Industry
Clinic and hospital phone systems
A reception line that holds callers instead of ringing out, a menu that sends appointments, pharmacy and lab calls to the desk that can answer them, and a clear route for calls once the clinic has closed.
What usually goes wrong
Monday morning at reception
The phone rings non-stop from opening time while the receptionist checks in the patient standing in front of her. Callers who hear it ring out try the next clinic.
Every call lands at the front desk
Appointments, lab results, the pharmacy and billing all ring the same phone, and each one has to be walked down the corridor or called back later.
Nobody knows what was said
A patient disputes a bill, or what they were told about an appointment, and the only record is two people's memory of the call.
How 3CX handles it
A menu that finds the right desk
"Press 1 for appointments, 2 for the pharmacy, 3 for lab results." The call reaches the people who can answer it, and reception answers the rest.
Queues for the busy hours
Callers keep their place instead of hearing the line ring out, and can ask to be called back rather than hold. On Pro.
A clear route after hours
At closing time calls go to the doctor on call, to a message that tells callers where to go in an emergency, or to voicemail that arrives by email.
One number for every branch
Patients call one number and choose their branch. When one reception is busy, the call can move to another after a set time instead of going unanswered.
Recording, handled carefully
Calls recorded for billing and disputes, with the menu telling callers so, playback limited to the people you choose, and a retention period that follows your policy. On Pro.
Doctors reachable, numbers private
A doctor's extension rings on the app on their mobile, and calls they make show the clinic's number, not their own.
A call to the clinic
-
chooses a department
The patient calls
One number for every branch and every department.
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rings the desk
The menu
Appointments, the pharmacy, lab results or a branch. After hours, the on-call route instead.
-
The right desk
Answered by whoever is free there, or held in a queue with a callback offered.
Doctors away from their desk answer on the 3CX app, so the call still reaches them without a personal number being given out.
Patient information is sensitive, and the system should treat it that way
Kenya's Data Protection Act treats health information as sensitive personal data. A phone system cannot make a clinic compliant on its own, and we will not claim that it does. What it can do is keep its part of the job tidy.
- Recordings stay on the system, in Nairobi if we host it or on your own server if you do, and are archived to storage you control
- Only the people you choose can listen to them
- They are removed from the system after the age you set, and the archive keeps them only as long as your policy says
- Callers are told when a call is recorded
What we set up for you
The calls
- The menu, recorded with you, in English and Kiswahili if you want both
- Queues for reception and the busiest departments, with callback
- Office hours, weekends and Kenyan public holidays, and the on-call route
- Branch overflow, so one busy reception hands on to another
The people
- The app on doctors' and managers' phones, showing the clinic's number
- Desk phones for reception, if you want them
- A recording and retention policy set up with whoever owns data protection
- Training for reception, and a short guide for everyone else
What a clinic needs from each edition
| Capability | Basic | Pro | AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menus and after-hours routing | Included | Included | Included |
| The apps, on every device | Included | Included | Included |
| Queues for the busy hours | Not included | Included | Included |
| Callback instead of holding | Not included | Included | Included |
| Call recording | Not included | Included | Included |
| Queue and answer-time reports | Not included | Included | Included |
Our recommendation
A small practice with one receptionist does well on Basic. Once callers wait in a line, or you want calls recorded, it is Pro, and most clinics with a busy reception land there.
Hosted in Nairobi, for most clinics
Every branch reaches the same system over the internet, with nothing on site to maintain. A hospital whose wards must keep calling each other in an outage is better on its own premises.
Questions clinics ask us
Can doctors take calls on their own phones?
Yes. With the 3CX app, a doctor's extension rings on their mobile wherever they are, and calls they make show the clinic's number rather than their personal one.
What happens to calls after the clinic closes?
Office hours switch the route by themselves at closing time, at weekends and on the public holidays you set. After hours a call can go to the doctor on call, to a recorded message that tells callers where to go in an emergency, or to voicemail that arrives by email.
Is it all right to record calls?
Recording is common for appointments, billing and disputes, but callers should be told, and the recordings handled as the personal data they are. The menu announces it, only the people you choose can play recordings back, and they are kept only as long as your policy says. Your own data protection advice has the last word on the policy.
Do we need a server at the clinic?
Not usually. Most clinics and clinic groups are hosted in Nairobi, so every branch reaches the same system over the internet and there is nothing on site to look after. A hospital whose wards must reach each other during an internet outage is better served by a server on the premises.
See it on a real system
A 30-minute session on a live system, walked through in your own terms. No obligation.
We confirm your slot within 24 hours. Prefer to write? Email or message us.