Implementation
A useful system starts with your practice's actual workflow. The outline below explains what to review and agree on during onboarding, from the first conversation through staff handoff. Your written implementation scope determines the features, responsibilities, schedule, and support included.
1. Map the front office
Start with your practice hours, who answers calls, how missed calls are handled, what information staff need, and who owns the next step. Identify scheduling rules and the situations that must go directly to a person.
2. Confirm the setup
Agree on the entry points, intake fields, routing, email follow-up, notifications, calendars, and staff access needed for the initial launch. HouseCall HQ configuration work and any work required from your practice or phone provider should be listed in the implementation scope.
3. Connect the phone workflow
The goal is to support your reception team. Staff can continue answering calls in the agreed workflow. Any missed-call forwarding, after-hours routing, number changes, or connection to an existing phone service needs a compatibility check and practice approval before it is activated. Do not cancel or change your current phone service based only on a demo.
4. Organize intake and staff follow-up
The demo illustrates how an inquiry can become a contact, receive an email acknowledgement, be assigned for follow-up, and appear in a pipeline with a task. During onboarding, agree on the practice's fields, staff responsibilities, notifications, and what counts as a completed next step. Receptionists remain responsible for the human decisions and patient interactions in the agreed process.
5. Review devices and messaging
Confirm the computers, browsers, and any mobile access your staff will use during setup. Device compatibility, permissions, and any app requirements should be tested before launch.
The current HouseCall HQ demo uses email; automated SMS is disabled. Text messaging requires a separate review of numbers, registration where applicable, consent, message content, opt-out handling, and testing before activation.
6. Test before launch
Use clearly labeled test records to check intake, routing, acknowledgement, staff notifications, tasks, and follow-up. Review account access and the security and data-handling requirements before introducing patient information. Staff should rehearse the handoff and know what to do if a message or workflow fails.
Timing and support
Onboarding time depends on the agreed scope, access to existing systems, phone-provider requirements, messaging approvals, and how quickly your team can review and test. Confirm a schedule during planning rather than assuming a fixed turnaround.
Before launch, agree on the support contact, support hours, response expectations, training, and how changes are requested. For demo and implementation questions, email [email protected].