Conversations That Feel Human
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The Problem
Why Private Practices Are Moving to an AI Answering Service
Patients call your practice after hours about symptoms, prescription refills and appointment questions, and when it's serious they need to reach the doctor on call, not leave a message with a stranger. A traditional doctors answering service can take that call, but it usually pages you with just a callback number, relies on an operator with no context on your patients, and needs a signed BAA before it can touch any protected health information. Retell operates under a signed BAA, captures a structured message with the details you actually need, and gets it to whichever doctor is on call right away.
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Comparison
Retell VS. A Traditional Doctors Answering Service
Hours
What You Pay For
Wait Time
Busy Periods
Consistency
Languages
Handing Off To You
Setup
Your Tools
Traditional Answering Service
Business hours, with on-call coverage billed as a separate add-on
Per minute and per call, plus a monthly contract for on-call coverage
Callers hold while an operator becomes free
Limited by how many operators are on shift; calls queue or drop
Depends on which operator answers and how well they know your practice
Usually English, other languages billed extra or unavailable
Pages you with a callback number and little else, then waits for you to call back for details
Sign a contract, write call scripts, train operators on your practice
Messages relayed by phone, page or fax
Every call answered 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays
Usage-based from $0.07/min, $10 in free credits to start
Answered on the first ring, no queue
20 concurrent calls included, higher on Enterprise
The same accurate answer on every call
55+ languages handled the same way
Structured alert or warm transfer with the full transcript and caller context attached
Start from a template, sync your knowledge base, go live
Connects to your scheduling and practice systems over secure webhooks and acts during the call
Cost per minute
$0.07-$0.31/min
LLM: gpt-5
$0.040/min
TTS: platform
$0.015/min
Voice Engine
$0.055/min
Background speech removal
$0.005/min
Safety Guardrails
$0.005/min
Buyer’s Guide
How to Choose a Doctors Answering Service
$0.07-$0.31 Per Minute
You pay for real call time, nothing else.
$10 in Free Credits
Try it before you pay anything.
No Monthly Retainers
Nothing extra for nights, weekends or busy periods.
Lower Bills Overall
Routine calls clear on their own, so spend drops.
Capabilities
What Our Agent Does on a Call
Gets Urgent Messages to the Right Doctor:
It separates urgent calls from routine ones using the escalation rules you set, so a patient with a genuine on-call issue reaches you instead of waiting on a callback.
It captures a structured message, patient name, callback number, reason for the call and any details you ask for, instead of a one-line page.
When a patient needs to speak with you directly, the agent warm-transfers them with the full conversation and caller context attached.
Answers from Your Practice's Knowledge Base:
It stays in sync with your practice's knowledge base, so patients hear current answers about office hours, appointment availability and insurance accepted.
It can look up a patient's appointment or account mid-call and tailor what it says.
It connects to your scheduling system over secure webhooks while the call is live, and runs under a signed BAA with SOC 2 Type II controls.
Setup
Live in Four Steps
Step 1
Build
Set the agent up in a no-code dashboard or with the API, and point it at your scheduling system and practice FAQs.
Step 2
Test
Run it against the calls your practice actually gets and confirm it triages correctly and escalates cleanly to whoever is on call.
Step 3
Deploy
Connect your practice line over SIP trunking or take a new number, then go live on voice, SMS and chat.
Step 4
Monitor
Track resolution and escalation rates and patient sentiment from the dashboard, and refine over time.
Value
Why Businesses Choose Retell
A Clean Handoff to Your Team
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Reporting You Can Act On
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Built for Sensitive Data
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- Hubspot
- Twilio
- Vonage
- Go High Level
- n8n
- Zapier
- Salesforce
- Hubspot
- Twillio
- Vonage
- Go High Level
- 8n8
- Zapier
- Salesforce
- Avaya
- Genesys
- Five9
- Amazon Connect
- Telnyx
- Make
- Cal.com
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- Avaya
- Genesys
- Five9
- Amazon Connect
- Telnyx
- Make
- Cal.com
Overview
Built to scale with you
From quick-start simplicity to enterprise-grade security, compliance, and support. Retell meets you wherever you are.
Put Your Business Answering Service to Work Today
Start from a template, sync your knowledge base, and connect your line or take a new number. Try it on your real calls, then go live on voice, SMS and chat.
FAQ
Common Questions
How does Retell relay messages to the doctor on call?
Retell answers the call, captures the patient's name, callback number and reason for calling, and sends that structured message straight to whichever doctor is on call, based on the escalation rules your practice sets. You get more than a callback number and a name.
Is Retell HIPAA compliant for a private medical practice?
Yes. Retell signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and operates under SOC 2 Type II controls, so your practice can use it to handle calls that include protected health information.
Can Retell tell the difference between an urgent call and a routine one?
Retell follows the escalation rules your practice defines, so calls flagged as urgent are routed to the doctor on call right away while routine questions about scheduling, refills or billing are handled directly. It does not diagnose or clinically triage a patient's condition, it routes based on what the caller says against the rules you set.
How much does a doctors answering service from Retell cost?
Pricing is usage-based starting from $0.07 per minute, with $10 in free credits to get started. There is no per-call fee or monthly contract.
Does Retell answer calls in languages other than English?
Yes. Retell handles more than 55 languages at the same quality as English, so patients who prefer another language get the same experience.
How fast can I set up a doctors answering service?
You can start from a template, connect it to your scheduling system and practice FAQs, and go live the same day. There is no contract to sign or operators to train.
Can Retell transfer a patient to a real person?
Yes. When a patient needs to speak with you or your staff directly, Retell warm-transfers the call with the full transcript and caller details attached, so nobody has to repeat themselves.
