24/7 Medical Answering Service

A medical answering service, sometimes known as a doctor answering service or physician answering service, is a way for your medical practice to ensure a seamless connection with your patients, doctors, and other medical professionals. Here, the answering service acts as the go-between for medical professionals; scheduling appointments, referring patients to their departments, and patching the triage nurse (or on-call) for emergencies.

With a physician answering service, you can be sure that your patients receive prompt and professional care and your doctors reached timely and appropriately at any time of day. It's useful for medical practices of any size that want to ensure a secure, consistent, and professional communication 24/7.

While the general call flow provides a solid foundation, answering services can also be highly customized for the healthcare industry. As a call center that first starting handling patient calls in 1932, we're fully aware of what needs to go into a medical answering service to make a practice manager and a patient's life easier. 

Learn more about how medical answering services work here.

Based on our annual data from the previous year, we found the average medical answering service plan in 2025 costs between $175 - $275 for a monthly call volume of 50.

Learn more about the results from our industry-wide analysis on the costs of medical answering services in 2025 here.

Are you finding it hard to keep up with the growing number of calls your practice is getting?

For medical professionals, patient satisfaction is key. That means a prompt answer for every call.

Whether you’re looking to unify your staff's communications, increase patient satisfaction and safety, reduce provider burnout or just handle an overwhelming volume of calls, we’ve got you covered.

Since 1932, we’ve been the voice on the other end of the line for medical offices like yours. With nearly 100 years of experience, we’ve perfected our medical answering service to make sure your patients feel supported while you focus on what you do best.

Our medical answering services can scale as high or low as you need. Our receptionists are always ready to handle multiple calls simultaneously, so your patients' experience is seamless.

We currently serve dozens of large healthcare organizations across the USA. When you sign up with us, you won't have to worry about hiring extra in-person staff and dealing with overtime pay, benefits, and more. We're available 24/7/365—even during weather emergencies, because we know how important it is to ensure that your patients can always reach you.

Yes! We take your patient health information’s (PHI) security seriously. Not only do we have HIPAA compliant secure texting and emailing between our answering service and your practice’s staff, we also conduct an annual third-party audit of our HIPAA compliance.

That’s fine! Our secure text messaging application, Startel Secure Messaging Plus, allows your doctors to receive text messages securely and, with one swipe, file the messages to show they’ve acknowledged the contents of the message. Want to use an app that you already use in your office? No problem! We also work and integrate with thousands of other apps—and we likely can connect to yours!

Most likely, yes! If the apps you use are found in our integrations page, then yes! In addition, we also have a HIPAA compliant API which can be used to exchange data in real-time. This allows to connect to thousands of your favorite apps, and some EMRs!

Yes! Ambs Call Center provides 24/7 live registration services for medical seminars, patient education classes, and community health events. Our trained reservation specialists follow your exact script and protocol to ensure every caller receives a professional, consistent experience.

We can even customize registration forms for your medical event.

In addition to a wide range of standard registration templates, we offer fully customized forms to capture the specific information your event requires—such as insurance provider, medical history, or consent preferences. We’ll work closely with your team to ensure nothing gets missed.

But how does Ambs Call Center access real-time registration information?

Good question. You'll get secure, on-demand access to your event registration data via the web. We can export attendee lists in popular formats like CSV, Excel, or PDF, making it easy to import data into your EMR, CRM, or internal systems. Need real-time alerts? We can notify you via email, text, or pager about new registrations, full sessions, or urgent notes.

Our call center agents can even answer questions about the event (depending on the complexity). We offer an Information Hotline Service that plays a recorded message before connecting callers with a live agent. This helps answer frequently asked questions (like event location, parking, or what to bring) while still giving callers the option to speak with someone anytime.

We also support last-minute event updates or changes. If there’s a change in time, location, or speaker, we can update your hotline message instantly and notify registrants as needed. Our agents are trained to handle last-minute updates professionally and proactively.

Lastly, we can even conduct post-event surveys or manage subscription renewals. Post-event client surveys, feedback collection, and subscription renewals—are all available 24/7. Whether you’re gathering patient satisfaction data or renewing participation in a recurring wellness series, we can help streamline the process.

Patient happiness starts with how they feel when they call your doctor's office. Every phone call is a chance to make them feel better about their care. When patients call, they're often worried or scared. Your first words can calm them down or make them more upset. Good phone help makes patients trust your office more. Bad phone help makes them want to find a new doctor.

Having real people pick up the phone matters a lot. Patients hate getting stuck in phone menus that go on forever. They don't want to leave messages and wait hours for callbacks. When someone's sick, they want to talk to a person right away. That person should sound friendly and ready to help. Even if they can't solve the problem instantly, they can make the patient feel heard.

Quick responses save lives and keep patients happy. When someone calls about chest pain or trouble breathing, every second counts. Your phone team needs to know which problems need help right now. They should ask the right questions fast. "Are you having trouble breathing?" "Is there any chest pain?" "Are you bleeding a lot?" These simple questions help decide if someone needs an ambulance or can come in later.

Your phone team needs clear rules about urgent calls. Not every problem is an emergency, but some really are. Chest pain, breathing problems, heavy bleeding, and signs of stroke need help immediately. High fever, bad pain, or medication reactions might need same-day visits. Regular questions about appointments or test results can wait longer. Make a simple list your team can follow every time.

After-hours help keeps patients safe when your office is closed. People get sick at night, on weekends, and during holidays. Having someone available to talk helps them decide what to do. Should they go to the emergency room? Can they wait until tomorrow? Your night team should know when to send people to the ER and when to schedule morning appointments. This saves patients money and gets them the right level of care.

Patient privacy rules must be part of every phone conversation. Your team can't share medical details with just anyone. They need to check that they're talking to the right person first. Never leave detailed medical messages on voicemail where other people might hear. Instead, ask patients to call back or leave simple messages asking for return calls. Keep records of all phone conversations in case you need them later.

Connecting your phones to patient records makes everything work better. When patients call, your team should see their recent visits and current medicines. This helps them give better advice without making patients repeat everything. They can also see upcoming appointments and make changes if needed. Having all this information ready prevents mix-ups and saves time for everyone.

Checking how well your phone team does their job helps patients get consistent care. Listen to recorded calls sometimes to see what's working well and what needs work. Are your team members friendly? Do they get the right information? Do they explain things clearly? Patients notice when call handlers sound rushed or don't seem to care. They also appreciate when staff take extra time to help them understand things.

Busy times need extra phone coverage so patients don't get frustrated with long waits. Monday mornings, after holidays, and during flu season bring lots of calls. Having backup help during these times means no patient gets ignored. Your extra team members should know the same rules and have access to the same information as your regular staff. This keeps the quality of care the same no matter when patients call.

Medicine-related calls need special care because mistakes can hurt people. Your team should know how to handle prescription refills and questions about side effects. They need clear rules about which medicine problems need immediate attention from a doctor. Never give medical advice over the phone, but do know when to get clinical staff involved quickly. Write down exactly what patients say about medicine reactions or problems.

Booking appointments involves more than just finding open time slots. Good phone handlers help patients know what to expect during their visits. They explain what to bring, how to prepare, and what the visit might cost. They can explain insurance rules and office policies before the appointment day. Follow-up calls to remind patients about visits and preparation requirements help visits go smoothly and reduce no-shows.

Getting feedback from patients about their phone experience helps you improve over time. Ask them how they felt about calling your office. Did someone pick up quickly? Were their questions handled completely? Did they feel listened to? This feedback shows patterns that might mean you need more training or system changes. Happy patients often mention specific staff members who helped them a lot, which creates chances to recognize good work.

Technology tools like automatic call routing and patient portals can help, but they shouldn't replace human contact entirely. Some patients like texting for simple questions or appointment reminders. Others prefer checking test results online instead of calling. However, complex medical questions and emotional support still need real people. The trick is giving patients multiple ways to reach you while making sure someone knowledgeable is always there for important situations.

Measuring success means tracking both how well your phone system works and how happy patients are. Watch how fast calls get picked up and how many patients get callbacks when promised. See how often urgent problems get handled the right way. Ask patients specific questions about their phone experience, not just general satisfaction with your office. Look for trends that show whether changes in your phone handling are making patients happier over time.

Good patient phone communication pays for itself in many ways. Happy patients keep their appointments and follow treatment plans better. They tell friends and family good things about your office. They write positive online reviews that bring in new patients. Better phone handling also reduces staff stress by preventing frustrated patients and complaints about communication problems. Most importantly, good phone triage and patient guidance leads to better health outcomes, which is what healthcare is really about.