Ophthalmology Phone Management

An eye practice's phone day

Ophthalmology phones carry a mix that general practices do not: routine and diabetic eye exams, post-op cataract checks, glasses and contact lens orders from the optical shop, injection patients on a regular schedule, and the occasional caller who has just lost vision in one eye.

The last call is the one that matters most, and the one most at risk of landing in a voicemail queue between an optical pickup question and a request to move an exam.

Sudden vision changes

Callers who describe sudden vision loss, new flashes and floaters, a curtain over their vision, an eye injury or a chemical splash need clinical attention at once. Your physicians define those triggers, and Katie applies them: a transfer to clinical staff while you are open, an urgent summary, and direction to emergency care where your rules say so.

She does not assess the eye or reassure the caller. Even when the symptom turns out to be harmless, that is for your clinicians to decide.

Exams, injections and post-op visits

Eye practices tend to have many visit types with very different lengths. Each one is booked into eClinicalWorks at the length you set.

• Comprehensive and diabetic exams
• Dilated exams, with the driver guidance your practice gives
• Post-op day one and week one checks with the operating surgeon
• Injection patients booked with their treating retina physician
• Optical questions sent to the optical team

Drops and medication questions

Post-op patients often call confused about their drop schedule. That is a clinical question, and Katie treats it as one: the drop names and the question go to the technician or nurse your rules name. She does not explain how to take a medication.

Booked visits land on the eClinicalWorks schedule during the call. With MedReception Autopilot, the call summary is filed to the patient's chart from your staff's own browser, so the surgeon can see the drop question before the next check.

Older patients and family callers

Many eye patients are older and some cannot see well enough to read a number off a card. Adult children often call on their behalf. Katie records who is calling and their relationship to the patient, and there is no keypad menu to fight with.

For patients with limited vision, a confirmation spoken clearly on the call matters more than anything they would have to read later.

Calls from nursing homes and assisted living facilities about residents follow the same pattern: the caller is identified as facility staff, the patient is looked up, and the request goes to the team your rules name.