The phone call nobody wants to get wrong
A patient rings describing a sudden change in their vision, or a red, painful eye, or new flashes and floaters. Reception staff know this matters. The practice has a protocol, a set of questions on a laminated sheet by the phone, and an instruction to get the message to the optometrist. The optometrist is mid-test. A sticky note goes under the door.
Most calls are handled well because the team is careful. But the record of the call is a note, the time is approximate, and if the practice later needs to know exactly what was asked and advised, it is hard to say.
Why urgent calls are hard to handle consistently
- The protocol is on paper and may not be the current version.
- Answers to the questions are written down loosely or not at all.
- Getting the optometrist's attention depends on interrupting a test.
- Call-backs to the patient are not tracked.
- The outcome, such as an urgent appointment or referral onwards, is recorded somewhere else, if at all.
These are not clinical failures. They are gaps in the admin around a clinical process, and they make it harder for the optometrist to act quickly and for the practice to show what happened.
What the gaps put at risk
| Gap | Effect |
|---|---|
| Protocol questions skipped or out of date | Optometrist gets an incomplete picture |
| Note under the door | Delay before the optometrist sees it |
| No time recorded | Cannot show how quickly the call was handled |
| Call-back not tracked | Patient left waiting |
| Outcome not linked | Incomplete record for the patient |
How we build the call log
- Your practice's protocol, written and approved by your optometrists, is turned into a short on-screen form for reception, with the questions in the order you set.
- Reception records the answers as the patient speaks, with the time captured automatically.
- Where the protocol says a call needs the optometrist, the optometrist on duty is alerted immediately, on a test room screen, tablet or phone, with the answers attached.
- Where the protocol includes standard wording for reception to give, for example where to seek urgent help, it is shown on screen exactly as your optometrists approved it.
- The optometrist records their decision, such as an urgent appointment, a call-back or advice to attend elsewhere, and the call-back is tracked until it is done.
- The whole call is saved to the patient's record in your practice system where possible, or to a separate log linked to the patient.
- If the protocol is updated, the new version applies from a date, and every call records which version was used.
We do not write clinical protocols, triage patients or give advice. The system presents your practice's own protocol and records what happened. Every clinical decision is the optometrist's.
What the team gains
Reception follows the same steps every time, with the current protocol in front of them. The optometrist sees the full picture within moments, without a knock on the door. Call-backs are not forgotten. And the practice has a clear, timed record of every urgent call, which supports your own clinical governance.
Training new reception staff becomes easier too. The form itself teaches the steps, and a manager can review past calls with them to show how the protocol works in practice.
Could this help your practice?
- Urgent call protocols are on paper by the phone.
- Messages reach the optometrist as notes under the door.
- Call times and answers are not recorded consistently.
- Call-backs to patients are not tracked.
- You could not easily show what was asked and advised on a past call.