Answering Service & Provider Scheduling

Create a single source of truth for on-call management.

How Optimized Scheduling and
Answering Service Work Together

Optimized Scheduling

Turn complex physician schedules into balanced ones.

Consider all departmental rules and provider preferences
Auto-generate fair and accurate schedules
View schedule changes across apps right away
Track time spent for workforce management needs

Answering Service

Get secure messages to the right on-call provider at the right time, everytime.

Filter urgent and non-urgent calls
Route messages based on real-time schedules
Forward messages to the appropriate clinician or office staff
Adjust on-call preferences and custom notifications

Why Manual Scheduling Options Aren’t Working

Role	After Hours Coverage with Manual Scheduling	After Hours Coverage with Automated Scheduling
Doctor	Route incorrectly to the off-duty clinician if the schedule isn’t updated Books two surgeries at the same time by mistake Requests for time-off or shift preferences proves challenging	Notify clinicians only when they’re on call or truly urgent calls are placed Reduce overbooking providers with fair schedules Grant shift preferences and time off requests quickly and efficiently
Patient	Experiences confusion when an answering service routes their call to a closed practice, with no other options available	Route patient calls during work hours and after hours to the correct on-call provider Filter their non-urgent requests accurately
Scheduler	Builds inconsistent processes from location to location Creates in Excel with various spreadsheets Cannot make last-minute updates or changes Prints or sends a fax of the schedule Loses it in a coffee-stained notebook somewhere…	Enter user preferences into a fully automated system Creates gapless, real-time schedules based on rules engine Share with any number of users—no printing or faxing needed Access to accurate digital schedules day or night-all in one place

FAQ

I have an answering service. Why do I need a scheduling solution?

Most call services are rudimentary, and they may get calls to the right place when the schedule is accurate. What happens when a provider needs to call out after hours, or if a patient calls in?

Traditional answering services lack the integration needed to leverage schedules and create the single source of truth for seamless communication.

With Lighting Bolt scheduling, you can push inbound calls to route to the correct on-call physician, based on preferences and shifts. That means no more non-urgent calls rudely interrupting clinicians at 4 AM.

With Lighting Bolt scheduling, you factor in predetermined preferences and shifts, so no call gets missed and they land in the right place.

I already have a scheduling solution in place. Do I really need an answering service?

Having a single source of truth to build a call schedule is a powerful start.

A scheduling solution without a tool to manage after-hours calls leaves the weight of non-urgent calls on the doctors’ shoulders. This means they get all the prescription refill requests, office hours questions, and appointment changes, leaving them to ask, ‘why am I getting this message’?

When patients need to place routine orders after the office is closed, or get a hold of a doctor on call, an accurate answering service routes them to the right provider at the right time they call in. Make the answering service go to work for your ‘boring’ tasks by empowering patients with clear prompt instructions.

I have an answering service and a basic scheduling tool in place. Do I need better scheduling software?

Having a digital scheduling solution like the one included in PerfectServe’s application is a great start. But you still have to create the schedule manually, and for a small practice, this works. Yet as your practice grows, the schedules will get more complex. Then it will be time to upgrade.

Think about all your practice requirements, shift credentialing, provider preferences, and time off requests.

Rather than making a schedule, it creates the best possible schedule. And it does so in minutes. This not only frees up time for the scheduler, but also increases provider satisfaction.

Testimonials

“[The schedule is now] generated in five minutes, and it flowed like we had done it ourselves.”

Kate Jewell
Practice Manager at Center of Surgical Excellence at Genesis HealthCare System

“What we were able to do in a lot of our larger practices that have lots of non-urgent calls…They can go in, listen to the message when they get free time, work the message, mark it as complete, and move on to the next thing.”

Adam Grant
MBA, FACHE, PMP at Harbin Clinic

Ready to see it in action?

Get on a discovery call.