To get your own healthcare phone number, one simple way is to sign up a for a cloud-based healthcare phone system. For example, you can sign up for Dialpad in a few minutes (plans start at $20 AUD per month), and your patients will then be able to call this phone number to get in touch with your clinic. Dialpad also has a built-in IVR (interactive voice response) system that can greet and route your callers automatically without needing someone to manually transfer calls.

This can be extremely valuable if your team is overwhelmed with incoming calls. It can cut wait times (and reassure the patient that their question will be dealt with once someone is available)

There are many business phone systems on the market for the healthcare industry. Dialpad gives you a robust unified communications solution that lets you make phone calls, send SMS/MMS + text messaging, and have video meetings—all from the same platform.

This means that staff can keep in touch with each other and remind patients of appointments—even when working remotely—from one simple app.

The best healthcare phone systems should include features like IVR, call routing, automated voicemail, integrations with other software you're using (like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace), and built-in call analytics.

Choosing the right platform can be challenging, just because there are so many options on the market. A good healthcare VoIP system or communications platform should be easy to use for your staff and also remote-friendly. Every business needs slightly different features, but here are some features you might consider in a healthcare communications system:

• Advanced call management to track and manage patients’ incoming and outgoing calls.
• Built-in analytics to see how well calls were dealt with and help train staff in the future, where necessary.
• Integrations with other software you're using.

For many clinics, the majority of phone calls will be from patients wanting to get in touch with a healthcare professional. Because of this, it’s crucial that you’re using something that lets you seamlessly connect patients with doctors even when employees are in different places. VoIP solutions for healthcare can be the difference between a well-connected team and a team struggling to keep up with caller demand.

As a final note, make sure you shop around and evaluate cost vs features offered by any healthcare phone systems or unified communications platform you're considering. Try Dialpad for free with a 14-day free trial to see if it’s the right system for your healthcare organization.