Good optometry management affects the quality of life for many rural residents, particularly the elderly. However, in rural areas, residents have to travel many miles to get to the nearest hospital, and even farther to visit specialists.

Elderly residents in rural areas often have to travel to hub cities to see an optometrist. Traveling distances over 100 miles is taxing on patients and their families, particularly when vision impairment is a factor. Usually, that means the loss of a day's work for the patient's driver, which has to be coordinated with the doctor's schedule.

Dr. Alistair Chaussee of the Prairie Hills Vision Clinic provides a valuable service to his patients, by bringing the clinic to them. Twice each week, Dr. Chausee travels to one of four satellite clinics that he has established in rural communities. His patients, young and old alike, are able to schedule convenient eye care appointments in or near their hometowns without sacrificing whole days to the trip.

The doctor’s patients call his toll-free number to schedule their appointments for any one of the four satellite clinics or the main clinic. His telephone answering services handles these calls.  They answer patient calls and are able to get details about their symptoms and prioritize their appointments in accordance with the doctor’s instructions. The patients are treated to this friendly, professional service 24 hour hours a day, seven days a week.

Although optometrists don't often have emergency calls, they do occur, particularly when the optometrist is the only eye care professional serving rural areas. Occasionally, Dr. Chaussee's toll-free appointment line gets calls late at night, often regarding eye injuries related to "welding flash" from farmers and ranchers.

In accordance with the doctor’s instructions, the staff at the answering service can triage these calls and patch callers directly to the doctor who provides first-aid instruction and referrals to the nearest hospital when necessary. The twenty-four hour service helps distinguish the Prairie Hills Vision Clinic from all others, giving rural patients access to hub-city services.

When he is on the road, Dr. Chaussee knows that his patients will be treated with courtesy and respect. He knows that his business calls will be handled professionally and that his messages will be available when he is ready for them. According to Dr. Chausee, his answering service has helped his clinic grow without adding unnecessary expenses and overhead to his costs. In addition, his patients enjoy a high quality of care in their own hometowns.

Learn more about telephone answering services and discover how the might be able to help you.