SimplePractice Multi-Location Phone Management

Several offices, one reputation

A practice that grows from one office to several often keeps separate phone habits at each site. One office answers promptly and asks thorough intake questions; another relies on voicemail. Callers do not see the difference between locations. They see one practice name, and one inconsistent experience.

Callers also get confused. They call the wrong office, show up at the wrong address, or ask for a clinician who only works at the other site on Thursdays.

Staffing makes it worse. Each office has its own front desk, or shares one person between sites, and coverage depends on who is in that day. When the receptionist at the smaller office is out, its calls quietly go to voicemail and nobody at the main office knows.

Location as a routing rule

Katie asks which office the caller is interested in, or which one their clinician works from, and applies your rules for that location. While the offices are open, calls that need a person can be transferred to staff at the right site. Other calls become structured summaries marked with the location, so each office manager works their own queue.

• Address, parking and building entry instructions for each office
• Each location's hours and holiday closures
• Which services and clinicians are available at which site
• Who receives transfers and summaries for each location

Clinicians who split their week

In many groups, clinicians work at different offices on different days, or mix in-person days with telehealth. When a client wants to see a particular clinician, Katie books them into that clinician's SimplePractice calendar on a day they work at the office the client chose. MedReception AI is live with practices on SimplePractice, so the booking lands where the schedule already lives.

Telehealth as another location

Practices that offer telehealth across a whole state often treat it as a virtual location with its own clinicians and rules. Katie can ask telehealth callers which state they will be in during sessions, so the coordinator only matches them with clinicians licensed there.

This is useful for clients who move between offices too. Someone who started in person and relocated across town may be better served by a telehealth clinician than by a long drive, and the summary gives the coordinator what they need to suggest it.

Consistent where it matters, local where it helps

Escalation protocols, privacy rules and intake questions should be identical across every office, because a caller's safety or privacy cannot depend on which site they dialed. Practical details, such as parking, hours and local referral lists, can differ by site. Your rules can do both.

Consistency also helps when you acquire or merge with another practice. Bringing a new office under the same phone rules on day one gives its clients the same experience as everyone else, even while staff are still learning the new systems.