Tips and tricks for the best voicemail greeting scripts for medical and dental offices

Top Tips Summarized:

• Choose a friendly, articulate person to record the message
• Messages that are brief and to-the-point work best
• Keep messages current for both business hours and after hours
• Use a script to keep from missing out on important messages

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As a medical professional, you know the importance of being a good communicator. You must explain complex medical and dental problems to patients in a way that they understand. You also need empathy to support them if it’s bad news.

Good communication and empathy apply to everyone in the practice who has contact with a patient. That means in person, on the phone and even through voicemail.

We know a thing or two about phone calls, and we’re going to walk you through some tips, tricks and scripts for the best voicemail greetings for your practice.

Tips and tricks

Before you begin, there’s a bit of homework you can do. Call up a medical or dental office after hours and listen to their voicemail greeting. How will that message be received by someone who’s worried or in pain? What would they prefer to hear?

Once you do that, it’s time to think about the presentation of your voicemail greeting. Greetings that aren’t pleasant, professional and easy-to-understand fall short of being considered good or empathetic.

Choose the right person

It’s easy to skip this part, but you’re going to need to pick someone to actually record the voicemail greeting. Don’t just default to a receptionist or doctor/dentist either. Or even the person with the best voice. Choose someone who can communicate pleasantly and clearly. Recording a voicemail greeting, especially one intended to make a good impression, can be a bit awkward so make sure it’s someone who is willing to put themselves out there a bit.

If no one is comfortable speaking the lines, don’t fret! Some VoIP systems, like Ooma Office, have text-to-speech capabilities with their Virtual Receptionist feature. Just type what you want to be said and the Virtual Receptionist will read it out loud to anyone who calls.

Be friendly

Nobody wants to call an office and feel like the other person is there against their will. Take a lighter tone. Before you record, take a walk outside or watch something funny. A good mood and a smile will come across in your voice.

Speak slowly and clearly

We know how it is. You’re not exactly sure when your recording time is going to end so you may feel the anxiety of the clock and race through the script. Don’t! A rushed message isn’t good for anyone. Take your time, speak slowly and clearly so that someone who doesn’t know anything about your practice can understand what you’re saying.

Test it!

Of course you can test your voicemail greeting with your colleagues, but they’re a little too close to offer unbiased criticism. They know your practice and are familiar with your lingo and manner of speaking. Consider testing the greeting on a family member or friend and see what they think, too!

Keep it short and sweet

If someone calls your practice and doesn’t get a real person, they’re going to be a little frustrated. Don’t make that frustration grow with an unhelpful message. Get to the point quickly, relay the information simply and let them leave a message.

Make sure your greetings are up to date

Don’t set it and forget it, as tempting as it might be. If you change your hours, go on vacation or even close temporarily, you’re going to want to provide up-to-date information. There’s nothing more frustrating than calling some place and getting misled with bad information.

Voicemail Greeting Scripts

There are at least two separate voicemail greetings you should record. One plays during business hours when no one from the practice can get to the phone, and the second plays when your office is closed. With a business phone system like Ooma Office, you can easily schedule the hours for each voicemail so you won’t have to worry about manually switching back and forth.

“Thank you for calling Khan Family Dentistry! We’re busy helping another patient. You can email us at info@KhanFamily.com for assistance at any time.”

“Thank you for calling Rodriguez Dentistry! Our office is currently closed. We’re open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you’re experiencing a dental emergency, please press 2 to contact Dr. Raul Lopez, who is on-call for Dr. Anna Rodriguez.”

“Thank you for calling Nguyen Pediatrics! Our office is currently closed. We’re open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you’re experiencing a life-threatening emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

Now you’re ready to record and upload your voicemail greetings to your phone system. Need a business phone solution that makes it easy? We’ve got your back. Find out how Ooma can help you.