For vet practices, the phones aren’t defunct simply because the practice closes. Pets get sick at night clients get anxious during weekends, and calls are not always answered at the most convenient time. When those calls go unanswered or sent to voicemail or are routed to a generic answering provider with no medical understanding, the outcome is often furry pet owners, stress for veterinarians on call, and lost opportunities for the practice itself.
Image credit: guardianvets.com
The need for after-hours phone calls is an integral element of the veterinary business. A strong answering service for practices in veterinary medicine can do more than just answer the phone. It helps practices protect the relationship with their clients, direct pet owners to the appropriate next step, as well as reduce the burden on internal staff already stretched thin. In the present, 24-hour assistance is more than a convenience. It’s part of a practice’s commitment to continuity of the care.
Not all answering software is specifically designed for use in veterinary medicine.
There’s a huge distinction between an ordinary vet answering service and one that’s designed specifically for animal hospitals. In a hospital environment, answering calls after hours is not easy. A client may be worried about exposure to toxins after surgery, post-surgical complications and breathing issues or if their pet requires urgent emergency care. These situations are more than message-taking. The situations need calm communications and judgment from someone who is well-versed in the processes of veterinary work.
GuardianVets is different in this way. Instead of acting as a call center GuardianVets is an veterinary support provider staffed with Credentialed Veterinary Technologist. That distinction matters. A trained technician can assess the nature of the call, follow the clinic’s triage and escalation protocols, help the pet owner understand the level of urgency, and direct them toward the right next step without stepping outside the boundaries of the veterinary-client-patient relationship.
A veterinary triage service aids all people make better choices
One of the biggest benefits of a true veterinary triage service is that it creates clarity in stressful moments. Pet owners are often unable to know whether an issue can be put off until next day, if they need to make a follow-up appointment or require urgent medical attention. Many pet owners struggle to decide whether they should seek urgent care or go to an emergency room.
It helps close the gap. It gives pet owners a knowledgeable person to talk to, reduces confusion, and aids practices ensure urgent cases are escalated according to the need, while less urgent concerns are properly documented and handled. This keeps vets from getting interrupted by cases which don’t require medical intervention during the evening. This can result in a significant difference in the balance of work and life, especially for hospitals where the same doctors are carrying their clinical duties during the day and the on-call burden at night.
Call centers for veterinary practices should be able to function in conjunction with your workflow and not be in opposition to them
A modern veterinary call center is not a isolated service, positioned outside your practice. It should be an extension of your team. This means that it must be aware of your preferences for communication, appointment rules and emergency protocols as well as escalation routes and protocols. Integration with your current PIMS allows you to integrate triage notes as well as call logs and results of scheduling into the same system that your team uses.
GuardianVets is based on this notion. Their process includes auditing gaps in coverage for calls by mapping how the client’s communication is being handled and establishing an approach that is based on the actual practice rather than forcing the clinic into a rigid format. This is a significant shift from traditional answering services, that often end at message recording and leave the practice to sort things out later.
The convenience of the service is increased by a better after-hours coverage
A reliable after-hours answering service for veterinary practices can do more than just reduce the number of missed calls. It helps maintain trust with clients when under stress, allows more patients within the practice’s network and enables teams to better manage demand after hours. This could increase revenue by converting weekend and overnight inquiries into booked appointments instead of missing opportunities.
It is important for pet owners since it gives them peace of mind knowing that there is someone to help them when in need. In the field of veterinary medicine, this type of assistance is essential because the majority of calls made after hours don’t just concern the logistics. They’re also emotional. They are emotionally charged.
GuardianVets is an answering service for vets that offers hospitals an option that goes above and beyond what is typical. It allows practices to remain available to clients even when clinic doors are closed. It does this through integrating workflows along with compassionate communication.