Who is your phone provider? If it is one of the newer VOIP ones, they can very easily set it up (for free) so that patients can hear an after hours msg "We are closed etc. etc etc........press 9 if you have an urgent question and want to reach the doctor." When they press 9, call rings on your cell phone where you can either answer or let it go to voicemail and call them back.
I find answering the call right away is SO much more efficient than getting their msg and their number and then calling them back.....and they don't answer.....you leave a voicemail......they call back as you are leaving a voicemail.......
Also, there seems to be a counterintuitive effect on patients of the doctor being very quickly and easily available--- they call less.
Or maybe we have just been lucky.....
