Understanding Call Routing: A Guide for Medical Practice Managers

Did you know that the average medical practice gets more than 50 phone calls a day? If your practice is like others, you’re probably bombarded with calls from insurers, drug companies, and, of course, patients. Some are calling to make an appointment, while others want to talk with a doctor right away. How can you manage all these calls without impacting customer relationships?

Enter call routing. With a routing system, you’ll never again worry that your practice has missed an important call. Below, we answer some common routing FAQs and explore the difference call routing will make on your workforce management.

What Is Call Routing?

So, what is call routing? Call routing is a way to evaluate the priority of calls and automatically direct them to the appropriate queue for answering. That’s right; your front office staff doesn’t have to do a thing. No more fretting over where to send a call or which one needs answering first. The call management system does it all for you.

There are several different types of call routing: time-based, skill-based, and geographical. Below, we’ll discuss the key benefits of each.

How Call Routing Works

Call routing may seem like advanced technology, but take a look under the hood, and it’s actually quite simple. When a patient calls, the system asks automated questions using an interactive voice response to determine why they’re calling. Then, the IVR system can answer and assure the caller that it will direct the call to the most appropriate agent. This is called the qualifying phase.

Next, human agents at call centers or an IVR system routing engine determine where to send the call. Call distribution could be based on the caller’s input. For example, if the caller presses “2” for Spanish, the system’s routing rules will send the call to an agent who speaks that language.

Some call centers also employ a method called percentage routing. This method distributes calls evenly depending on team size and agent availability. It’s commonly used by practices that work with several call centers.

Lastly comes the distribution phase. As the name implies, it’s this stage in which the system distributes inbound calls to the right person or department. The caller ID will show the name and phone number of the person calling. You can then either answer the call right away or move it into the call queue as needed.

Benefits of Implementing Call Routing in Medical Practices

Curious about how effective call routing helps your practice achieve seamless customer journeys? Here are just a few of the benefits you’ll enjoy by working with automatic call distributors.

Improved Patient Experience

What happens when a patient calls and winds up on hold for what seems like forever? That’s a bad patient experience, and customer satisfaction is likely to plummet.

One of the best call management features is the ability to address calls as they come in. For example, a contact center can assure patients they’ll speak to a live person before pushing the call into a queue.

In short, if you’re looking for something to help with increasing customer satisfaction, you’ll love intelligent call routing. Having a phone system to route calls to the right agent does wonders for the customer experience.

Enhanced Operational Efficiency

What if your staff could focus on patient care and customer retention instead of worrying about missing direct calls and unmanageable call volumes? An automated call routing system allows employees to do just that.

Because incoming calls go into a queue, employees will know which need answering immediately (such as calls regarding medical emergencies). Between calls, they’re free to spend their time with patients, ensuring a better customer experience.

Scalability and Flexibility

Is your practice growing? That’s welcome news, but a bigger practice means more and faster calls. It can be tough to keep up, which may cause customer issues.

That’s why an intelligent call routing system is a must. With the right business phone systems, you can create call routing rules to seamlessly handle calls as they come in. Plus, you can scale your call distribution system up and down as needed. For instance, you could create routing rules based on the number of people who call during or after business hours.

Types of Call Routing Strategies

Which call forwarding strategy should your practice use? There are a few call routing methods to pick from, the simplest of which is direct routing. This call routing strategy transfers incoming calls to the right agent or department based on specific criteria. It works best when patients already know what kind of help they need.

For example, suppose a patient selects the technical support department because they’re having a problem with online billing. The call center routing system would send the call to an agent with technical expertise.

Then there’s round-robin routing. This system ensures that calls are routed based on a rotating order across multiple channels, promoting agent productivity. For instance, when Sally answers a call, she moves to the end of the queue. Bill takes the next call, followed by Tom. When Sally moves back to the front of the call queue, she takes a call again. Call centers use this routing process to route calls in a fair and balanced way.

Let’s go over some more call routing strategies below.

Time-Based Routing

As the name implies, time-based routing routes calls depend on agent availability and the time of day. This method is commonly used by call centers with large call volumes or that are in different time zones.

Here’s how it works. Suppose Allison lives in San Francisco, and she needs help with a prescription late one night. When she calls support, the system either routes the call to an agent, perhaps in a different time zone, or moves the call into a queue for callback during business hours.

Skill-Based Routing

Skill-based routing is a call management feature focused on agent skills. If a patient has a question about charges on their bill, for example, the routing system would send their call to the financial department and connect them with an agent who has the skills required to help them.

Routing calls based on agent performance and skills is an excellent way to improve the customer experience. It greatly cuts down on contact center frustration and ensures that patients get the help they need promptly without being shuffled from one agent to the next.

Geographical Routing

Geographical routing is one of the best call center routing strategies for practices with several branches in different areas. This method routes calls based on the patient’s location. When they call, the system determines their area code and phone number, then directs the call to the right agent in their region.

Using this method allows patients to get location-specific help with their issues from a contact center. For example, a contact center agent can answer questions about the specific procedures available at a certain branch of your practice.

Implementing a Call Routing System in Your Practice

Need a call forwarding solution to help you handle incoming calls to your practice? Here’s how to set up a call routing phone system to improve the customer experience.

Assessing Practice Needs

First things first, you’ll need to determine your practice’s average daily call volume. Do you receive dozens of direct calls per day, or does your phone system only ring a handful of times? If you don’t get many direct calls, you may be able to handle them in-house. But if your staff is overwhelmed with inbound calls, consider outsourcing to a contact center.

Call center routing has plenty of benefits. For one, agents can take incoming calls outside of your practice’s business hours. They also assist with queue callback (returning calls that you may have missed).

Next, make a list of common patient inquiries. For example, maybe patients commonly call with questions about their treatment plans or prescriptions. If that’s the case, you’ll need to route calls to an agent capable of answering these questions.

Lastly, evaluate your current call routing process. Is it working for your practice? If you’re getting complaints from patients, your call routing setup needs some work.

Choosing the Right Call Routing System

To pick the best system for handling incoming calls, first consider whether that system will pair well with your current setup. Some systems are easier to integrate than others.

Choose a system that’s easy to use. A good call routing setup should come with clear instructions and training tips. And if you plan to grow your practice at some point, scalability is a must-have feature for call routing. You want a system that easily scales up to handle any volume of calls.

Training Staff and Monitoring Performance

Implementing call routing is only half the battle. You’ll also need to train your staff how to properly handle inbound calls. Good customer service training addresses things such as fully understanding the caller’s problem and which steps to take to resolve the issue.

Consider using call metrics to determine whether your training has paid off. Metrics to watch include the number of calls answered, the average time per call, and customer satisfaction rates.

Weave Is the Perfect Solution for Your Business Needs

If your practice is overburdened by phone calls, adding a call routing solution to your setup is an effective solution. And by partnering with Weave, your phone system will pull double duty. The Weave phones feature makes it a total breeze to stay in touch with patients.

Get a demo to see how Weave can take your practice to the next level today.