Cost · ROI · Staffing
The Real Cost of Missed Calls — and Why AI Reception Pays for Itself
Medical practices rarely lose money in one obvious way. They lose it quietly — through missed calls, staff overload, burnout, and churn.
MedReception AI exists to stop those leaks. Here’s where the dollars go today and what changes when AI absorbs call volume.
Flat, predictable cost vs. $52–65k fully loaded per FTE.
More calls handled per staff hour; fewer callbacks and holds.
Example: 20 missed calls/day, 10% never return at $200/patient.
1) Call capacity: why AI multiplies staff output (2–2.5×)
- •Humans handle one call at a time; AI handles every call simultaneously.
- •Typical lift: 2–2.5× more call volume handled per staff hour.
- •Fewer interruptions to in-office care; no queue bottlenecks at peaks.
Financially: fewer callbacks, higher first-call resolution, staff stop context-switching. AI doesn’t replace staff — it amplifies them.
2) Cost comparison: AI vs. human receptionist
- •Human (US averages): Salary $40–50k; payroll tax & benefits +20–30% → $52–65k fully loaded.
- •AI receptionist: ~25% of a single FTE; predictable, flat operating cost.
- •No overtime, sick days, turnover, or training cycles.
One AI receptionist often costs ~0.25 FTE while delivering coverage equivalent to multiple staff.
3) Revenue loss from missed calls (the big one)
- •5–15% of missed calls never return; new-patient calls are most likely to abandon.
- •Primary care value: ~$150–$300 per patient/year; specialists: $750–$3,000+ per episode.
- •Example: 20 missed calls/day; 10% never return = 2 lost patients/day → ~$8k/month (~$96k/year) at $200/patient.
Lost revenue from abandonment alone often exceeds AI cost many times over.
4) After-hours & overflow = silent revenue loss
- •Voicemail/legacy services push patients to competitors; urgent issues can escalate.
- •AI answers 100% of after-hours calls, routes urgent correctly, and logs everything.
Even modest recovery of after-hours calls can add tens of thousands per year.
5) Burnout, turnover, and the hidden cost of front-desk churn
- •Replacing one front-desk employee: recruiting + training + 4–8 week ramp = $5k–$10k plus disruption.
- •AI reduces call pressure and interruption-driven work, directly reducing churn.
6) Agency, temp, and answering service markups
- •Temps/agency often add 25–40% hourly markups; answering services charge per-minute + transfers; overtime piles on.
- •Costs scale with chaos and don’t improve workflows; quality is inconsistent.
AI provides stable coverage at a fixed cost, regardless of volume.
7) The compounding effect (why ROI is through the roof)
- •Fewer missed calls → more patients.
- •Higher staff capacity → fewer hires.
- •Lower burnout → less turnover.
- •Better after-hours handling → higher retention.
- •Predictable costs → better planning.
Most practices recover multiple times the AI cost within weeks.
Bottom line
Practices don’t adopt MedReception AI to “save on a receptionist.” They adopt it to stop losing patients, protect staff, stabilize operations, and convert call volume into revenue instead of stress.
Next steps
- •Estimate how many calls you miss per day.
- •Multiply by conservative patient value.
- •Compare that to AI coverage cost — the math speaks for itself.