The Independent Advantage S02 E09: Where practices lose patients

In the latest episode of The Independent Advantage, host Diana-Canto-Sims, OD, speaks with Raphael Rostenne from EyeCarePro about what makes an exceptional patient experience, where eye-care practices may lose prospective patients, and how AI voice agents can support front-desk operations.

Rostenne says delays and friction are major sources of patient frustration. A caller may become annoyed by a ringing phone, an IVR menu, irrelevant automated prompts, having to press buttons, and waiting again to reach a person. The experience can worsen if the staff member who answers gives only a very brief, unhelpful response. Canto-Sims agrees that practices may underestimate how frustrating their phone systems can be and frames the discussion as a reminder to pay closer attention to how calls are handled.

Rostenne and Canto-Sims identify questions about pricing, insurance, and appointment availability as common points where practices can unintentionally lose new patients. Rostenne advises against simply telling someone that their insurance is out of network. Instead, practices can explain possible options, discuss assistance with out-of-network benefits, or communicate the value of choosing the practice anyway. Availability also matters: practices may have open appointment slots but struggle to fill them.

On the role of AI, Rostenne says voice agents are best suited to routine, clearly defined tasks. Examples include answering frequently asked questions about pricing, office hours, locations, directions, and accepted insurance plans, as well as handling routine booking, cancellation, and rescheduling requests. Practices can provide their own FAQs, and Raphael emphasizes that answers should be useful and complete. More complex service questions and medical emergencies should be handled by people, not the voice agent. Callers can also request a representative; Rostenne says that happens immediately in roughly 50–60% of calls to their agent, with callers routed to the practice when it is open.

The discussion also addresses concerns about liability, HIPAA, and patient privacy. Rostenne recommends choosing a trusted technology partner, putting a HIPAA agreement in place, and testing the system before expanding its use. He describes the voice agent as a voice-based way to access online scheduling, using the practice’s scheduler behind the scenes and connecting to it in the same secure way as online booking.

The episode closes with Canto-Sims introducing a forthcoming episode for Wednesday, November 11 about what happens behind the scenes when an AI voice agent answers a call.

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