Statistics tell us that Practices today are missing clients on a daily basis often due to urgent medical transcription requirements. Just consider a phone call. It could be the next best client but, instead, it becomes a missed opportunity.
“My name is Might-Have-Been Your Client.
The Lost Client
I am also called No-More, Too-Late, Farewell”
Now it’s one thing to let opportunities slip by because we are too busy to notice. It’s another to ignore them while they’re tapping us on our shoulders. And 34% of the time that’s exactly what we do and this is a conservative estimate as often it is more likely to be 66% of the time.
This costs your Practice not only a shed load of money; it also affects its reputation and referral opportunities.
Lost opportunities are caused by a number of incidents: hold times that are too long, poor phone etiquette, unknowledgeable staff or simply not asking the caller to schedule an appointment. But the main culprit is also the most egregious: not answering the phone.
That’s right – on average, 34% of phone calls made to a Practice go unanswered or worse as these stats show.
It sounds crazy, but think about it – a Practice phone is its shop front. Sure there is a website; however once a visitor has visited and decided to call only to find they are greeted by a prompt to leave a message (statistics also indicate they do not) – no, instead, they hang up and go on until they find a Practice that is answered by a real person, a representative of the Practice who will ‘sell’ its service to them. The role therefore of the telephonist/receptionist/whoever answers the phone is quite simply one of the most important jobs of the practice.
The Good News
By the time someone rings, they have already decided on using your service if someone personally talks to them, gives them the time to discuss any number of issues and is enthusiastic to help. They are predisposed to go with a Practice where a warm human voice nurtures the conversation, answers all questions thoroughly AND does not sound rushed or eager to finish the phone call. The knack of converting calls to new business has never been more vital than nowadays. Potential clients research their own illnesses, are proactive in reading up on clinics and their reviews and often choose on average to decide on 3-4 that they consider appropriate to call.
The Bad News
This does not happen if the telephonist/receptionist is rushed and untrained in selling. This does not happen if Practices struggle with medical typing overload. A re-look at this element of the medical industry illustrates that most Practices are failing to see the importance of this role. There are often two or three members of staff who answer the telephone and it is assumed that one or other will ‘eventually’ answer the phone but no logic to whom, when and how. It is a random assignment and dependent on diligence.
Scenarios
The potential client will probably hang up after 6-7 rings. They may try again or simply move on to their next chosen practice.
The Practice answerphone may kick in. However, in the main people don’t actually leave a message. Stats state – only 37% of people actually leave a message.
Impact on Practice
Based on our records the average practice receives approximately 750 phone calls a month, and that one in every five of those calls is an appointment opportunity. That’s 20% of all calls.
That means there are: 750 x 20% = 150 appointment opportunities per month.
If 34% of all calls go unanswered, the numbers change to:
- 750 x 66% = 495 answered calls/month
- 366 x 20% = 99 appointment opportunities
That’s 51 appointment opportunities lost simply by not answering the phone!
Now assume your average procedure cost is £4,000, and your conversion rate is 50%. By that calculation, you could be losing 51/2 = 25.5 new patients : 25.5 x 4,000 = £102,000
That’s £102k a month potentially down the drain. And for many of you, that number could be a lot higher.
When you factor in the 37% that actually DO leave a voicemail, the number of new patients drops to 16, but the result still isn’t pretty:
16 x £4,000 = £64,000 a month in potential lost revenue.
£64k. All because you’re simply not picking up the phone.
Practices Struggle with Medical Transcription Overloads
About now, I’m sure most of you are saying to yourselves – well, that’s not how we operate – but do you really know? I mean, if they’re not leaving a message.
But the real question is why.
Why are the Phones not being Answered?
We commonly see two main reasons:
- Staff are multi-tasking: they’re currently assisting other patients either on another line or in the office.
- Your staff are typing an urgent letter/out at lunch (and don’t forget prospective clients often call in their lunch hour which is probably your Practice’s lunch hour too.
Outsourced Medical Transcription Boosts Client Numbers
Luckily at OutSec, we have a solution to help fix this unhealthy situation.
It’s simple, practices struggle with overload typing. Dictation and therefore transcription can be completed by our dedicated medical team of typists, all of whom have at least 7 years specialist medical transcription knowledge of your medical discipline.
So what does this outsourced medical transcription opportunity mean to your practice? We already went over how much you could be losing – think of how much you could gain, for less than half the average cost of just a single new patient. Call us today and we can do the maths for you!
About OutSec
OutSec is the UK’s leading online medical transcription company whose business has grown substantially since 2002. We are one of the most successful medical transcription companies in the United Kingdom.
OutSec provides secure outsourced transcription services to the medical, legal, property and surveying, universities, media and interviews, advisory boards, conferences & seminars, inventories, financial, corporate, HR, recruitment and Executive Search sectors.
Why is Dictation More Efficient than Typing?
Well, the simple fact is that we can all speak considerably faster than we can physically type:
“The average person types between 38 and 40 words per minute”.
A “good rate of speech ranges between 140 -160 words per minute.”
In other words, dictation is up to four times faster than we can type. Therefore, simply dictating a document is more cost-efficient, giving you more time to dedicate your efforts elsewhere in your business.
Therefore why not add OutSec as a business continuity option for your business? Accounts are free, you pay on a per-minute basis (rounded to the nearest minute) on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no contracts or minimum spend. What do you have to lose? Why not open an account today!
Picture Attribution:
Freepik.com
