Answer every call.
Keep the receipts.
An agent answers your practice's phone day and night, books and confirms in the schedule you already keep, and works your recall lists. Before it dials anyone it checks consent — and every decision it makes is written down.
- 10:04:02CONSENTOn file for this number and purpose✓ pass
- 10:04:02REVOCATIONNone on voice, text or email✓ pass
- 10:04:03WINDOWInside the patient's local calling hours✓ pass
- 10:04:03IDENTITYPractice named, agent discloses it is virtual✓ pass
- 10:04:04RECORDINGAnnounced — this state is all-party✓ pass
- 10:04:07Number 41(312) 555-0148 — not dialed“Stop texting me,” received yesterday 18:12. Revocation applied to voice, text and email at once.✗ blocked
Illustrative record · the checks themselves run on every outbound call
The same day, with the line answered
Nothing here shows up on a phone report. The patient who could not get through never became a record.
07:52
Before the doors open
Before the doors open
A recording asks them to try again at eight. Some of them do.
Answered, triaged against your booking rules, booked for 08:15.
Booked
12:40
Four lines at lunch
Four lines at lunch
Whoever is standing at the counter wins. The rest hang up.
All four taken in parallel. No hold, no callback list for tomorrow.
No hold
15:05
A cancellation lands
A cancellation lands
The hour goes cold until somebody has time to work the waitlist.
Released at 15:05, offered in the order you set, filled at 15:11.
Backfilled
17:31
Half an hour after close
Half an hour after close
Voicemail. Which is a callback list for tomorrow, on top of tomorrow.
New patient booked, insurance captured, intake texted before bed.
New patient
09:05
The empty chair
The empty chair
The no-show is confirmed five minutes in. Nobody left to call.
Confirmed the day before — and when it still breaks, the slot refills.
Recovered
One illustrative Tuesday; every behavior above is configured per practice. The one that repeats every few months is turnover — a new hire relearns your templates, providers and booking rules. The agent already knows them, and it does not leave.
Exhibit · United States
What governs an AI voice that calls patients
Enforced
by default
An agent calling patients is a regulated activity here. We would rather you read this from us on day one than from counsel on day ninety — so every claim below is printed with the citation it rests on.
- 01
HIPAA and the BAA
Any vendor that creates, receives, maintains or transmits protected health information on your behalf is a business associate, and the relationship has to be papered with a Business Associate Agreement before a single call is handled. Arbol signs one — it is a precondition, not an upsell.
How we paper itSource45 CFR §164.502(e) and §164.308(b)
- 02
AI voices are “artificial” under the TCPA
In February 2024 the FCC ruled unanimously that calls using AI-generated voices fall under the TCPA's artificial-and-prerecorded-voice rules. That means prior express consent, caller identification and disclosure, and a working opt-out. A vendor that dials your patient list without checking consent is exposing your practice, not theirs.
SourceFCC Declaratory Ruling, adopted February 8, 2024 (CG Docket 02-278)
- 03
Consent can be revoked in any reasonable way
Patients can withdraw consent however they naturally would — “stop”, “don't call me”, a reply to a text — and the request has to be honored promptly, within ten business days at the outside. Arbol records the revocation the moment it hears it, applies it across voice and messaging, and never dials that number again.
SourceFCC consent-revocation rules, key provisions effective April 11, 2025
- 04
Recording follows the caller, not your head office
Several states require every party to a call to consent before it is recorded. The agent announces recording at the start of the call and logs the acknowledgement, so the recording you rely on for quality review is one you can actually keep.
SourceState wiretap and eavesdropping statutes vary; we configure per state
The FCC ruling is published in full on fcc.gov · security and legal dossier in the Trust Center · none of this is legal advice, it is what we build against.
One agent, three jobs
Inbound
- Answers in seconds, in parallel
- Books, reschedules and cancels in your calendar
- Hours, locations, directions, what to bring
- Collects and verifies details before the visit
- English or Spanish, depending on the caller
Nothing lands in a voicemail box somebody has to work tomorrow.
Outbound
- Reminders and confirmations by voice and text
- Waitlist backfill the moment a slot opens
- Recalls: overdue annuals, follow-ups, lapsed patients
- You approve the list and the script first
- Opt-outs applied instantly, everywhere
Consent is checked before every dial; a revocation lands on every channel at once.
Escalation
- No clinical advice, ever
- Red flags transferred immediately, with context
- Out-of-policy calls handed over with the transcript
- Every conversation recorded, transcribed, summarized
- Knowledge gaps surface as work you can close
The clinical boundary is hard-coded, not a setting an implementation can move.
Answering service, more staff, or an agent that finishes the job
Describes the common pattern of each category, not a specific vendor
One flat monthly fee, in USD
Per-minute pricing charges you for the exact thing you are trying to fix: answering more calls. Your fee is sized once — on your real volume, channels and locations — and it does not move when Monday morning spikes.
Implementation is included, the BAA is signed before we handle a record, and you get the number in writing after a 30-minute call.
Get your numberArbol · monthly
statement
Included
- Voice + text, inbound and outbound✓
- Implementation and training✓
- BAA, signed before any record✓
- Recordings, transcripts, summaries✓
- Consent and revocation log✓
- Full data export, on request✓
Not billed
- Per minute—
- Per message—
- Per seat—
- Onboarding fee—
- Feature modules—
- Monday-morning overage—
sized after a 30-min call
Straight answers
Prefer email? Write tosupport@getarbol.com — a person answers.
01Will you sign a Business Associate Agreement?
Yes, before implementation begins. Handling protected health information without one is not an option we offer.
02How do you handle consent for reminder and recall calls?
Consent status is a field on the contact record, not an assumption. The agent checks it before dialing, captures it when a patient gives it on a call, and applies a revocation across every channel the moment it hears one.
03Does the agent tell patients it is an AI?
Yes, in the opening line, using your practice's name. It also announces call recording where that applies. Transparency is not a setting an implementation can turn off.
04Do we have to replace our EHR or phone system?
No. Arbol answers the number you already publish and books in the schedule you already keep. Nothing is migrated and your data is exportable in full.
05What does it cost?
A flat monthly fee in USD, sized to your call volume, channels and locations — not per minute. You get the number in writing after a 30-minute call.
Live on your number in a week
D+1
We audit the phone
Thirty minutes on call volume, abandon rate, no-show rate and how far out your book runs. Nothing is installed — you leave with the business case in your own numbers.
D+2 → D+6
BAA signed, agent trained
Paperwork first. Then services, providers, locations, hours, payers and booking rules — and you approve the tone, the flows and every escalation path.
D+7
Live on your published number
Voice and messaging connected, consent checked before every outbound dial, every conversation recorded and searchable from hour one.
BAA before go-live · no data migration
flat monthly fee in USD