Thank you for your responses. I don't have much contact with other local solo practitioners because they have all gone to work for the hospital, so the insight I gain from this board is tremendous.
The day after I posted this topic, I received an ad in the mail for a $70 per month flat-rate, no contract, answering service. After contacting them, I learned that some solo docs in a nearby city were using their service. They basically provide a personalized automated system. You are supplied with a forwarding number that is in essence, an auto-attendant. We would have to record any Spanish options ourselves as the service only provide English messages. It goes something like this:
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"If this is a medical emergency, please hang up and dial 911."
"For prescriptions press 1" --> "Please call during normal business hours for any medication issues....Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM...."
"For appointments press 2" --> "Call back during normal business hours....Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM...."
"Doctors & hospitals, press 3" --> They leave a voicemail, the audio file is then e-mailed and/or sent via text to up to 5 numbers/addresses. Physician can call back number and personal cell information is scrambled by service for physician's privacy.
"Non-emergency issues, press 4" --> Leave a message, sent to contact list as above.
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A few months ago we had set up a full auto-attendant during business hours to handle the volume of calls that was overwhelming the receptionist (pharmacies, medical records, lawyers, HEDIS, etc). In our system, we had it setup to go to voicemail checked daily for RX's, medical records, etc, and a live person for appointments or doctor-to-doctor calls.
However, within a week we abandoned it after everyone complained. I realized that what this company would be charging me for is exactly what we had before.
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Here's my plan:
1. Set up the auto-attendant on a schedule for after-hours answering.
2. Make a Google Voice account for the voicemails (FREE TRANSCRIPTION!!), and forward the voicemails/e-mails to my smartphone.
3. Call through that Google Voice account via my smart phone to keep my cell phone number private.
How does that sound? Total price = $0/month. Voicemails are transcribed through Google Voice for free and I can record the Spanish versions of the auto-attendant system.
