Industries · GP, dental and clinics
An AI receptionist for dental practices, GP surgeries and clinics
VoiceLogic’s practice AI receptionist answers patient calls, takes the patient’s full name and date of birth first, then deals with appointment requests, repeat prescriptions and results enquiries for your reception team. It never gives medical advice, and it tells anyone describing an emergency to call 999 and anyone with an urgent problem to call NHS 111.
- Emergency warning in the greeting
- Name and date of birth before anything else
- Results only from the practice team
The problem
Why is the 8am rush so hard on a practice?
Because so many patients ring in the first minutes after the lines open, and nearly all of them are asking for the same few things: an appointment, a repeat prescription or a result. The receptionists answering them are also checking patients in at the desk, so the queue grows and patients wait, or give up and redial.
Everyone rings at opening time
Patients know appointments go early, so they all call the moment the phones switch on. Reception can only answer one call at a time each.
Repeat prescriptions by phone
Each one means writing down the patient, the medicine and the pharmacy they use, accurately, while the next caller waits.
Results calls that reception can’t close
Results have to come from the practice team, so most of these calls end in a message and a call-back anyway.
The caller who shouldn’t be queuing
Somebody with chest pain or difficulty breathing needs to hear “call 999” straight away, not hold music.
On a patient call
What does an AI receptionist do for a GP surgery or dental practice?
It opens with an emergency warning, identifies the patient by full name and date of birth, finds out what they need, and passes it to your reception team with everything written down. It answers questions about opening hours and how the practice works from your own information.
Warns about emergencies first
The greeting says: “If this is a medical emergency, please hang up and call 999,” before asking how it can help.
Identifies the patient
Full name and date of birth come before anything else, so every message can be matched to the right record.
Takes appointment requests
What it is for in a few words and how soon they need it, then it puts them through or leaves a message for reception.
Notes repeat prescriptions
Which medicine, and which pharmacy the patient uses.
Passes on results enquiries
It takes a message and explains that results are only given by the practice team.
Answers practice questions
Opening hours and how the practice works, taken from the information you give it.
Example call
An appointment request at a dental practice
In this example a patient rings a fictional dental practice about a lost filling. The agent confirms who they are, asks what the appointment is for and how soon it is needed, and leaves a clear message for reception. Asked whether it is serious, the agent does not offer an opinion.
An illustration only. The practice and the patient are invented.
AgentHello, you’ve reached Meadow Lane Dental, this is Sam. If this is a medical emergency, please hang up and call 999. How can I help?
CallerI’ve lost a filling and need to come in.
AgentCan I take your full name and date of birth first?
CallerDaniel Price, 12 June 1985. Is it something to worry about?
AgentI can’t advise on that, but the team can. How soon do you need to be seen?
CallerThis week, ideally.
AgentI’ll pass that to reception now, marked as this week, and they’ll call you back.
Clear limits
What will the practice agent never do?
It never gives medical advice, never interprets symptoms or results, and never tells a patient whether something is serious. Clinical questions and results stay with your practice team.
- No medical advice, and no reading of symptoms or test results.
- No judgement on whether something is serious.
- No giving out results: it takes a message for the practice team.
- No claiming to be a receptionist. It never says it is a person, and never invents names or facts.
If a caller describes chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, signs of a stroke or anything that sounds like an emergency, the agent tells them to call 999 now. For something urgent that is not an emergency, it tells them to call NHS 111.
The template is where you start, not where you finish: greeting, instructions and the ten-minute call limit can all be edited for your practice.
Useful with
Features that help a busy reception desk
Call queues with live figures
Queue calls for your receptionists, watch waiting calls as they happen, and let the agent pick up when everyone is busy. Queues and ring groups.
Hours, lunch closures and bank holidays
Each period can have its own answer, so patients ringing at lunchtime or on a bank holiday hear the right thing. Office hours.
Messages that arrive complete
Name, date of birth, what it is about and how urgent, emailed to the reception inbox and optionally texted to a mobile. Messages from the agent.
Your practice information
Upload your practice leaflet or point the agent at your website, and it answers from that. When it doesn’t know, it says so. Documents and website.
A safe place for the hard calls
Set a fallback destination for anything the agent cannot handle, so the call reaches a person. Fallback and transfers.
Questions
Questions from practices
Can an AI receptionist give medical advice to patients?
No. The practice agent never gives medical advice, interprets symptoms or results, or says whether something is serious. Anyone describing an emergency is told to call 999 now, and anyone with an urgent problem that is not an emergency is told to call NHS 111.
Can it book appointments?
As supplied, the template takes the appointment request, what it is for and how soon, then puts the patient through or leaves a message for reception to book. VoiceLogic agents can book into Outlook (Microsoft 365) calendars, so a clinic that keeps its diary in Outlook can switch booking on.
Will it give patients their test results?
No. It takes a message and tells the patient that results are only given by the practice team.
Does it work for dental practices and private clinics as well as GP surgeries?
Yes. The same template suits any practice that takes appointment, prescription and results calls. You edit the greeting and instructions to match how your practice works.
What does a practice AI receptionist cost?
On the Basic plan an AI agent is £29 a month including 500 minutes, and Standard agents, which callers can interrupt more naturally, start at £55 a month for 300 minutes. Prices exclude VAT; see the pricing page.
Talk to us
See VoiceLogic working on a real call, and get a quote for your team.