Guest guest Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 OK folks, do I NEED a phone land line at all? OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail. It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing, other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a total communication system that is managable for about $350/month. The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? Thanks in advance. Tim > , > > By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails sent > to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T > callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through my > e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all of > my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from the > hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three different > services, but there are some companies out there that are starting to > offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might want to check > them out. > > One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by dialing > in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the wave files > from the email attachments. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 OK folks, do I NEED a phone land line at all? OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail. It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing, other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a total communication system that is managable for about $350/month. The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? Thanks in advance. Tim > , > > By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails sent > to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T > callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through my > e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all of > my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from the > hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three different > services, but there are some companies out there that are starting to > offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might want to check > them out. > > One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by dialing > in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the wave files > from the email attachments. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 How stable is your internet access? If you could not be reached on your cell phone, or your cell phone was not able to pick up its messages due to phone failure, would people be able to reach you? I still use an answering service, as pts still feel better talking to a real person if sick. Other question, is, are you using caller ID? When I set up my own practice 10 miles from the hospital owned practice that was still open (they replaced me after 8 years), we had fair number of call-ins but no messages. We called back all the hangups, but wouldn't have known who they were if we didn't have caller ID. Really worth it. Just my ideas. Dr Matt Levin FP; east of Pittsburgh in Western PA RE: no land line? > OK folks, do I NEED a phone land line at all? > > OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail. > It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm not > seeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call my > cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. > > Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo > 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing, > other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a total > communication system that is managable for about $350/month. > > The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in > radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is not > good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using > hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. > > Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? > Thanks in advance. > Tim > >> , >> >> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails sent >> to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through my >> e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all of >> my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from the >> hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three different >> services, but there are some companies out there that are starting to >> offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might want to check >> them out. >> >> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by dialing >> in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the wave files >> from the email attachments. >> >> >> > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 How stable is your internet access? If you could not be reached on your cell phone, or your cell phone was not able to pick up its messages due to phone failure, would people be able to reach you? I still use an answering service, as pts still feel better talking to a real person if sick. Other question, is, are you using caller ID? When I set up my own practice 10 miles from the hospital owned practice that was still open (they replaced me after 8 years), we had fair number of call-ins but no messages. We called back all the hangups, but wouldn't have known who they were if we didn't have caller ID. Really worth it. Just my ideas. Dr Matt Levin FP; east of Pittsburgh in Western PA RE: no land line? > OK folks, do I NEED a phone land line at all? > > OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail. > It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm not > seeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call my > cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. > > Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo > 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing, > other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a total > communication system that is managable for about $350/month. > > The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in > radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is not > good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using > hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. > > Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? > Thanks in advance. > Tim > >> , >> >> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails sent >> to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through my >> e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all of >> my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from the >> hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three different >> services, but there are some companies out there that are starting to >> offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might want to check >> them out. >> >> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by dialing >> in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the wave files >> from the email attachments. >> >> >> > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 Tim, this is just a thought. I use Vonage at home. While it is a good product that I will continue to use, it is prone to some problems. One of them is that, for reasons unknown to me, speech gets broken up on occasion. While I can tolerate that at home, I would not want it at work. I think that Voip is one of those technologies that is still being perfected, so that it will probably be a solid choice at work in 6 months to a year, but maybe not yet." Malia, MD" wrote: OK folks, do I NEED a phone land line at all?OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail.It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm notseeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call mycell directly if an urgent issue at any time.Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing,other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a totalcommunication system that is managable for about $350/month.The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or inradiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is notgood for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am usinghospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places.Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing?Thanks in advance.Tim> ,>> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails sent> to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through my> e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all of> my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from the> hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three different> services, but there are some companies out there that are starting to> offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might want to check> them out.>> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by dialing> in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the wave files> from the email attachments. >>> Yahoo! Autos. Looking for a sweet ride? Get pricing, reviews, more on new and used cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 Tim, this is just a thought. I use Vonage at home. While it is a good product that I will continue to use, it is prone to some problems. One of them is that, for reasons unknown to me, speech gets broken up on occasion. While I can tolerate that at home, I would not want it at work. I think that Voip is one of those technologies that is still being perfected, so that it will probably be a solid choice at work in 6 months to a year, but maybe not yet." Malia, MD" wrote: OK folks, do I NEED a phone land line at all?OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail.It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm notseeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call mycell directly if an urgent issue at any time.Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing,other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a totalcommunication system that is managable for about $350/month.The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or inradiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is notgood for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am usinghospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places.Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing?Thanks in advance.Tim> ,>> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails sent> to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through my> e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all of> my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from the> hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three different> services, but there are some companies out there that are starting to> offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might want to check> them out.>> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by dialing> in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the wave files> from the email attachments. >>> Yahoo! Autos. Looking for a sweet ride? Get pricing, reviews, more on new and used cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 Good thoughts. BoxOne does have caller ID integrated. My internet access has been great for 10 years. Really no down time from that. It's basically as good as, or better than, electricity service -- ours is good as well but every few years we have an outage. Last evening I didn't get any email for about 12 hours but it was due to Physicians Online for some reason. My internet was good otherwise. Thanks Tim > How stable is your internet access? > If you could not be reached on your cell phone, or your cell phone was > not able to pick up its messages due to phone failure, would people be > able to reach you? > > I still use an answering service, as pts still feel better talking to a > real person if sick. > Other question, is, are you using caller ID? When I set up my own > practice 10 miles from the hospital owned practice that was still open > (they replaced me after 8 years), we had fair number of call-ins but no > messages. We called back all the hangups, but wouldn't have known who > they were if we didn't have caller ID. Really worth it. > > Just my ideas. > > Dr Matt Levin > FP; east of Pittsburgh in Western PA > > RE: no land line? > > >> OK folks, do I NEED a phone land line at all? >> >> OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice >> mail. It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - >> when I'm not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling >> people to call my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. >> >> Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely >> Treo 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx >> faxing, other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a >> total communication system that is managable for about $350/month. >> >> The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in >> radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is >> not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using >> hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. >> >> Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? >> Thanks in advance. >> Tim >> >>> , >>> >>> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails >>> sent to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >>> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through >>> my e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends >>> all of my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports >>> from the hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three >>> different services, but there are some companies out there that are >>> starting to offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might >>> want to check them out. >>> >>> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by >>> dialing in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the >>> wave files from the email attachments. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 Good thoughts. BoxOne does have caller ID integrated. My internet access has been great for 10 years. Really no down time from that. It's basically as good as, or better than, electricity service -- ours is good as well but every few years we have an outage. Last evening I didn't get any email for about 12 hours but it was due to Physicians Online for some reason. My internet was good otherwise. Thanks Tim > How stable is your internet access? > If you could not be reached on your cell phone, or your cell phone was > not able to pick up its messages due to phone failure, would people be > able to reach you? > > I still use an answering service, as pts still feel better talking to a > real person if sick. > Other question, is, are you using caller ID? When I set up my own > practice 10 miles from the hospital owned practice that was still open > (they replaced me after 8 years), we had fair number of call-ins but no > messages. We called back all the hangups, but wouldn't have known who > they were if we didn't have caller ID. Really worth it. > > Just my ideas. > > Dr Matt Levin > FP; east of Pittsburgh in Western PA > > RE: no land line? > > >> OK folks, do I NEED a phone land line at all? >> >> OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice >> mail. It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - >> when I'm not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling >> people to call my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. >> >> Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely >> Treo 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx >> faxing, other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a >> total communication system that is managable for about $350/month. >> >> The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in >> radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is >> not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using >> hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. >> >> Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? >> Thanks in advance. >> Tim >> >>> , >>> >>> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails >>> sent to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >>> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through >>> my e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends >>> all of my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports >>> from the hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three >>> different services, but there are some companies out there that are >>> starting to offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might >>> want to check them out. >>> >>> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by >>> dialing in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the >>> wave files from the email attachments. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 Good point -- Quality of calls is definitely important. But what I'm thinking is to not even have VOIP. I'm imagining a top-of-the-line cell phone with a full package and using that for all phone calls. Otherwise my messaging to patients would often be thru RelayHealth (also most Rxs would be faxed through RelayHealth, even during appts). And I'd receive all email/faxes/voice mail thru OneBox.com. People would call, or fax, a toll-free number from OneBox. I'd either have it take a voice mail, or have call forwarded to my cell. When set to voice mail, the message would ask that callers with urgent matters either call 9-1-1 or call back directly to my cell phone. I imagine explaining these matters to the patients very clearly when they join the practice. Let me clarify that I'm starting out solo-solo. Streamlining by centralizing and controlling communications is an important issue for me. Thanks, Tim > Tim, this is just a thought. I use Vonage at home. While it is a good > product that I will continue to use, it is prone to some problems. One > of them is that, for reasons unknown to me, speech gets broken up on > occasion. While I can tolerate that at home, I would not want it at > work. I think that Voip is one of those technologies that is still > being perfected, so that it will probably be a solid choice at work in 6 > months to a year, but maybe not yet. > > " Malia, MD " wrote: OK folks, do I NEED a phone > land line at all? > > OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail. > It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm > not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call > my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. > > Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo > 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing, > other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a total > communication system that is managable for about $350/month. > > The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in > radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is > not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using > hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. > > Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? > Thanks in advance. > Tim > >> , >> >> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails >> sent to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through >> my e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all >> of my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from >> the hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three >> different services, but there are some companies out there that are >> starting to offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might >> want to check them out. >> >> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by >> dialing in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the >> wave files from the email attachments. >> >> >> > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 Good point -- Quality of calls is definitely important. But what I'm thinking is to not even have VOIP. I'm imagining a top-of-the-line cell phone with a full package and using that for all phone calls. Otherwise my messaging to patients would often be thru RelayHealth (also most Rxs would be faxed through RelayHealth, even during appts). And I'd receive all email/faxes/voice mail thru OneBox.com. People would call, or fax, a toll-free number from OneBox. I'd either have it take a voice mail, or have call forwarded to my cell. When set to voice mail, the message would ask that callers with urgent matters either call 9-1-1 or call back directly to my cell phone. I imagine explaining these matters to the patients very clearly when they join the practice. Let me clarify that I'm starting out solo-solo. Streamlining by centralizing and controlling communications is an important issue for me. Thanks, Tim > Tim, this is just a thought. I use Vonage at home. While it is a good > product that I will continue to use, it is prone to some problems. One > of them is that, for reasons unknown to me, speech gets broken up on > occasion. While I can tolerate that at home, I would not want it at > work. I think that Voip is one of those technologies that is still > being perfected, so that it will probably be a solid choice at work in 6 > months to a year, but maybe not yet. > > " Malia, MD " wrote: OK folks, do I NEED a phone > land line at all? > > OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail. > It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm > not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call > my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. > > Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo > 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing, > other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a total > communication system that is managable for about $350/month. > > The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in > radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is > not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using > hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. > > Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? > Thanks in advance. > Tim > >> , >> >> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails >> sent to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through >> my e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all >> of my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from >> the hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three >> different services, but there are some companies out there that are >> starting to offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might >> want to check them out. >> >> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by >> dialing in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the >> wave files from the email attachments. >> >> >> > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 RE Cell phone only practice 1) Still need redundancy! Had a good cell phone, started to have trouble turning it on due to a mechanical problem. Found out the hard way that Radio Shack does its repairs out of state. Did have blackberry (and still do!) but had to add a phone contract to the data contract for monthly fee minimum $40, so I could send away my cell phone. 2) Cell phone batteries are not always permanent. Depending on usage, be sure to have charger for car. 3) Hands free cell phone reception doesn't always give clear signal. 4) Consider using your home phone as a partial business expense, or be sure to have call waiting at home with caller ID 5) Bizarre, but remember SOMETIMES CELL PHONES don't work everywhere. And consider using a nationwide plan, to be sure that you don't get killed on roaming charges. Am a solo too-- go with the flow; sometimes penny wise MAY be pound-foolish! Dr Matt Levin Pittsburgh, PA RE: no land line? > Good point -- Quality of calls is definitely important. > > But what I'm thinking is to not even have VOIP. I'm imagining a > top-of-the-line cell phone with a full package and using that for all > phone calls. Otherwise my messaging to patients would often be thru > RelayHealth (also most Rxs would be faxed through RelayHealth, even during > appts). And I'd receive all email/faxes/voice mail thru OneBox.com. > People would call, or fax, a toll-free number from OneBox. I'd either have > it take a voice mail, or have call forwarded to my cell. When set to > voice mail, the message would ask that callers with urgent matters either > call 9-1-1 or call back directly to my cell phone. I imagine explaining > these matters to the patients very clearly when they join the practice. > > Let me clarify that I'm starting out solo-solo. Streamlining by > centralizing and controlling communications is an important issue for me. > > Thanks, > Tim > > >> Tim, this is just a thought. I use Vonage at home. While it is a good >> product that I will continue to use, it is prone to some problems. One >> of them is that, for reasons unknown to me, speech gets broken up on >> occasion. While I can tolerate that at home, I would not want it at >> work. I think that Voip is one of those technologies that is still >> being perfected, so that it will probably be a solid choice at work in 6 >> months to a year, but maybe not yet. >> >> " Malia, MD " wrote: OK folks, do I NEED a phone >> land line at all? >> >> OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail. >> It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm >> not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call >> my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. >> >> Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo >> 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing, >> other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a total >> communication system that is managable for about $350/month. >> >> The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in >> radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is >> not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using >> hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. >> >> Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? >> Thanks in advance. >> Tim >> >>> , >>> >>> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails >>> sent to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >>> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through >>> my e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all >>> of my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from >>> the hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three >>> different services, but there are some companies out there that are >>> starting to offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might >>> want to check them out. >>> >>> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by >>> dialing in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the >>> wave files from the email attachments. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 RE Cell phone only practice 1) Still need redundancy! Had a good cell phone, started to have trouble turning it on due to a mechanical problem. Found out the hard way that Radio Shack does its repairs out of state. Did have blackberry (and still do!) but had to add a phone contract to the data contract for monthly fee minimum $40, so I could send away my cell phone. 2) Cell phone batteries are not always permanent. Depending on usage, be sure to have charger for car. 3) Hands free cell phone reception doesn't always give clear signal. 4) Consider using your home phone as a partial business expense, or be sure to have call waiting at home with caller ID 5) Bizarre, but remember SOMETIMES CELL PHONES don't work everywhere. And consider using a nationwide plan, to be sure that you don't get killed on roaming charges. Am a solo too-- go with the flow; sometimes penny wise MAY be pound-foolish! Dr Matt Levin Pittsburgh, PA RE: no land line? > Good point -- Quality of calls is definitely important. > > But what I'm thinking is to not even have VOIP. I'm imagining a > top-of-the-line cell phone with a full package and using that for all > phone calls. Otherwise my messaging to patients would often be thru > RelayHealth (also most Rxs would be faxed through RelayHealth, even during > appts). And I'd receive all email/faxes/voice mail thru OneBox.com. > People would call, or fax, a toll-free number from OneBox. I'd either have > it take a voice mail, or have call forwarded to my cell. When set to > voice mail, the message would ask that callers with urgent matters either > call 9-1-1 or call back directly to my cell phone. I imagine explaining > these matters to the patients very clearly when they join the practice. > > Let me clarify that I'm starting out solo-solo. Streamlining by > centralizing and controlling communications is an important issue for me. > > Thanks, > Tim > > >> Tim, this is just a thought. I use Vonage at home. While it is a good >> product that I will continue to use, it is prone to some problems. One >> of them is that, for reasons unknown to me, speech gets broken up on >> occasion. While I can tolerate that at home, I would not want it at >> work. I think that Voip is one of those technologies that is still >> being perfected, so that it will probably be a solid choice at work in 6 >> months to a year, but maybe not yet. >> >> " Malia, MD " wrote: OK folks, do I NEED a phone >> land line at all? >> >> OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice mail. >> It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - when I'm >> not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling people to call >> my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. >> >> Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely Treo >> 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx faxing, >> other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have a total >> communication system that is managable for about $350/month. >> >> The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in >> radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead is >> not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am using >> hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic places. >> >> Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? >> Thanks in advance. >> Tim >> >>> , >>> >>> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails >>> sent to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >>> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication through >>> my e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that sends all >>> of my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab reports from >>> the hospital). I pieced togeather the system from about three >>> different services, but there are some companies out there that are >>> starting to offer package deals. One of them is onebox. You might >>> want to check them out. >>> >>> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by >>> dialing in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the >>> wave files from the email attachments. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 All excellent advise and basically where my thoughts have moved toward these last few days. For redundancy, goal is " as little as possible " ... but it seems clear that never means " none at all " . And sensibility would suggest that redundancy actually is often the wisest thing... like an insurance policy. Thanks Tim > RE Cell phone only practice > > 1) Still need redundancy! Had a good cell phone, started to have > trouble turning it on due to a mechanical problem. Found out the hard > way that Radio Shack does its repairs out of state. Did have > blackberry (and still do!) but had to add a phone contract to the data > contract for monthly fee minimum $40, so I could send away my cell > phone. > > 2) Cell phone batteries are not always permanent. Depending on usage, > be sure to have charger for car. > > 3) Hands free cell phone reception doesn't always give clear signal. > > 4) Consider using your home phone as a partial business expense, or be > sure to have call waiting at home with caller ID > > 5) Bizarre, but remember SOMETIMES CELL PHONES don't work everywhere. > And consider using a nationwide plan, to be sure that you don't get > killed on roaming charges. > > Am a solo too-- go with the flow; sometimes penny wise MAY be > pound-foolish! > > Dr Matt Levin > Pittsburgh, PA > > RE: no land line? > > >> Good point -- Quality of calls is definitely important. >> >> But what I'm thinking is to not even have VOIP. I'm imagining a >> top-of-the-line cell phone with a full package and using that for all >> phone calls. Otherwise my messaging to patients would often be thru >> RelayHealth (also most Rxs would be faxed through RelayHealth, even >> during appts). And I'd receive all email/faxes/voice mail thru >> OneBox.com. People would call, or fax, a toll-free number from OneBox. >> I'd either have it take a voice mail, or have call forwarded to my >> cell. When set to voice mail, the message would ask that callers with >> urgent matters either call 9-1-1 or call back directly to my cell >> phone. I imagine explaining these matters to the patients very clearly >> when they join the practice. >> >> Let me clarify that I'm starting out solo-solo. Streamlining by >> centralizing and controlling communications is an important issue for >> me. >> >> Thanks, >> Tim >> >> >>> Tim, this is just a thought. I use Vonage at home. While it is a >>> good product that I will continue to use, it is prone to some >>> problems. One of them is that, for reasons unknown to me, speech >>> gets broken up on occasion. While I can tolerate that at home, I >>> would not want it at work. I think that Voip is one of those >>> technologies that is still being perfected, so that it will probably >>> be a solid choice at work in 6 months to a year, but maybe not yet. >>> >>> " Malia, MD " wrote: OK folks, do I NEED a >>> phone land line at all? >>> >>> OneBox.com looks really good for organizing email, faxes and voice >>> mail. It can forward calls to a cell phone at any time I want (ie - >>> when I'm not seeing patients), can have a personal message telling >>> people to call my cell directly if an urgent issue at any time. >>> >>> Combined with an internet service, good cell phone service (likely >>> Treo 700w thru Verizon), RelayHealth (secure patient messaging, Rx >>> faxing, other things...) and Appointmentquest.com I think I can have >>> a total communication system that is managable for about $350/month. >>> >>> The one time I could have a problem is if deep in the hospital or in >>> radiology where cell phone access is a no-no or not reachable (lead >>> is not good for transmitting phone signals I guess). But now I am >>> using hospitalists more and more so I'm less often in problematic >>> places. >>> >>> Anyone doing this yet? Any thoughts? What am I missing? >>> Thanks in advance. >>> Tim >>> >>>> , >>>> >>>> By using a VOIP phone service, you can have all of your voicemails >>>> sent to your email as wave files on email attachments. I use AT & T >>>> callvantage. This way I funnel all of my office communication >>>> through my e-Mail inbox. I also use an internet faxing service that >>>> sends all of my incoming faxes to my e-mail inbox as well (i.e. lab >>>> reports from the hospital). I pieced togeather the system from >>>> about three different services, but there are some companies out >>>> there that are starting to offer package deals. One of them is >>>> onebox. You might want to check them out. >>>> >>>> One caveat: it is much faster to check voicemails on a treo by >>>> dialing in to your voicemail account than converting and playing the >>>> wave files from the email attachments. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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