Overflow Call Handling Service: Never Miss a Patient Call Again

Sep 19, 2024

When patients call during business hours, the call must be answered, which is where an overflow call handling service can help. What is overflow call handling? Overflow reception services are designed to help your office connect with patients by handling calls that come in during peak times or when your in-house reception team is unable to answer. This service ensures that every patient’s call is answered, even if the practice's phone lines are full.


In industries like healthcare, missing a call can lead to significant consequences such as miscommunications, delayed treatments, and more. By having an overflow call answering service in place, your office can be proactive and operate efficiently to ensure smooth communication while avoiding any disruptions in patient care.

How Overflow Call Handling Services Benefit Healthcare Providers

A virtual receptionist is wearing a headset while scheduling an appointment for a patient.

For healthcare providers and their staff, there are many moving parts of communication between you and your patients, your staff and other medical offices, specialists, insurance companies, and more. Focusing on patient communication and making it seamless is critical for ensuring informed care decisions and treatments. Overflow call handling services can help with day-to-day details such as scheduling appointments and managing and responding to routine inquiries –– freeing up in-house reception staff to handle more of the in-person patient communications. 


Overflow call centers reduce missed connections, reduce patient frustrations, and improve overall care outcomes for practices that use them. Overflow call answering services can also boost operational efficiency by allowing your in-office staff and medical staff to focus on providing care. In contrast, the overflow call center handles the administrative details on your behalf. 

When Should Healthcare Providers Consider an Overflow Call Service?

An overflow call answering service is a handy and valuable tool for any healthcare provider, but how do you know when it’s time to consider one? As your practice grows, if your patients experience long hold times or have to leave voicemails during business hours, and your office staff struggles to complete other duties due to increased call volumes and an uptick in missed calls, it’s definitely time to consider an overflow reception service. 


Overflow reception services can also benefit smaller practices, new practices, and more by complementing your in-house reception team and providing a second line of service during busy periods, peak hours, emergencies, or even company meetings or events. This allows healthcare practices to handle more patient calls, reducing missed opportunities and improving service quality.

Key Features to Look for in an Overflow Call Handling Service

When considering an overflow reception service, you want to consider several factors. An overflow call handling service, by extension, represents your company while interacting with your patients. We have outlined some key features that a provider should consider when selecting an overflow call handling service to ensure the best patient experience:


  • 24/7 availability: Medical emergencies can happen at any time, so having an overflow call center is essential for patient care, even if calls come in outside of normal business hours. 
  • Experience with healthcare-related calls: Healthcare is multifaceted, and providers should look for overflow call center services with experience in the healthcare field so they have the knowledge and understanding to handle incoming calls with compassion and integrity.
  • Integration with existing systems: Look at services that have the ability to integrate seamlessly among the various disparate scheduling software, patient management tools, scheduling software, prescription handling systems, and more that your office utilizes. 
  • HIPAA compliance: While providing care is critical, protecting patient confidentiality is a legal and ethical necessity, so the overflow reception service must be HIPAA compliant to ensure sensitive information is handled securely.

Is Overflow Call Handling HIPAA Compliant?

An overflow call handling service provider should be HIPAA compliant if they are working in the medical field. Before contracting with a potential overflow reception service, your team should investigate any overflow call center by checking for reviews, complaints, etc., to verify that the overflow answering service provider follows the necessary legal guidelines to protect patient data and privacy. All communications should be encrypted, call handlers should be up to date on HIPAA rules with proper training, and information must be handled securely. 

Appointment Desk: Overflow Call Handling Service

Appointment Desk® knows that missing connections with patients through unanswered calls, voicemails, and overburdened office staff can negatively impact patient care. Our overflow call-handling services assist healthcare providers in managing patient calls more effectively, increasing efficiency and patient satisfaction. Our agents are trained under HIPAA-compliant protocols, 24/7 call answering capabilities, and seamless integrations with your existing patient care and administrative systems. 


Don’t let missed calls hinder your practice.

Explore our overflow reception services today and keep your lines of communication open to patients when they need you most.

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