Hold times spike when staff is still logging in.
Phone Problem Playbook
Morning Call Surge Stabilizer
Tame the 8AM chaos. Katie triages appointment requests, refills, and labs before your humans finish their first coffee.
When to run this playbook
Nurses get slammed by routine refill chasers.
Providers show up to a backlog of angry voicemails.
Caller journey (high-level)
01
Pre-open warmup
Forward the main line to Katie 30 minutes before doors open so patients never hear a busy tone.
02
Structured intake
Katie captures reason, callback, insurance, and urgency then routes it into your inbox or EMR.
03
Escalate real issues
Urgent clinical signals alert the nurse line instantly while non-urgent tasks queue with summaries.
Triage categories & actions
| Category | Example calls | Notification | Target callback | Caller messaging |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Chest pain, stroke, trauma. | 911 / ER | Immediate | Call 911 or go to the ER now. |
| Urgent clinical | Worsening postop pain, severe symptoms. | On-call provider | < 15 min | Provider calls back within 15 minutes. |
| Routine clinical | Refills, mild symptoms, referrals. | Daytime team | Next business day | Care team follows up on the next business day. |
| Non-clinical / admin | Scheduling, billing, paperwork. | Admin queue | Next business day | Front desk follows up when the office reopens. |