Why Our Practice Chose to Implement a Virtual Phone Agent

Healthcare continues to evolve rapidly, as do the expectations and communication needs of our patients. In my nearly 22 years on the management team at Annapolis Internal Medicine, I’ve seen our industry grow and change in remarkable ways. Some developments have greatly improved our ability to support patients, while others have introduced new complexities that require innovative solutions. What has remained constant is our belief that exceptional care begins long before a patient enters the exam room. It is reflected in the first phone call, the ease of scheduling, and the confidence that the healthcare team they have chosen will meet—and exceed—their expectations. As the relationship progresses, patients deserve consistent, reliable support at every point of contact. To uphold this standard, we are strengthening our communication systems and processes to ensure greater efficiency, accessibility, and clarity, while preserving the personal connection that defines our approach to care.

To continue delivering the level of service our patients deserve, we’ve introduced a virtual phone agent—who we affectionately refer to as “Aimee”—to help answer calls, schedule appointments, submit medication refill requests, and manage routine messages. This decision followed careful evaluation of patient feedback, call patterns, as well as the operational challenges facing many medical practices today, including the increasing difficulty of hiring and retaining reliable administrative staff.

Here’s why we made this change, and how it benefits you as a patient:

1. Shorter Wait Times and Faster Service:

Our phone lines have grown busier every year. At peak times, patients could experience long hold times or need to call back later. The virtual agent helps eliminate that bottleneck by answering every call immediately, 24/7.

• No more waiting on hold
• No more calling back repeatedly
• Immediate help with common needs like scheduling, refills, and directions

This means you get what you need faster — and our staff can focus on the more complex issues that truly require human attention.

2. Improving Access During a Challenging Hiring Environment:

Like many medical offices, we’ve faced increasing difficulty hiring and retaining reliable administrative staff. The demand for experienced support staff has grown, yet the pool of applicants seems smaller than ever. Even when positions are filled, turnover can disrupt continuity and slow down service.

By introducing a virtual agent, we can:

• Ensure consistent coverage, even when staffing is limited
• Reduce the strain on our existing team
• Maintain reliable access for patients regardless of staff fluctuations

This technology helps stabilize the patient experience, even during workforce shortages.

3. Using Technology for Routine Tasks — So Humans Can Focus on Human Needs:

Many of the calls we receive involve routine, repetitive tasks that don’t actually require clinical judgment or human intervention. These include:

• Scheduling, rescheduling, or cancelling appointments
• Taking messages regarding lab order requests or results, medication refill requests, and referral requests 
• Basic information like office hours or directions

Aimee excels at these tasks. She can summarize your request for our team or providers in clear, concise language derived from your words, and with your confirmation when complete — not an interpretation from a staff member who may miss important context.

Aimee is quick, accurate, and consistent. And by automating these predictable workflows, we free our staff to focus on what truly requires a human touch, such as:

• Managing urgent requests
• Supporting patients with complex medical questions or symptoms
• Assisting patients with accessibility needs
• Coordinating care with other medical facilities

This shift to a virtual agent doesn’t replace people. It elevates them and allows them to focus their attention on more complex issues, faster.

4. Fewer Missed Calls and Delayed Messages:

Before implementing the virtual agent, we saw patterns common in busy medical practices:

• High call volume leading to missed calls
• Patients unable to reach a representative quickly enough at the time they are available to call (i.e. during work hours or lunchtime, evenings, weekends)
• Delays in routing calls to your provider or the right team member

The virtual agent ensures every call is answered and every request is captured accurately. Nothing gets lost, and every message is routed to the right department or staff member, resulting in faster turnaround times.

5. A More Consistent, Reliable Experience:

Patients deserve clear, consistent information every time they call. The virtual agent delivers:

• Standardized instructions
• Accurate and up-to-the-minute appointment availability across all provider schedules
• Reliable routing to the correct department

This consistency helps reduce confusion and ensures that every patient receives the same high-quality experience.

What This Means for You as a Patient or Caregiver:

You’ll still have access to our team — and you can always request to speak with a staff member at any time. However, we strongly encourage our patients to utilize the virtual agent whenever possible for routine tasks. This frees up the phones queue to allow higher complexity issues to be addressed by our human staff members more quickly. Aimee is designed to make your experience smoother, faster, and more convenient, especially during times when staffing challenges could otherwise slow things down.

 Tips for Using the Virtual Agent More Effectively:

1. Allow Aimee to finish speaking before you answer her questions. Interrupting her may require you to repeat yourself unnecessarily.
2. Reduce background noise when calling (turn down your TV or music) so that it doesn’t interfere with your call.
3. Refrain from holding conversations with other people in the room while speaking to the agent.
4. If you have multiple requests to complete, such as, you want to make an appointment, but also want to leave a message, you may need to make two calls. Simply call us back at (410) 897-9841 and press 3 as soon as the auto-attendant begins to initiate the next request.

In Closing:

While we understand that using automated systems is not everyone’s preferred way to communicate, our decision to introduce a virtual phone agent reflects our commitment to providing reliable, accessible, and more efficient care.

By using technology to manage routine tasks and support us, especially during staffing challenges, we’re able to protect what matters most — the time, attention, and compassion our team gives to our patients every day. This change will help us serve our patients with the level of care they’ve come to–and should—expect from our practice.