General Surgery

• Donald Parnell, M.D.
• Frank Ross, M.D.

Donald Parnell, M.D. — Surgery

I love PerfectServe because of all the time it saves me. And I wouldn't have believed that if I hadn't used it.

I used to get paged by the hospital. By the time I received the page — sometimes five, ten or fifteen minutes after the call was placed — I would call the department back. But the nurse who needed me would be away from the desk by then, and I would have to wait on hold while they went off to find the person.

With PerfectServe, the hospital departments who need me are routed straight through to my home phone or my cell phone — wherever I happen to be. There's no waiting for the nurse. And no waiting for me when I call the department back and the nurse isn't right there. PerfectServe has made me — and the hospital staff — much more productive.

I usually elect to have patient calls stored on my voicemail. Then I am notified by pager. I am able to listen to the patient's message in his or her own voice and take a moment to consider the situation before I call back.

I also love the one-button callback. I avoid having to hang up for a dial tone. I avoid fumbling with the tiny cell phone keypad in the dark. I just press a button and PerfectServe connects me automatically.

It's great the way PerfectServe uses their own number — instead of mine — to overcome anonymous caller ID. Now I never have to compromise my privacy to treat a patient.

The automatic logging of calls is fantastic. If I ever need to find out when someone called, or what was said, the message remains on my computer until I remove it for archiving.

I no longer have to worry about the integrity of paging. If for any reason I don't receive a page informing me of a message, PerfectServe escalates automatically. So I know I will never lose a single message — ever. That removes a great source of worry for any practitioner, and a great source of frustration for patients and hospital staff.

I maintain two call schedules, and PerfectServe allows me to manage both by phone or over the web. Whenever I want to make a change — or find out some detail — I can do so on my terms, which is wonderful. There's no more waiting on hold to talk to an operator, no more worry about distributing changes to other physicians involved.

The time PerfectServe saves me is considerable - and precious.

Frank Ross, M.D.

I was always told you need a live person answering the phone. That idea was drilled into me when I first got into practice. But even though I used the same answering service for more than ten years, they could never seem to get it right. I'd call and sign out for surgery — several times a day — but they would still barrage my pager with calls instead of holding messages for me.

With PerfectServe, I simply log in my schedule once, and PerfectServe automatically handles and routes calls accordingly. The caller has the option of leaving a message or talking to someone in my office. It's so simple. And I don't have to worry about all that signing in and signing out. Once my schedule is logged in, I'm set.

I love the control I have. Now, if people say, "I tried to reach you but I couldn't," I know it isn't true, because the process is failsafe.

PerfectServe is more protective of my time. I get fewer calls now, because the calls that can be handled by the office — prescription refills, or appointment changes — are routed to the appropriate person. Now, I'm free to focus on my surgery without unnecessary interruptions.