Conversations That Feel Human
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Healthcare Answering Service Built for Every Type of Patient Call
The Problem
Why Healthcare Providers Are Moving to an AI Answering Service
Healthcare call volume looks different depending on where you sit. Urgent care lines get flooded with wait-time questions, home health agencies field scheduling changes from caregivers and family members, and therapy practices take intake calls that require real discretion. A traditional healthcare answering service treats all of it the same, per-call pricing, a shared script, and an operator who doesn't know your patients or your protocols. Retell operates under a signed BAA, answers using your own scheduling and intake rules, and routes anything that needs a person straight to your team.
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Comparison
Retell VS. A Traditional Healthcare 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 after-hours coverage billed as a separate add-on
Per minute and per call, plus a monthly contract and hold time
Callers hold while an operator becomes free
Limited by how many operators are on shift, calls queue or drop during seasonal surges like flu season
Depends on which operator answers and how familiar they are with your patients or protocols
Usually English, other languages billed extra or unavailable
Takes a message and relays it with limited detail, sometimes hours later
Sign a contract, write call scripts, train operators on your facility or practice
Messages relayed by phone, page, fax or portal
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
Warm transfer or alert with the full transcript and caller context attached
Start from a template, sync your knowledge base, go live
Connects to your scheduling and care 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 Healthcare 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
Handles Every Type of Patient Call:
It answers scheduling, referral and general questions the same way whether the caller reaches a clinic front desk, an urgent care line, or a home health coordinator.
It follows the escalation rules you set, so a distressed caller or a question that needs clinical judgment reaches a person instead of getting a scripted response.
It never diagnoses or gives clinical advice. It captures what the caller needs and routes it according to your own protocols.
Answers from Your Own Knowledge Base:
It stays in sync with your knowledge base, so callers hear current answers about hours, locations, insurance and services offered.
It can look up a patient's appointment or referral status mid-call and tailor what it says.
It connects to your scheduling and care coordination tools 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 patient FAQs.
Step 2
Test
Run it against the calls your facility actually gets, from routine scheduling to sensitive intake, and confirm it answers correctly and escalates cleanly.
Step 3
Deploy
Connect your existing 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 caller 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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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
Does Retell sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA)?
Yes. Retell signs a BAA with healthcare providers, so clinics, urgent care centers, home health agencies, and therapy practices can use it for calls that involve protected health information.
How does Retell handle sensitive calls, like a behavioral health intake or a patient in distress?
It asks only for what it needs, keeps a neutral and steady tone, and never tries to diagnose or give clinical advice. If a caller sounds distressed or the call needs clinical judgment, Retell follows the escalation rules you set and hands off to your team right away.
Does Retell work for healthcare providers that aren't a doctor's office, like urgent care or home health?
Yes. It configures around each provider's own call types, an urgent care line fielding wait-time questions, a home health agency coordinating visit schedules, or a therapy practice taking intake calls, and follows that provider's own scheduling, intake and escalation rules.
How much does Retell cost?
Retell is usage-based, starting at $0.07 per minute, and you get $10 in free credits to try it before you pay for anything.
Can Retell answer calls in more than one language?
Yes. It handles 55+ languages at the same quality level, so patients and callers who don't call in English still get a clear answer.
How fast can I get a healthcare answering service live?
Most providers start from a template, connect their scheduling system and knowledge base, and go live the same day. There are no scripts to write or operators to train.
What happens when a caller needs to talk to a person?
Retell warm-transfers the call to your team with the full transcript and caller context attached, so whoever picks up already knows what's going on.
