***PHONE SYSTEM INFORMATION***

We have had many questions over the last month regarding our phones.  Here is a summary to explain our current phone system to help answer those questions.

One of the overarching explanations is that we simply are receiving an exponentially greater number of phone calls than we ever have had in the history of the practice.  Where in the past most of our interactions were face-to-face, to comply with social distancing guidelines and to help protect both our clients and staff, currently almost every interaction is over the phone.

Our office phone (812) 273-5737 has one line, does not have call waiting, and is attached to an answering machine.  If our staff is interacting with a client on this line, you will receive a busy signal.  If all our staff are assisting clients or treating patients, and cannot answer the phone, the answering machine will pick up and you can leave a message for the staff as soon as they are available.  This is the primary number to call for general questions, prescription refill requests, and appointment scheduling.  As a side note, we do not have call waiting because of some of the delicate conversations we have with clients on the phone.  We do not want to have the call waiting interfere with those conversations, nor do we want a client calling in to only hear the phone continually ring with no answer.  Our decision was that a busy signal indicates to a client that we are currently assisting another client and are unable to answer the phone.

To help with the procedures in place to comply with social distancing and to allow for curbside service, we started to utilize a cell phone (812) 292-4720.  This phone line is dedicated for clients that are in the parking lot to call and check-in for appointments or to call and pick up previously requested medications.  There have been two problems with this new phone addition:

1.  If there are several people in the parking lot, you may need to leave a message on the voicemail of the phone if we are currently working with another client in the parking lot.  This does extend the time it takes for us to get to your message.

2.  Clients who are not at the office are calling with general questions and this line is being tied up; therefore, increasing the time for us to check-in/check-out clients in the parking lot waiting patiently to get through.

Please do not call the cell phone number if you are not in our parking lot doing business at that time.  If you want to call our office number outside of normal business hours to leave a message for prescription requests or a general information question that can be returned the next business day, that would be greatly appreciated.  

We will be sharing more information soon on current construction of a new clinic which we anticipate being able to move to by the end of the year.  A new phone system is one of the items that we are excited about in the new facility. 

We understand these procedures and our phone system are not ideal and are burdensome to all involved.  We appreciate your patience during this difficult time and assure you we are doing our best to work every client through our system as expeditiously as possible while continuing to be thorough and compassionate in the care we provide.  Thank you for working through all these trying times with us.