Outsourcing healthcare and dental calls: what to check first
Medical and dental practices lose patients when phones go unanswered. Many patient calls can be handled by an outsourced team, provided patient information is protected and clinical questions stay with your clinicians. Here is what fits and what to check.
The short answer
Yes, you can outsource patient scheduling and other routine calls. Scheduling, rescheduling, reminders, new-patient intake and insurance or billing questions are commonly outsourced. Clinical advice is not: it stays with your clinicians. Before you choose a partner, check how it protects patient information, how agents get into your systems, how calls are recorded and stored, and how agents are trained to escalate.
Which calls fit
- Scheduling and rescheduling: booking, moving and cancelling appointments in your system
- Reminders and confirmations: calls or messages before appointments to reduce no-shows
- New-patient intake: collecting contact, insurance and visit details before the first appointment
- Insurance and billing questions: routine questions about statements, payment options and what to bring
- After-hours calls: taking messages and routing urgent calls to your on-call clinician or emergency services, by your rules
Agents should never give medical or dental advice. Write down which questions they answer, which they pass to your team, and which callers are told to contact emergency services. For evening and weekend cover, see after-hours and overflow call coverage.
What to ask any partner
- Privacy and security: how is patient information protected, who can see it, and how are agents trained on confidentiality?
- Business associate agreement: if you are a US practice covered by HIPAA, ask whether the vendor will sign a business associate agreement before it handles patient information.
- Access controls: does each agent have an individual login with only the access the role needs, and how is access removed when someone leaves?
- Call recording: are calls recorded, how are callers told, where are recordings stored, who can play them and how long are they kept?
- Devices and workspace: do agents work from a supervised floor or from home, and can patient information be printed, copied or saved locally?
- Training and escalation: how are agents trained on your scripts, and what happens when a caller asks something outside them?
Ask for written answers and keep them with your contract. Privacy rules for health information vary by country and state, so check your obligations with legal counsel; this guide is not legal advice. For a wider list of questions, see how to choose a call center outsourcing partner.
Systems access
Agents work best when they book straight into your practice management or scheduling system, so the patient leaves the call with a confirmed time. List every system they need, such as scheduling, patient records (if any access is needed at all), phone and messaging, and request logins early. Access set-up is often the slowest part of a launch. See how to brief an outsourced call center for the rest of the brief.
Measures to agree
- Share of calls answered within an agreed time, and abandoned calls
- Appointments booked, rescheduled and cancelled
- No-show rate, if the team also makes reminder calls
- Calls escalated to your team, and whether escalations followed the rules
- Patient satisfaction and quality scores from call reviews
For how each measure works, see call center KPIs explained. To weigh the cost against more front-desk staff, see in-house vs outsourced customer service cost.
How KCG BPO works with practices
Healthcare is one of KCG BPO's specialties, alongside e-commerce, tech support and sales. Agents work from Kingston, Jamaica, and every program runs 24/7, so after-hours calls reach a live person. Most programs go live in 2–4 weeks, with weekly performance reports and monthly review meetings. Ask us to walk you through our own privacy, access and escalation practices on a call, and check them against the questions above.
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Healthcare and dental calls: FAQs
Can I outsource patient scheduling calls?
Yes. Scheduling, rescheduling, reminders, new-patient intake and routine insurance or billing questions are commonly outsourced. Clinical advice stays with your clinicians, and agents follow written scripts and escalation rules for anything outside their remit.
What should I check before outsourcing healthcare calls?
Ask how the partner protects patient information: access controls, call recording and storage, staff training and confidentiality agreements. In the United States, ask whether the vendor will sign a HIPAA business associate agreement. Also check how agents are trained on your scripts and when they escalate to your team.
Do outsourced agents need access to our scheduling system?
Usually, yes. Agents book directly into your practice management or scheduling system so appointments are confirmed on the call. Give each agent their own login with only the access the role needs.
Missing patient calls?
Tell us your call volumes, hours and which calls you want covered, and we'll walk you through how we would handle them.