Dealing with Voicemail
Many people today have voicemail activated on their personal cell phones or at home. Some people even screen unwanted calls. When encountering voicemail in the course of confirming patients for the following day whether at home or the office, simply leave a message as in the following example:
“John, this is Susie from Dr. Smith’s office. I need to confirm your appointment for 8:45 a.m. tomorrow, so please call me back at 123-4567 as soon as it’s convenient. Thanks. I’ll try back this afternoon, if I haven’t heard from you by then.”
At 1:00 p.m. when you try back, do not leave another message. Call back off and on throughout the afternoon right up until it is time to go home, without leaving messages. At the end of the day, call back and leave the following message:
“Hi, John, this is Susie again from Dr. Smith’s office. I’m sorry that I couldn’t reach you today. We are still planning to see you at 8:45 tomorrow. We have saved a whole hour for you. Thanks.”
When you do next talk to the patient, politely inquire about the best way to get through to them and note special requirements in their records. Also, when you continue to be unable to reach a patient, these is useful information that could help in our policy, “Skiptracing: Locating Hard to Find Patients.”
