How do I handle after-hours and weekend calls at my chiropractic office?
By the Margin Media team · Updated
A chiropractic office handles after-hours and weekend calls by deciding what should happen to each kind of caller, then putting something on the line that does it: an answering service, an on-call mobile, or an AI receptionist. The aim is that a new patient who calls on Sunday has an exam time before Monday's first competitor opens.
Who calls a chiropractic office after hours?
Three kinds of people call after hours. New patients whose back or neck went out and who are searching on their phone. Existing patients who need to move tomorrow's appointment. And people with a question about hours, location or a first visit.
The first group matters most to the schedule and is the least likely to leave a message. They have no relationship with you yet, and the next office is one tap away.
How do I set up after-hours cover?
Set it up once, on purpose, instead of letting voicemail decide. These five steps take about a week, and only the third one involves choosing a supplier.
- Pull a month of call records and count the calls that came in while the office was closed.
- Write down what you want to happen for a new patient, an existing patient and anything urgent.
- Choose who answers: an answering service, a staff member on call, or an AI receptionist.
- Give whoever answers your real open exam times, so a caller leaves with a time and not a promise.
- Check the first two weeks of after-hours calls yourself and correct anything that was handled badly.
What are the trade-offs between the options?
An on-call mobile costs nothing and costs the person holding it every evening. It works for a solo doctor for a while and rarely lasts.
An answering service puts a person on the line who takes a message. That is a real improvement on voicemail, and the right pick if you want a human voice above all. The patient still waits until morning for a time. An AI receptionist can book during the call, and it is not a person.
How does Margin cover nights and weekends for a chiropractic office?
Margin puts Mia, an AI receptionist, on the line whenever the office is closed, or around the clock if you prefer. She answers, takes the details and books the new-patient exam onto your portal calendar. The office sees it in the morning along with her daily report.
She does not give clinical advice or guess. Anything urgent is passed straight to your team, and anyone who asks for a person is handed over. Text-back for callers who hang up begins once carriers approve your texting number.
What Margin sets up for this.
- Mia, the AI receptionist, on every call
- Booking onto your calendar
- Missed calls texted back within a minute
- Your portal: every call, text and booking
What a business needs is decided on its audit. It is a one-time setup fee and a monthly fee, with exact numbers on the audit.
How Margin works for chiropractors and physical therapistsSee the portal with a sample business
Related questions
Should a chiropractic office be reachable on weekends?
The office does not need to be open, but the phone should be answered. A chiropractic office that books a Sunday caller into Monday or Tuesday keeps a patient it would otherwise never know it lost.
What should a chiropractic office voicemail say after hours?
If voicemail is all you have, keep it short for a chiropractic office: your hours, when calls are returned, and a way to text or book. Tell callers with an emergency to call emergency services. Then return every message first thing.
Can an AI receptionist book a chiropractic exam at night?
Yes, if it has been given your open times. With Mia, the exam for a chiropractic office is booked onto the portal calendar during the call and the office is told. How that fits with the schedule your team already keeps is settled on the audit.