DID you know:
- 89.6% of all appointments are
made by the telephone; - 91.8% of emergency cases, first
use the telephone; - 92.3% of follow-ups from the
practice are made by the telephone.
These data indicate the telephone
provides a gateway to your turnover
and profit. The telephone is a
fundamental tool within your practice,
allowing you to engage
clients,book
appointments
and offer
support.
If your
practice is to operate at
optimum
efficiency and respond to client
demand, it is crucial that all calls are
answered during business hours.
Outside of the working day,
demand is best met through out-of-
hours and emergency telephone lines.
Business continuity is key:
telecommunication systems play a
central role in delivering this.
Most practices are unaware of the
telephone system they are using; they
may also not know the facilities and
benefits available and, above all, what
they are currently paying for.
Updating your current
system
You may be hesitant to update your
current system because it works
efficiently; however, the benefits of
changing to a new system are plentiful.
Modern telephone systems offer a
range of optional features and at
Demco we advocate this change to
enhance client satisfaction, increase
client appointments in your practice
and increase income.
- Hold
music. Why
just have
silence?
Especially
when you
can play recorded messages telling them about
special offers or new products. - Auto-attendant. An automatic
menu system that allows callers to
direct their own calls from a series of
options. Imagine using this to deliver
your out-of-hours emergency calls. - Call recording. Useful for training
staff and for regulating businesses. - Auto-call distribution. Set up users
to receive calls by department. Allow single users to combine into multiple
groups or alone on a single direct dial
number. - Voicemail. Individual voicemail,
shared mailboxes and unified
messaging which sends your voicemail
to your e-mail account so it can be
accessed from a mobile device. - PA access. Make announcements on
a public address system from your
telephone. - Cordless. DECT handsets let you
move around the site while retaining
all the functionality of a desktop
phone. - Call management software. Track
the number of calls made and
received, see how busy your lines are
and, most importantly, obtain a list of
missed calls and, where possible, call
your clients back. - Integrate the clinical software to
the telephone system. This will allow
a more professional approach to
answering calls and have the ability to
prioritise urgent calls (this is subject to
your PMS provider). - Multi-site practices. Easily link
telephones between practices to allow
for central operators, overflow
answering positions, and reducing
overall costs for inter-practice
communications.
Selecting the perfect system
The first step in selecting an
appropriate system and supplier is to
work out your exact practice
requirements. It is important to
determine the number of phones and
lines in your practice system and the
features that you just cannot do
without.
Do not forget to consider the direction of your practice
– if you anticipate growing
or networking your
practices, ensure you make
this a priority.
Price is an important
consideration, but do make sure you
also check the following in regards to
your provider:
- Installation. Will the supplier
provide a comprehensive installation
package, including testing of the
system and training? - Support. What level of technical
support will be on offer? Do they
have a helpdesk? - Maintenance. Does the price
include parts and labour? Do they
offer efficient remote programming
and maintenance support? Do they
have a back-up system? Do they have
adequate parts for your system? - Call packages. Does the telephone
system supplier also offer call
packages? - Service. Can they offer you 24/7
service on your main number? - Reputation. Is the supplier
established? Can they provide
testimonials from previous clients?
Are they solvent? - Leasing and finance. How many
years is the rental? Do you have to
provide notice? Or will it
automatically terminate? What
happens to the system at the end of
the contract? Can they provide a breakdown of the system
cost and applicable
interest? Be very clear
about what terms you are
entering into.
Above all, ensure you
check all contracts for the duration and cancellation notice; there is
nothing worse than having a long-
term contract and you find yourself
stuck with a provider that does not
meet your requirements.
As for the buzz words, well there
are hundreds, so you really need to
understand the meaning of references
to ISDN lines (which is a must), VoIP
systems and SIP trunks to ensure you
are receiving what you require.
Hosted solutions
Hosted solutions are often branded
as a cheaper solution, but are they
really? Compare all costs, including
IP handsets, servers, PoEs, licences
for each user, the length of contracts,
and the implications of taking your
numbers back from the Cloud or
change providers.
…and finally
This is a simple guide and Demco
Communications is happy to act as a
consultant, with simple advice on
your current technology, how and
where enhancements can be made,
and examine all your current
contracts if you have any doubts.
