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Hospital answering service that routes callers to the right unit.

Callers can reach a department by name, page a staff member, and get visiting hours.

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Get every caller to the right department fast

Every caller reaches a department, a paged staff member or the patient information desk.

The agent reads visiting and department hours from your lists, and says when a unit sets its own.

How a hospital answering service relieves a busy switchboard

What is a hospital answering service?

A hospital answering service takes the main number when your operators are tied up, gets each caller to a department and sends staff pages. This agent works as overflow beside your operators, so a caller with a one-line question doesn't queue behind everything else.

  • Look up a department
  • Read visiting hours
  • Save a page request
  • Page a staff member
  • Transfer to a department

How does a caller reach the right department?

The agent asks which department or person they want, finds the entry in your directory, reads the hours and transfers the call. Visiting hours come from your list, and it says when a unit sets its own, so that question never needs an operator.

What are visiting hours?

get_visiting_hoursGeneral: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily

General visiting hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Some units set their own. Do you want a department?

Can it page a doctor or nurse?

Yes. It takes the staff member's name and a callback extension and sends the page with no patient details attached. Each request saves with a reference number, so staff can see what went out when a pre-op nurse needed anesthesia and the desk was busy.

  • Radiology scheduling, transferred0:52
  • Page for Dr. Nwosu1:21
  • Visiting hours question0:29

Will a hospital answering service confirm a patient is admitted?

No. The agent has no tool that looks up a patient, so a caller asking about a husband goes to the patient information desk. An emergency gets your 911 script and the emergency department line. Operators keep code calls, disaster plans and anything else that needs a person.

Right destination

Did the agent transfer the caller to a department or save a page request, and share nothing about any patient?

Relief for operators on a busy shift

The calls that need an operator's judgment get one. A hospital medical answering service should take the rest without touching patient information.

Callers reach the department by name

Say radiology scheduling or billing and the agent finds it in your directory, reads the hours and connects the call.

Staff pages go out clean

Who to page and a callback extension go on the page, along with a reference number and no patient details.

Visiting hours skip the queue

General and unit hours come from your lists, so a caller with that question gets a quick answer.

Patient questions go to the desk

Any question about someone in a bed transfers to the patient information desk, which answers under your rules.

Overflow means overflow

The agent picks up when operators are busy, so your team stays on the calls you want them on.

It confirms nothing about any patient

The agent can't look anyone up, can't say if someone is admitted and can't say how they're doing. Emergencies get your 911 script and the ED line.

One main number, every kind of caller

Some callers know the extension. Others ask for a doctor with a half-remembered name. The agent has to work with both.

  • $0.03per minute
  • #1on Speech Agent Arena and EVA-Bench
  • 24/7answers every call, at any hour

Keeps up with staff on a unit

A pre-op nurse says who she wants in one breath. The agent waits for the end, then asks for the callback extension.

Your directory, your LLM

The LLM is your call. Its tools look up a department, read visiting hours, save a page request and page staff.

Sounds like the main desk

Pick a voice from the library that fits a hospital's front line, so callers hear your name and a clear question.

Shortening the queue on the main number

Hospitals usually weigh three ways to do it. An operator still wins when a caller is in crisis.

Overflow agentSwitchboard operatorsPhone tree
Caller says a department nameTransfers from your directoryTransfers from memory or the directoryCaller has to find the right menu
Busy shiftCalls run at the same timeCallers wait for a free operatorMenu answers, then the same wait
Paging a doctorName and extension, no patient detailsYes, and can weigh urgencyUsually routes to an operator
Question about a patientConfirms nothing, sends to the information deskFollows hospital policy by handUsually routes to an operator
Caller in crisisReads your 911 script, offers the ED lineA person stays on the lineMenu options rarely help
A department changes its hoursUpdate your directoryUpdate the binder and tell each shiftRe-record the menu

See which calls reached the right department

Every call is recorded and transcribed. See which calls were transferred to a department, which sent a staff page, and which ended without either.

Launch an AI hospital answering service in three steps

Start building

  1. Clone switchboard overflow

    Use this agent as a base and load your department directory, visiting hours and 911 script.

  2. Connect paging and transfers

    Link your paging system and department extensions through tools you configure, then route overflow from the main number to the agent.

  3. Call about a patient

    Ask whether a relative is admitted, then request a page. Confirm it says nothing and sends you to the information desk before going live.

Enterprise-grade security

  • HIPAA compliant badge

    HIPAA compliant

  • SOC 2 Type 2 badge

    SOC 2 Type 2

  • GDPR badge

    GDPR

Hospital answering service FAQs

What is a hospital answering service?

A hospital answering service works the switchboard when operators are busy. This one is a voice agent. It transfers callers to departments, takes page requests for staff and sends patient questions to the patient information desk.

How much does a hospital answering service cost?

A hospital answering service costs $0.03 per minute of call time for the agent, so a three-minute call is $0.09 in agent time. LLM usage is billed separately, and a Cartesia phone number adds $0.014 per minute, or nothing if you bring your own Twilio account or SIP trunk. The free plan includes $1 of agent calls a month, so you can test the agent before you pay. See pricing.

Can a hospital answering service page a doctor or nurse?

Yes. The agent takes the staff member's name and a callback extension and sends the page without patient details.

Will a hospital answering service tell callers anything about a patient?

No. The agent can't look up patients, so it confirms nothing and transfers the caller to the patient information desk.

What does a hospital answering service do if a caller describes an emergency?

The agent reads your 911 script and offers your emergency department line. It is not an emergency service.

Can a hospital answering service handle patient information under HIPAA?

Yes. Cartesia is HIPAA compliant, SOC 2 Type II certified, and signs business associate agreements with healthcare customers. See the HIPAA answering service page for what the agent records.

Can the agent transfer a caller to a department?

Yes. The agent finds the department in your directory, reads its hours and transfers the call, and you control exactly when it transfers.

How is a hospital answering service different from an AI receptionist?

A receptionist books visits and routes callers at a front desk. This agent works the switchboard and sends staff pages, and for voice routing alone there is AI auto attendant.

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