The doctor answering service industry is outstanding when it comes to creating more confusion in regards to their pricing.
When choosing an answering service, they are not all the same.
Medical answering service pricing will vary from company to company. There is the per minute pricing model, and then there is the per call pricing model. Both have advantages as well as disadvantages over the other. Most of them, however, have moved to per minute to take advantage of patients’ time they spend talking to operators and representatives.
What is a Per Call Pricing Model?
A per call pricing model makes sense at first; you are billed every time you place a call. If you have a company that receives about 40 or 50 calls per day, there are plans that try to address these needs.
A “call” though can range from any type of inquiry. A wrong number, a quick hang up, and a quick question like “What are office hours?”, they can all be classified as “calls”, so you may end up billing companies for calls that don’t address any real concern. If your patient’s conversations with representatives tend to be long, than this is a plan to consider.
What is a Per Minute pricing model?
A per minute pricing model means that you are charged in the time a representative is working for you on your behalf. You may be billed by the minute, but many services offer smaller charges per minute. For one call, you may be billed a little bit of money or a lot of money, solely depending on how long the call took, opposed to a per call pricing model, which you are charged a fixed amount regardless of how long the call was for. If your calls tend to result in various small inquiry calls, such as taking messages, then this medical answering service pricing models are ideal for you.What about for less than a minute?
Many calls are brief and last less than one minute, in which case the minutes would round up, like in basic math. It should be clear to understand that most medical answering service pricing plans are by the minute, not the second. The moment the call begins, minute one is paid for, and you pay for the next minute once minute one ends. So if you have a call that lasts 6 minutes and 20 seconds, you are charged for 7 minutes, so keep this in mind when reviewing each doctor answering service’s rates.
Will they issue hidden fees?
Absolutely. Some doctor answering services will entice employers with low monthly charges, and not tell them about their full array of coverage. If you happen to exchange texts or emails with the service, have them place outgoing calls to patients, and other services, you could be forced to pay more than advertised for their full plan. While these things might be convenient for you, it may turn you off that they aren’t honest with their pricing. They can also apply additional charges for around the clock services and holiday services.
Therefore, you should always read the fine print that covers their range of services and how much each service costs per month. Have these companies be honest and upfront with you about their services to know that they won’t cause stress and confusion for you later down the road. If you are still unsure about their plans after speaking to a representative about them, then it’s a sign you can trust another doctor answering service more.