Clinic decision tool / 02
Find the missed-call gap. Then choose the fix.
A missed call is not automatically a lost patient. Before buying software, check when calls go unanswered, whether callers retry, who owns follow-up, and what the current phone system actually records. This worksheet keeps the decision tied to your clinic’s data.
A practical planning tool · No patient data needed · No outcome promise
Count calls the same way twice.
Choose the period, each location and its answering hours. Agree what the phone report means by an unanswered attempt before comparing periods. A repeat caller may make several attempts; attempts and people are not interchangeable.
Keep separate counts
- Inbound attempts eligible for your report.
- Unanswered before a person or approved service picked up.
- Abandoned while waiting or during a transfer.
- Voicemail messages and callback requests.
Exclude or label separately
- Known spam, test calls and wrong numbers.
- Repeat attempts by the same caller, if measurable.
- Calls outside the coverage you intend to assess.
- Unknown caller intent; do not guess it from a missed ring.
If your phone system cannot distinguish these outcomes, mark the field unknown. Do not manufacture a conversion rate or revenue estimate from incomplete data.
A blank sheet for your call data.
Export only the totals your phone system supports. Keep personal identifiers and recordings out of this public/downloadable template. Your clinic decides how its private records are accessed, stored and reviewed.
| Period / location | Coverage window | Eligible inbound | Unanswered | Abandoned | Follow-up owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ________________ | ________________ | ________ | ________ | ________ | ________________ |
| ________________ | ________________ | ________ | ________ | ________ | ________________ |
| ________________ | ________________ | ________ | ________ | ________ | ________________ |
Optional calculation: unanswered attempts ÷ eligible inbound attempts for the same period and scope. That is an attempt rate, not a count of lost patients. Compare like with like after a change.
What the pattern suggests. What to test next.
These are hypotheses to test, not a promise that one service will solve every gap. Ask your team what happened in the real routing path before changing the technology.
| If you observe | Try examining | How to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Short uncovered opening-hour periods | Rota, breaks and overflow staffing | Compare the same windows after the change |
| Transfers reach an unmonitored destination | Phone-tree and fallback settings | Place an approved test call and check receipt |
| Voicemail exists but follow-up is unclear | An assigned callback queue and owner | Check whether the request receives a documented next step |
| Calls arrive when reception is closed | After-hours coverage options, including staff, voicemail or an answering service | Test the complete route and the next-business-day handoff |
| Routine questions disrupt busy staff | Approved information and a bounded pilot | Use the pilot test matrix before any expansion |
Measure the next step. Not imagined revenue.
Repeat your worksheet with the same definitions after a change. Record whether the relevant callers reached a person, requested a callback or booked through a verified system. Keep unknown outcomes unknown; a missed attempt does not prove a patient chose another practice.
Bring your call pattern, not a guess.
If the audit identifies a gap that a configured service might help, ask DrKing to show the actual routing, fallback and follow-up path. A simpler staffing or phone-system fix may be the better choice.