Auto-Attendants (aka Menus, IVR, Phone Tree, Virtual Receptionist)
RingRx’s menu system is very comprehensive and can handle virtually any scenario encountered by healthcare companies. As a result, the process can be a little confusing, especially if you only work on your menus occasionally, or if your system is complex.
For the purpose of our discussion and our manuals, we will use the term “Auto-Attendant” to describe this functionality, as we believe it is the most accurate term and commonly understood. Other terms found in the industry and in common usage include “IVR”, which stands for interactive voice response or “phone tree” or even “menus”.
A complete RingRx Auto-Attendant system consists of three parts:
- an Auto-Attendant
- a Schedule
- a Menu
When designing or modifying your system, keep in mind that your system must include each of these to be fully functional.
Within the RingRx portal, you will access this feature in Settings\Auto Attendants
Auto-Attendant
An Auto-Attendant is simply the highest level of any menu system. An Auto-Attendant contains menus that serve a common “group” within an organization. Auto Attendants mainly function so that organizations with more than basic call-routing needs can manage call flow between functionally different parts of the organization. For example, a multi-specialty medical group that operates with different phone numbers, office hours, and back office staff, may setup different Auto Attendants for each functional area. In a small office, you may only need a single Auto Attendant, because the organization is not divided in any functional way from a communications standpoint.
Auto-Attendants can interact with each other as well. So the system can be designed to optimize caller satisfaction by enabling flows throughout the organization.
For more details and to create an Auto-Attendant, go here
Schedule
Schedules are one of two main components that make up an Auto-Attendant. The purpose of a Schedule is to spedivy when a particular menu will play. Schedules can be set by multiple parameters, including hours of day and days of week, or specific time frames, like holidays.
For more details and to create a Schedule, go here
Menus
Menus are where most of the functionality of how callers interact with your Auto-Attendant are managed. Menus are quite powerful and do alot more than just transfer callers.
For more details and to create a Menu, go here
Greetings and Prompts
Menus rely on recorded messages both to assist callers in making selections, and providing useful information. They create “what people hear” when they are navigating your Auto-Attendant.
For more details and to create prompts, go here