You will need to decide if you would like to give out your phone number to patients or have them contact you in a different way. If you give out a phone number, you need to expect calls from patients at any time of the day or night and these will need to be documented.
If you decide to provide your phone number to patients, there are things you can do to limit the number of phone calls you may get. There are also other ways in which you can provide contact details to patients.
It is important for your patients to be able to get in contact with you, whether this is by phone, email or enquiry forms. Whichever contact method you decide to use, you will need to let patients know how to contact you. This can be detailed on your website, in any email correspondence you send to patients, on any advertising you do and in your google my business profile.
You may want to consider offering a membership scheme whereby patients can become members of your clinic for a yearly or monthly fee. Membership can entitle patients to a phone number in which they can contact you, as well as discounts on appointments. By only giving your phone number to a select group of patients you are reducing the number of phone calls you receive, while still making yourself accessible to those who need it.
You can reduce the reliance on phone calls by having a regularly updated website full of information a patient may need as well as an online booking system where patients can make appointments without the need to speak to you.
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