Why this one
costs you money.
A practice loses money at the front desk in a way that never appears on a denial report. An unanswered phone is a cancelled appointment, an unfilled slot, and often a patient who books somewhere else — none of which produces a claim to analyse afterwards.
Patient support covers the calls and messages a busy practice cannot always get to: scheduling, coverage questions, refill requests and general enquiries. What is included, and during which hours, is set in the service agreement rather than assumed.
What this discipline
actually involves.
- Appointment scheduling, rescheduling and cancellations handled directly.
- Insurance questions answered before they become billing disputes.
- Prescription refill requests routed to the right person, not a voicemail.
- Patient messages and general enquiries covered during agreed hours.
- After-hours and weekend cover where the service agreement includes it.
The method.
Answer
Calls are picked up during the agreed hours rather than going to voicemail. Scope, hours and the escalation path are defined before the service starts.
Schedule
Appointments booked, rescheduled and cancelled directly in your system, so the diary the practice sees is the diary the patient was given.
Resolve or route
Coverage and balance questions answered where they can be; clinical questions and refill requests routed to whoever should handle them.
Record
Activity documented in your system under your own user accounts, so the practice can see what was said and to whom.
What you receive
- Calls answered during agreed hours, not sent to voicemail.
- Scheduling handled directly in your system.
- Coverage and balance questions answered before they become disputes.
- After-hours and weekend cover where the agreement includes it.
The failure modes.
Calls that go unanswered
An unanswered phone is a cancelled appointment, an unfilled slot and a patient who books elsewhere.
Billing questions handled as billing problems
Most patient calls about a bill are really questions about coverage. Answered early, they do not become disputes.
Front-desk staff pulled off the desk
Every call taken at the counter is a check-in delayed and a verification not done.
What clients say.
One of the biggest advantages of working with Exact Core is accessibility. When we have a question or identify an issue, we can actually talk to someone who understands our account and knows what needs to happen next.
Exact Core doesn’t feel like a typical outsourced service provider. Their team takes the time to understand our priorities, communicates with us regularly, and operates much more like an extension of our own organization.
About patient support.
What is included in patient support?
Appointment scheduling, rescheduling and cancellations, insurance enquiries, patient messages, prescription refill requests and general customer support. The exact scope depends on the agreed service agreement.
Can your team answer calls after business hours?
After-hours and weekend support is available so patients receive timely assistance. Whether it is included, and for which hours, depends on the agreed service agreement.
Is your patient support team HIPAA compliant?
Yes. Patient support follows HIPAA-compliant processes for handling protected health information, with workforce training, role-based access and documented procedures. Specific requirements are reviewed before any system access is granted.
Does this replace our front desk?
It does not have to. Most practices use it to cover overflow, lunch periods, after-hours and peak times, so the desk is not choosing between the phone and the patient standing in front of it.
The other five disciplines
Revenue leaks between them, which is why they are managed as one cycle.
Medical billingMedical codingDenial managementAR ManagementCredentialingEligibility verificationFront office management
How is patient support
performing for you?
A revenue assessment reviews all eight disciplines end to end and shows you where the reimbursement is going.