First impressions matter! Especially if it is the first call from a new or potential patient. Phone calls are a direct method of patient care and outreach and must be routed efficiently and to the right person. Teams Phone can provide your patients & care givers with a convenient way to communicate quickly, while protecting the clinic from being inundated with calls that can be handled by other channels.
In a typical clinic, you will need the ability for patients to ask follow-up questions from their appointments or refill prescriptions, but items like billing and scheduling are handled by centralized departments at another location. Your basic call routing scheme might look something like this:
Now that we have set the stage, let us discuss a few of the advanced features and functionalities that are native to the Microsoft Teams experience.
Auto Attendant Flow: The Basics
Auto Attendants are the foundation of a connected clinic. An auto attendant can provide callers with a way to navigate a menu of choices so they can get connected to the right person.
In this example the Auto Attendant is configured for the following:
- A greeting with the clinic address and guidance if caller is experiencing an emergency
- A menu of options for the patient to connect with:
- Appointment scheduling - a centralized team using Microsoft Teams
- Billing questions - an external service outside of the health system, or not using Microsoft Teams
- Clinical staff inside the clinic - follow-up questions or prescription refills
- Records requests – a voice mail that gives further instructions.
- Other questions – an operator or receptionist to route other issues.
The image below shows the Auto Attendant configuration in the Teams Admin Center. The menu options can easily be configured using the interface, or an administrator can bulk create them using PowerShell.
Routing Inbound Calls and Call Queuing
In this section, we will explain how inbound calls are transferred to the Care Team using Microsoft Teams Phone. The patient dials the main number and has two options to reach the Care Team:
- Select option 3 on their keypad, or
- Say “Care Team” into the phone
The call will be routed directly to a team member if available to answer. If no one is available, the caller will be placed into a queue and hear a greeting message. The caller can also leave voicemail if they prefer.
To create a queue for option 3, we used a voice enabled channel in a Team created for the clinic’s Care Team. There are many benefits to managing a queue with a Voice Enabled Channel. The Care Team can manage who is a member of the Team, staff can easily opt-in and out of the queue as their schedule allows, view availability of other team members, and collaborate live with others if assistance is needed. Plus more!
Call Parking
Parking and retrieving a call is a feature that allows an end user to switch devices or consult with other staff without disconnecting the caller. For example, suppose a member of the clinic Care Team receives a call from a patient who needs to speak to the clinical staff. The Care Team member can ‘park’ the call and assign it a unique code. Then, the clinician can easily retrieve the call by entering the code on their device. Call park is a simple solution for call transfers between different staff members.
Consistent Caller ID for All Outbound Dialing
When staff at the clinic make an outbound call, most clinics want to display the telephone number of the clinic instead of the callers’ personal phone number. To accomplish this, use Caller ID Policies in Microsoft Teams. Caller ID Policies will let you configure the Calling Party Name and the phone number displayed during an outbound call. This is easy to setup from Teams Admin Console.
Conclusion
Phone calls are an important aspect of patient care and satisfaction, but they can also be a source of frustration and inefficiency if not managed well. Teams can help you streamline your phone communication and provide your patients with a better experience. By using Teams, you can reduce the number of unnecessary calls, route the calls to the right person or department, and offer other channels of communication such as chat or video. Teams can also help you collaborate with your colleagues and share information securely and easily.
Want to give it a spin and test it out? Users with E5 or a Teams Phone license can leverage this functionality today, otherwise a trial for Teams Phone is available through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
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