A familiar interruption.
A different way to handle it.
The reception team is helping someone at the desk when another person calls. The caller wants to know when the practice opens and whether someone can discuss an appointment. They need a clear next step, without being asked to explain their medical history to an automated assistant.
In this fictional example, Elm House Practice starts with a deliberately narrow workflow: approved practical information, appointment enquiries and reception callbacks. Clinical advice and decisions about care remain with qualified staff.
The details that make the difference.
A useful receptionist starts with information the business controls. Here is how this example is configured.
- Approved information
- The practice supplies its address, opening hours, access information and instructions for contacting reception.
- Callback details
- Ask for a name, callback number and a short administrative reason for the call. Do not ask for a detailed clinical history for a routine callback.
- Staff handover
- Questions about symptoms, medication or treatment are routed to a person. The practice defines its appropriate reception destination.
- Access and retention
- The owner chooses who can use the workspace, whether calls are recorded and how long stored call content is retained.
Answer the practical question
Tell can share information that the practice has approved, such as opening hours or directions. If a detail is missing, it should say so and offer a message or transfer.
Take a focused message
For a reception callback, the assistant collects contact details and the administrative request. The message should be useful without turning the call into an unnecessary collection of sensitive information.
Make the next step explicit
A saved callback request means the team has a message to review. It is not a confirmed appointment or a promise that a clinician will call at a particular time.
A good call has somewhere to go.
Switch between the scenarios to see how the assistant handles the request and what happens next.
Keep a simple enquiry simple.
- Tell
Hi, you’re speaking to an AI assistant for Elm House Practice. How can I help?
- Caller
Could reception call me about arranging an appointment?
- Tell
I can take a message for reception. May I have your name and the best number to call?
- Caller
It’s Alex. I’ll give you my number. I’d like to discuss a routine appointment.
- Tell
Your message is saved for reception. They’ll need to review it and arrange the next step with you.
Your team picks up a clear next step.
A clear message for reception.
- Caller
- Alex
- Request
- Discuss a routine appointment
- Contact
- Callback number supplied
- Appointment
- Not yet booked
Illustrative administrative request. Clinical history is not needed to demonstrate this workflow.
Calls, bookings and messages are kept in the workspace, with access based on the person’s role. Retained call content can help the team review what was said; recording and call-content retention are controlled by the owner.
Explore a sample workspace The public workspace demo uses The Olive Room sample data.The right person, at the right moment.
Reception support, not clinical decisions
Tell does not replace a clinician, triage service or emergency service. Clinical questions need the practice’s approved human route.
Appointment enquiries need precise wording
A callback request is not a reservation. Enable direct bookings only for services the practice has configured and can safely manage within the available scheduling model.
Agree the information-handling workflow
The practice needs to review access, retention, notices and the services involved before real caller information is handled. Product controls do not by themselves establish that a particular use is appropriate.
Check the details.
Then decide what works.
These are evaluation steps for this example, not claims about achieved results. Start with test calls and review the records before forwarding customer calls.
Test ordinary reception questions
Check opening hours, directions and access information against the practice’s approved answers. Try a question for which no answer has been supplied.
Listen for overpromising
Ask for a callback and confirm that the assistant does not present it as a booked appointment or guarantee a response time.
Rehearse the handover
Use a fictional, non-sensitive clinical question in a test call and check that it moves to the nominated staff destination.
Good questions to ask.
Does Tell provide medical advice?
No. This example covers administrative reception work. Clinical questions go to the practice team.
Is a callback request an appointment?
No. It is a message for reception to review. A booking is confirmed only when the configured booking flow has successfully saved a reservation.
Can the practice turn recording off?
Yes. Recording and call-content retention are owner-controlled settings. Turning off audio recording does not automatically remove other records such as booking details and messages.
Does it connect to a patient-record system?
No patient-record-system connection is assumed in this pilot. Any proposed integration and information-handling requirements need to be reviewed separately.
