner with the healthcare industry since we have all the appropriate licensing, certifications and HIPAA compliance that are required for anyone to work within this industry.
With recent announcements by President Obama on the healthcare reform, many opportunities in the medical business process outsourcing (BPO) industry arose, creating quite the buzz between both the leaders and even smaller companies in the medical answering service trade. However, most of these companies were not aware of the requirements it would take in order to take on many of these projects. There are tough eligibility requirements, data security laws to comply with, and medical records that are so important to protect that the healthcare industry is apprehensive about letting outsourcing companies take control of said records and data. All this makes it extremely difficult to keep up in the medical answering service field…for some.
Taking on these medical processes requires special training and knowledge and not just any call center business process outsourcing (BPO) agent is up to the challenge. Cosmopolitan Medical HAS invested the time to research what it takes to handle these projects. We have invested in training our team members to be compliant with HIPAA as well as having the knowledge needed in the medical field. Cosmopolitan Medical has invested in acquiring the appropriate licenses and certifications needed to remain an industry leader in medical business process outsourcing. This all means that Cosmopolitan Medical is fully invested to be your partner in your business processes. Our commitment is to our clients and we are glad to be of service to you, call 602-331-1333 or contact us with our form today.
Lab Results: A Medical Business Process Outsourcing Service
Posted by: | CommentsThis month, Cosmopolitan Medical would like to focus on our lab results service that will assist with your practice’s Medical Business Process. The goal of using an answering service to outsource some of your medical business processes is to make your day-to-day operations easier and for your practice to run as smoothly as possible. Allowing Cosmopolitan Medical to handle your lab result calls can do just that.
How does it work? After your patients have labs performed, they then have to play the waiting game to get their results. Why not make it as painless as possible by giving them a place to hear their results any time they want? One of the worst things for a patient is to have a message from their doctor’s office on their machine when the return home on a Friday at 5 PM and then have to wait 48 excruciating hours to get the results on Monday morning. With Cosmopolitan Medical’s lab result services, your patients can call in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to retrieve their messages. Cosmopolitan Medical can also call your patients to inform them they have a message waiting. Our lab result services are completely customizable by you for your needs.
If this is a service you’re interested in, and have a need for, please call us 602-331-1333 or use our contact form so we can get started helping you give your patients a seamless experience.