Your first week
What happens on each call in your first week live, what to review each day, and how your answers and rules get tuned to real calls.
3 min read
What happens on each call
Every call follows the same six stages:
- Answer. The call is picked up on the first ring, in under 2 seconds, at any hour.
- Understand. The agent works out what the caller wants, which provider, and how urgent it is. A returning patient is verified on their date of birth.
- Check availability. Open slots are read live from your schedule for the provider, visit type, location and time the caller asks for.
- Book. The agent holds the slot, applies your booking rules, and releases any old slot on a reschedule.
- Write back. The appointment is written into your system during the call, encrypted and logged.
- Confirm. Your patient gets a text with the details, reminders 24 hours and 2 hours before the visit, and a check-in 48 hours after.
Calls that need a person follow your escalation paths. See how urgent calls reach a person.
Daily review
| What | Where to look | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| New bookings | Your schedule | Right provider, visit type, location and time |
| Escalations | The staff line or queue you chose | Each arrived with a transcript and summary |
| Refill and result requests | The queue your team works | Each has the details your team needs to act |
| Call transcripts | Your 2care account | Answers sound like your practice |
Most practices pick one person to do this review each day for the first week. A short look at the day's calls is usually enough.
First-week tuning
Real calls bring up things no test call does. Common adjustments:
- Answers. A caller asks something new, such as a parking change or a new insurance plan, and we add the answer.
- Booking rules. A provider prefers certain visit types on certain days, and we add the rule.
- Staff-arranged visits. A visit type turns out to need staff judgement, and the agent starts passing it to your team.
- Routing. A request type should reach a different person or queue, and we change the path.
Each change is tested before it reaches your line. See how changes are tested.
The first-week review
Near the end of the week, your specialist meets with you to go through:
- How many calls were answered, booked, and handed to staff
- Any call your team flagged, with its transcript
- Changes made during the week, and any still to make
- Whether to extend the hours 2care answers, for example adding busy-hour overflow to after-hours cover
As a reference point, 2care resolves 60% or more of calls without a human handoff, with an average handle time of 2 to 3 minutes. Your own mix depends on how many of your calls are bookings and how many need a person.
Briefing your team
A short note to your staff before go-live helps. Let them know:
- Which hours 2care answers
- Where escalations, refill requests and result requests arrive
- That warm transfers come with the transcript and a summary, so the caller does not repeat themselves
- Who to tell if something looks wrong
Questions
What if a booking does not look right?
Tell your specialist the patient name and appointment time. The call transcript shows what was said and what was written. See a booking did not appear.
Can we change the hours after a few days?
Yes. Changing when calls reach 2care is a change to your forwarding settings, covered in forwarding your number.
Will patients notice the change?
Patients are answered on the first ring, booked during the call, and sent a confirmation text. Calls that need a person reach your team with the details already captured.
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