title: Eight reasons your practice can't afford a lunch break.
abstract: Keeping phone lines open through the mid-day hours may seem commonplace to many practices; however, there are still some that close down entirely during these important hours when patient needs and potential new patient calls don't take a lunch break. This article addresses how many practices violate the best practice of keeping phone lines open throughout business hours while discussing the impact to your practice, helping you understand the real cost of hanging on to this old-school thinking, such as decreased staff efficiency, reduced customer service during prime hours, a compromised image, delayed medical care, and the loss of potential new patients. This article also provides suggestions on how to implement this important phone coverage in your practice and the reasons it's imperative that you do.
authors.affiliation: Cheryl Bisera Consulting. cherylbisera@gmail.com
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bisera
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013689:Telephone