TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

CONSIDER CALLER ID 2.0

VOIP PHONE SYSTEM SYNCHRONIZES WITH PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

KEVIN GEE, O.D.

WHAT IF you had a phone system that not only identified the caller, but also provided information about the caller’s entire household, such as prior and future appointments? Weave, a software that syncs your PMS with your phone system, does exactly that.

Here, I provide an overview of Weave and its benefits to the optometric practice.

OVERVIEW

Weave is similar to a patient communication system in that it pulls information from one’s practice management software and displays it on a desktop computer. The difference is that it also synchronizes with the VoIP phones to reveal specific patient information, such as insurance provider data, when a patient calls the practice or a practice employee calls a patient.

Imagine being the patient. You call; the receptionist immediately addresses you by name and in the same breath asks whether you’re calling in regards to your upcoming appointment.

In addition, the system provides a to-do list that should be accomplished during the call, for example: Informing Jane, the patient, that she has an overdo balance of $75 and wishing Jeremy, another patient, a happy birthday. Other features of Weave: online customer reviews, a mobile scheduling app., two-way texting, reminders, email, wait music and more. It costs $350/month.

My practice has been a beta site for Weave, as it expands into optometry. (It is already used in dental and orthodontic practices.) As a result of using it, my team is not only more relaxed during phone calls, but the practice has also seen an improvement on recapturing family members for appointments. Periodically, I’ll pick up the phone just to “keep it real,” and the patients are so impressed that I answered the call, but even more so when I know their details and ask about their family members by name.

Weave provides the practice with pertinent information for each call.

BENEFITS

Weave not only streamlines a practice’s appointment and accounting portions, it also fosters practice-patient relationships, lets you know whether your employees have completed their “to-do” lists — with every task completed, the more likely you are to see a bottom line increase — and it informs you of the rate of patients who present for their appointments. OM

DR. GEE practices in Houston and is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, an ABO Diplomate and an OCRT member. Also, he’s on Allergan’s advisory board and is a consultant for Solution Reach. Email him at drgee@geeeyecare.com, or visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment.