Phones and IT support for healthcare
Join up call handling across your clinics, community services and head office, and keep the records and booking systems behind each clinic running.
Why use Chrome for healthcare providers?
As a healthcare phone system built around clinics, care providers and community services, ChromeX gives healthcare organisations more control over call queues, routing, voicemail and reporting.
We’ll understand how your service works, set everything up and train your team. We’ll also remain available when you need help or something changes.
Manage busy periods
Share call queues between locations so a quieter site can pick up when another is stretched.
Help callers reach the right team
Route enquiries to the right clinic or service without passing callers between sites.
Support staff across locations
Answer business calls through desk phones, computers, mobiles and Microsoft Teams.
Take some pressure off your front desk
Healthcare reception teams rarely deal with telephone calls alone.
They may also be welcoming patients, speaking with clinicians, updating records and answering questions at the desk.
When several calls arrive together, older phone systems may play a busy tone or send people straight to voicemail.
ChromeX can help you plan what happens instead.
Your setup may include call queues, call menus, hunt groups, agreed overflow routes, opening-hours rules, voicemail, out-of-hours messages and calls shared between teams or locations.
We’ll first look at how calls are handled today.
The aim is to give patients a clearer experience and make call handling more manageable for staff.
Several calls at once
Queue callers instead of returning a busy tone.
Patients at the desk
Reception can help the person in front of them.
Clinicians calling in
Internal calls that need to get through.
Nothing lost to voicemail
Calls handled rather than sent straight to a message.
IT support for healthcare providers
A clinic runs on more than its phone line. Patient records, booking systems and the network joining your sites together all have to work during every clinic.
Chrome looks after that technology, so your team can stay with patients.
Systems that stay available
Patient records and booking systems are needed the moment a clinic opens. We’ll watch the network and the devices behind them, and sort faults before a list is affected.
Clinical systems and connections
Your clinical system, phones and imaging all lean on the same network. We’ll keep them working alongside each other, across every site you run.
Patient data and information governance
Patient data carries real obligations. We’ll handle backups, staff security training and the access controls your governance lead asks about.
Help patients reach the right service
A call menu can help people reach the correct team.
It should be short and use language callers understand.
Options might include appointments, prescriptions, test results, accounts and payments, a particular clinic or location, or another agreed service.
Some people may find long call menus difficult to use.
Your organisation may decide that certain choices should go directly to a person. We’ll build the call routes around the approach you agree.
Calls can also follow different routes based on the time or day.
When the service is closed, callers can hear a message explaining the opening hours and what they should do next.
Any wording about symptoms, emergencies or clinical advice must be agreed by your organisation and checked regularly.
Follow up missed patient calls
A missed call could be a patient changing an appointment, a relative asking for information or another healthcare professional trying to reach your team.
Without reporting, it can be difficult to know how many calls went unanswered or whether they were returned.
ChromeX reports can help authorised staff review information such as unanswered calls, the date and time, the number or service contacted, queue waiting times, call volumes and activity by staff member, group or department.
The available information will depend on your phone and reporting setup.
Reporting does not return the call by itself.
Your organisation still needs a process for checking missed calls, deciding who should respond and recording when the follow-up is complete.
Chrome can help you choose reports that support that process.
Understand when demand is highest
Call volumes often change throughout the day and week.
A team may manage comfortably most of the time but struggle when appointments open, results become available or shifts change.
Reports can help managers ask useful questions: when do callers wait longest, which teams receive the most calls, are calls reaching the correct service, are the opening hours set correctly, does the call menu help or cause delays, could another location help during busy periods, and are voicemail messages being returned?
The answer will not always be more staff.
A change to a queue, call route or opening-hours setting may help.
Live call centre wallboards can also show current queue activity. This can help authorised teams see when calls are building and respond where possible.
Connect calls with the systems your team uses
Your patient, care or customer management system may already contain information staff need during a call.
ChromeX can connect with supported business systems.
Depending on the platform, staff may be able to see available caller information, open a matching record, click a telephone number to begin a call, add call details to a record, and access contacts through both systems.
Functions differ between platforms.
We’ll check the software your organisation uses and explain what is supported before recommending anything.
Keep patients and service users informed
Clear information can reduce uncertainty for callers and repeated work for staff.
Business text messages may help with appointment reminders, changes to opening hours, clinic or service closures, general service updates and other information agreed by your organisation.
Your organisation remains responsible for deciding what is suitable to send and how personal information is used.
Recorded greetings and on-hold messages can also share opening hours, other ways to contact the service, short answers to common questions, information people may need before an appointment, and changes to a clinic or service.
Messages should be calm, useful and easy to follow.
They should be checked whenever opening hours, services or contact routes change.
Give staff more ways to answer
Healthcare staff may work at a front desk, elsewhere in the building, from home or across several sites.
ChromeX can be used through different equipment and applications.
Desk phones and headsets suit reception and booking teams that handle frequent calls, with a headset helping staff use a computer or make notes while speaking with someone. Cordless phones are useful for staff who need to move around the building while remaining contactable, though coverage should be checked before equipment is chosen. Desktop and mobile applications let staff make calls, check voicemail and view recent call activity through a computer or supported smartphone, with the organisation’s number shown instead of a personal number. Supported Microsoft Teams users can make and receive external calls while remaining part of the wider ChromeX phone system.
We’ll recommend equipment and applications based on each role.
Connect teams and locations
ChromeX can bring users, telephone numbers and call routes together across clinics, offices and community teams, including domiciliary care and other services working across several sites.
Depending on the setup, staff may be able to transfer calls between locations, share responsibility for busy queues, use a central contact directory, manage opening hours through one portal, view reports across agreed services, and answer calls through supported applications when working elsewhere.
One location may also be able to help when another team becomes particularly busy.
We’ll agree how calls should be shared before setting up overflow routes.
Review calls for a clear reason
Call recording may help when there is a genuine reason to listen again.
Across several locations, recordings are often used to check what was agreed during a referral or handover between services, review a complaint that crossed more than one site, or support consistent training for teams that rarely work together.
Recordings may contain personal or sensitive information.
Your organisation should decide why calls are recorded, who can listen and how long recordings are kept, and whether those rules differ by site or by service.
Chrome can explain the technical options. Your organisation remains responsible for its data protection, employment and sector requirements, including anything expected by CQC or other relevant bodies.
Legal or compliance advice may also be needed.
Plan for a connection problem
A cloud phone system depends on the internet connection at each site.
Because your locations are linked, calls to an affected site can be picked up elsewhere rather than simply diverted to voicemail.
Options may include routing to another clinic, moving a service line to mobile applications, or adding a backup connection at the sites that cannot afford to lose calls.
We’ll agree which services must stay reachable, and what should happen at each location, before the service begins.
Chrome can support the phone system and connectivity through one team.
One team for more of your healthcare technology
A phone system depends on the technology around it.
Chrome can also support business mobiles, internet connectivity, managed IT, Microsoft 365, cyber security, and CCTV and access control.
This gives your organisation fewer suppliers to manage and one team to call when responsibilities overlap.
Related industries: doctors’ surgeries, dental practices, care homes and veterinary practices. You can also browse every sector we support.
Connectivity and Wi-Fi
Business internet and the network your site runs on.
Business mobiles
Handsets and tariffs managed alongside your phone system.
Managed IT and Microsoft 365
Day-to-day support for devices, accounts and licences.
Cyber security and CCTV
Protection for your data and your premises.
Why healthcare organisations choose Chrome
What working with Chrome looks like in practice.
Clear advice
We explain the options in plain English before you commit.
Built around how your sites work together
We map how each location, service and visiting clinician is contacted before recommending anything.
Training for your team
We show your team how to use the tools that matter to their roles.
Support after installation
Speak to people who understand your setup when you need help or a change made.
We’ll talk through the options and agree what suits you before anything changes.
How Chrome helps
A healthcare phone system should support the front desk, not replace it. This is how we work through it with you.
We understand your service
We recommend and prepare the setup
We train and support your team
Support matters after installation
Rolling a phone system out across several locations depends on planning, training and support that reaches every site.
Read what customers say about Chrome’s communication, support and the people behind the service in our reviews.
Healthcare phone systems FAQs
Common questions about phone systems for healthcare providers: handling call volume, protecting patient information and supporting reception teams.
Which healthcare organisations can Chrome support?
Chrome can discuss a phone system for healthcare providers including private clinics, care providers, hospices, pharmacies, community services and other healthcare organisations. The right setup will depend on your size, services and sector requirements.
Can we keep our existing telephone numbers?
In most cases, existing business numbers can be moved. We’ll check them before the project begins and explain any restrictions or timescales.
Can ChromeX connect with our patient or care management system?
ChromeX can connect with supported business systems. The available functions differ between platforms. We’ll check your software and explain what is possible.
Can several locations use the same phone system?
Yes. ChromeX treats your locations as one system, so a caller can reach a colleague at another site without being given a second number. Overflow, out-of-hours and shared queues can be agreed service by service.
Can staff answer away from reception?
Staff may be able to use cordless phones, desktop applications, mobile applications or Microsoft Teams. The right choice will depend on their role and working location.
What happens if our internet connection goes down?
The available options depend on your phone and connectivity setup. Calls may be sent to another number or location. A backup connection may also be suitable.
Is your current phone system helping your team?
Callers may be passed between locations. A service may be hard to reach directly. Staff may be working around a setup built for one site rather than several.
Chrome can review how calls move between your locations, your call routes and your reporting.
You’ll receive a clear recommendation based on how your organisation is structured.