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Pediatrics
Abby Blackmon, M.D.
I confess, I am a techno-phobe. My concern was that when patients called, they would not be able to get the assistance they need in a timely fashion. I thought patients would feel we didn't value their calls if they didn't reach a human being at the start of their calls.
I agreed to give PerfectServe a trial period — a month or two, I think. Then we were going to re-evaluate our situation and see if we wanted to keep it. I was surprised to find we didn't get the first complaint from our patients. In fact people liked the way they could get through to us when they needed us. So my fear has changed into joy — and loyalty too, I guess. I can't imagine a better way of handling after-hours calls than PerfectServe.
PerfectServe is the best way to handle your after-hours communications that I know of. We've encouraged lots of people to use it — even people who are phobic about technology, like me.
Gregory Blackmon, M.D.
PerfectServe has actually allowed us to differentiate ourselves from other practices. A few years ago, we set up what can be called a 'boutique' practice. We wanted to give parents better access to care for their children. A big part of that is the PerfectServe OnCall service, which allows them to dial straight through to us. They have one number to dial, then PerfectServe routes their call to us wherever we are - usually via our cell phone. This increases our efficiency — we have just one call to deal with, instead of two or three. It also saves us money, since working through a call center can get expensive. Best of all, it gives parents a good feeling, knowing their doctor is just a quick call away. People are very respectful of our privacy, too. When they call, they're usually apologetic, and they keep the calls short and sweet.
I like how people need just one number to contact me. Voice, fax, mobile, whatever — it makes things very clean, very precise.
The PerfectServe people have been very helpful. I think we're on our fourth generation of call routing, and they're always willing to assist us with whatever we want to get done. They're a pleasure to work with.
Our practice isn't huge — two nurses and two doctors. The sheer volume of calls we get on Monday mornings can be crushing. But our people have headsets, so they can move around as they field calls. They can call up records, triage, document calls — all on the fly. It's been terrific, and it really helps us keep our costs down. We can staff for what we really need, instead of having to staff the entire week to cover those crazy Monday mornings.
Elizabeth Brown, M.D.
With PerfectServe, I hear the patient calls firsthand. I hear everything — every symptom, every nuance, even the level of fear in the voice of the caller. Messages can also be saved for reference.
I like the automatic call-back feature. When you get a call at night, you don't have to turn on a light and write down the number, then hang up and redial. All you do is press a button, and PerfectServe makes the call for you. And we never get wrong numbers because PerfectServe has captured the number asked the caller to confirm it.
The automatic notification escalation eliminates a huge worry. If I do not retrieve a message within a set time of being notified, PerfectServe notifies me again. If I still do not respond, PerfectServe escalates the notification, making calls to other devices and locales. They'll eventually call an associate of mine, just to make sure the message is received. So no message is ever lost or ignored, for any reason.
The convenience of being able to change your call schedule on the fly — altering your mode of notification, say, or signing off to an associate because you'll be unavailable for an hour — is invaluable.
Because of the accuracy and precision that PerfectServe offers, I am able to practice medicine more effectively when the office is closed. PerfectServe has removed serious worries about patient safety, while making my life when I'm on call far less frustrating, and far more enjoyable.
Edward Rigtrup, M.D.
PerfectServe has eliminated a huge headache for me. When I used an alpha pager, my patients had more privacy than I did. Every caller got my private number. But now I can call patients back anonymously, even those who have anonymous caller ID block.
I never, EVER get an incorrect page anymore. I love it! I would guess I get fifteen percent fewer calls now than I used to — and it makes life after hours so much more manageable.
Our group shares weekend call with another practice. In the past, when the other practice was on call, we had to re-record our afterhours message and ask patients to call another phone number. Now, PerfectServe routes the calls automatically to the appropriate physician. The patients — of both practices — call the same number they're accustomed to calling all week long.
I really cannot overstate how convenient PerfectServe has made our after-hours care. It's straightforward, direct and simple to use — very intuitive. Yes, patients do have to listen to the choices that are given to them. But the prompt always repeats in case they miss it the first time.
I love the control I have. It is so easy to alter the on-call schedule now. I never have to wait on hold to get through to an operator. I never have to hope the operator I spoke to got the information right. And the changes are implemented as soon as I input them. I can even inform my partners with the click of a few buttons. It really is fantastic.
I think every practice that gets more than a few calls a night would benefit from PerfectServe.
Deborah Weese — Practice Administrator
When a human being takes a message for you, it is shortened, and much of the meaning can be lost. You don't get the full detail of what is going on with the patient. But PerfectServe lets us hear the entire message, in the patient's own voice, which is of tremendous benefit when you're trying to gauge the seriousness of the problem.
Our old answering service would occasionally get the call-back numbers wrong. It didn't happen often, but even one time is unacceptable. PerfectServe has completely corrected that problem. PerfectServe captures the number and asks the caller to confirm it. With PerfectServe, the number we get is always correct.
When a live person takes your call, you're often put into a queue before you can retrieve your messages, but with PerfectServe your messages are available immediately. You never wait on hold - for anything.
I like the way PerfectServe is able to treat urgent calls and routine calls differently.
For as long as we've used the service, PerfectServe has never gotten a patient call-back number wrong, or routed a call to the wrong doctor. That's the highest compliment I can imagine paying to anyone who does what you do.
It is so helpful to be able to call the patient back automatically. That way, when you're called in the middle of the night, you don't have to turn on the light and scribble down the number, or — even worse — struggle to remember it. You just press a button and you're immediately connected to the patient by way of the number that he or she just confirmed.
PerfectServe is very flexible. We can change the way we want to receive message notifications — by beeper, say, or cell phone, or home phone — quickly and easily. And PerfectServe inputs all those changes immediately, in real time. Or, if we wish, we can ask it to route our calls to another physician for a half our or an hour if we're occupied. The flexibility is wonderful.
As our needs have changed and we've wanted to change prompts or protocols, PerfectServe's Customer Service people have been very accommodating. PerfectServe has the best customer service we've seen.
We're delighted with PS and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any practice that is looking for a professional — yet flexible — way to handle its after-hours communications.