(01.2) AI receptionists for medical practices
An AI receptionist that knows when to hand over.
Answer every call, book and reschedule after hours, and take routine questions off your front desk, while clinical and urgent calls always reach your team, or 000. We help GP, specialist and allied health practices choose, set up and run an AI receptionist safely. We’re vendor-agnostic: we don’t sell the software, we help you pick and run the right one.
(The problem)
The phone is the front door of your practice, and often the most stretched part of it.
At 8 am the lines light up and reception juggles calls with the patients at the counter. After hours, the voicemail fills and tomorrow starts behind. Patients who can’t get through ring somewhere else, or give up.
70%
of GPs are concerned about their admin workload, up from 60% just a year earlier.1
An AI receptionist can take the routine calls, so your team has time for the patients and the calls that need a person. Set up badly, it frustrates patients and creates risk. Set up well, routine requests are done in one call, and anything that needs a person gets to one.
(A call, handled)
What a well-set-up call sounds like.
An illustrative early-morning call. The routine request is handled on the spot; the question about results goes to the team, exactly as the practice’s rules say.
(It handles)
The routine calls.
- Bookings, changes and cancellations, straight into your appointment book
- Opening hours, location, parking and fees
- New-patient forms and confirmations by SMS
- After-hours calls, with directions to after-hours services
- Messages for your team, with the reason for the call
(It hands over)
Anything that needs a person.
- Anything that sounds urgent, with emergencies told to call 000
- Questions about symptoms, results or medication
- Distressed, confused or unhappy callers
- Anyone who asks to speak to a person
- Anything your practice hasn’t approved it to handle
(What we do)
Six things we take care of.
- 2.1
Call audit
We look at your call volumes, peak times, reasons for calling and missed calls, and tell you honestly whether an AI receptionist is the answer, or whether better call routing, online booking or an extra person at 8 am would do more.
- 2.2
Choosing the right product
We’re vendor-agnostic. We define what you need first, then compare options on what matters: how well each connects to your practice software, where call data is stored, cost and contract terms.
- 2.3
Scripts & hand-over rules
Written with your clinicians: what it can handle, the situations that trigger a hand-over, how urgent calls reach your team, and the 000 message.
- 2.4
Connected to your systems
Bookings land in your real appointment book where the software allows it, and messages reach the right inbox, not another app nobody checks.
- 2.5
Privacy & consent
Callers told up front that they’re speaking with an AI, call recordings and transcripts handled as health information, and your privacy policy updated, in line with the OAIC’s guidance on AI products.2
- 2.6
Launch, review & tuning
A staged start, real calls reviewed with your team, and scripts adjusted as you learn. Ongoing support on retainer if you want it.
(Safety)
Safe by design, not by luck.
Ahpra expects practitioners to stay responsible for the care they provide, to understand the AI tools they use, and to tell patients when AI is being used.3 An AI receptionist sits at the front door of your practice, so the hand-over rules matter more than the voice.
Read: Using AI safely in a medical practice(How it rolls out)
Rolled out in stages, so nothing breaks.
We start where the risk is lowest and the gap is biggest, and only widen it once the calls show it’s working.
-
Stage 1
Listen first.
Before choosing anything, we look at how your phones actually perform: when calls peak, why patients call, and how many go unanswered.
What you getThe call patterns, and a clear recommendation, even if the answer isn’t AI.
-
Stage 2
Choose and script.
The product, the scripts and the hand-over rules, agreed with your clinicians and practice manager.
What you getA receptionist tested on realistic calls before a patient ever hears it.
-
Stage 3
After hours first.
It starts while your phones are closed, so every caller is better off than they were with voicemail.
What you getCalls answered overnight and on weekends, with bookings and messages waiting for your team in the morning.
-
Stage 4
Busy times next.
Once the after-hours calls look right, it takes the overflow when every line is busy.
What you getFewer calls ringing out at 8 am, and a front desk with time for the patients in front of them.
-
Stage 5
Review and tune.
Real calls show what the scripts missed.
What you getRegular call reviews, script updates and a simple report on what it handled and what it handed over.
(Questions)
Common questions.
Do you sell an AI receptionist?
No. We’re vendor-agnostic advisers. We help you work out whether you need one, choose the right product for your practice, set it up safely and keep it working well.
Will patients know they’re talking to AI?
Yes. It says so at the start of every call. Ahpra expects practitioners to tell patients when AI is used, and the OAIC expects public-facing AI tools to be clearly identified as AI.
What happens if a caller has an emergency?
It doesn’t give medical advice or make clinical judgements. It follows the hand-over rules we write with your clinicians: callers describing an emergency are told to hang up and call 000, and urgent calls go straight to your team.
Does it work with our practice software?
That depends on your practice management and booking software and on the product, and checking it is part of choosing one. Where a direct connection isn’t possible, there are usually workable alternatives, such as texting callers a booking link.
Will it replace our receptionists?
No. It takes the repetitive calls and the after-hours load, so your reception team can focus on the patients in front of them and the calls that need a person.
What does it cost?
The software is usually a monthly subscription that varies by vendor and call volume. Our work is scoped and agreed with you before it starts, and you’ll see the full costs before you commit to anything.
(Sources)
- RACGP Health of the Nation 2024 survey, early findings. newsGP, 2024.
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products, 2024.
- Ahpra. Meeting your professional obligations when using Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, 2024.
(Next step)