IVR for Appointment Scheduling

solomd · #1 08-21-10, 11:52 AM

I am a solo family doctor who needs to automate the scheduling of patients. I have an online scheduler that works very well, but many patients are not comfortable with going to the internet to schedule an appointment. I need a phone-based scheduling system that would integrate with my online scheduler (http://www.hitappoint.com/). I have a very basic understanding of IVR and realize that it could do this, but I don't think I have the technical skills to integrate IVR and the online scheduler. There is a website I found that offers exactly what I am looking for (http://www.itfrontdesk.com/products.htm) and I have requested pricing information from them. I suspect their service will not be cheap, and I need to be able to also consider the option of a do-it-yourself solution. My question for the members of this forum is how difficult is it to put together a Piaf program that integrates with an outside online scheduler, and how much know-how is required.

Thanks,
Scott.

atsak · #2 08-22-10, 12:00 AM

Originally Posted by solomd

My question for the members of this forum is how difficult is it to put together a Piaf program that integrates with an outside online scheduler, and how much know-how is required.

Thanks,
Scott.

I've looked into this before briefly. It's not all that difficult; simpliy the IVR will need to record something that gets translated into something your scheduling application understands.

If you post the project on www.vworker.com (a service I have used many times), you'll get several bids on the cost of doing exactly what you need with a custom solution.

Do not accept the lowest bid. Look for someone with good feedback who seems to immediately grasp what you're asking. Someone who has an expert rating is usually the right one. Also, the most expensive usually is the wrong one (I've discovered).

wardmundy · #3 08-24-10, 09:58 AM

I'd be interested in knowing the level of interest in a project like this particularly if we were to offer the entire software bundle for use with PBX in a Flash and Incredible PBX systems.

bigtalker · #4 08-24-10, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by wardmundy

I'd be interested in knowing the level of interest in a project like this particularly if we were to offer the entire software bundle for use with PBX in a Flash and Incredible PBX systems.

Uncle Ward, sounds like a winner but who are you gonna target on the backend?

wardmundy · #5 08-24-10, 07:55 PM

We've purchased an unlimited domain distribution license. Stay tuned to Nerd Vittles for a deal you can't refuse.

atsak · #6 08-25-10, 01:49 AM

I can see some doctors / dentists etc. offices using it for self scheduling, though more likely in an interactive sense; ie

1. To schedule an appt press 7

<presses 7>

The first available appointment is xxx

to accept this press 1

say your first name and your lastname

OR

to choose an appointment the next day press 2 etc.

Something like that.

You could then use voice recog to insert the time / date / name into a database, and attach the spoken name to the appt since names can be a bit tricky when it's not originally from English (or even when it is).

Said appt could then have a standalone web viewer, or an appropriately clever person could simply run a cron to grab the current appts and merge into the main scheduling app, or they could change the code to write directly there, this kind of thing.

drmurdoch · #7 08-25-10, 01:18 PM

I have alot of interest in this application and others like it.

I hope to free up a bit more time and help make something like this a reality.

solomd, can you PM me with your email so I can add you to a list of doctors I am collecting that have interest in a project as you outline ?

Great idea.
Both for solomd and for PIAF.

wardmundy · #8 08-25-10, 02:02 PM

Here's a sample tech support appointment scheduling app to let you play a little. More samples and demos (including admin access) on the web site. It would work exactly the same for scheduling medical appointments except you probably would want to broaden the number of locations... and not use Tom and me for your physicians. Feel free to put in some dummy data...