Buyer's guide
A virtual medical receptionist answers your practice's phone when nobody at the front desk can. There are three kinds, and they differ in what they cost, when they work, and how much of a call they can actually finish. Here is how they compare, what to ask any vendor, and where Lydoh, the AI option, fits.
Remote staff, a live answering service, or an AI receptionist: what each costs, what each handles, and how to choose.
The three kinds
All three answer calls your team can't. What changes is who is on the other end, what they can resolve, and how the bill is calculated.
Side by side
| Remote staff | Live answering service | AI receptionist (Lydoh) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it bills | Hourly or monthly, like staff | Per minute or per call, often with surcharges | Lydoh: flat $199/mo, unlimited calls |
| Hours covered | One person's shift | Up to 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Answers questions about your practice | Yes, once trained | From a script; detail becomes a message | From your approved content |
| Urgent after-hours calls | Only if they're on shift | Usually a page or relayed message | Dials your on-call provider until one accepts |
| Scheduling | Can work in your system | Varies; often a message | Structured request texted to your desk |
| Record of each call | Whatever they write down | Varies by provider | Transcript, summary and escalation log |
| Clinical judgment | Only if licensed | No | No; never gives medical advice |
Typical patterns; individual vendors and staffing arrangements vary.
Some reference points. An in-house medical receptionist earns $36,000 to $44,000 a year, and OmniMD puts the full cost, with payroll taxes, benefits, time off and turnover, at $63,000 to $83,000+ (OmniMD). A remote staff member saves the desk and some overhead but is still one person on one shift. Live services publish entry plans like Ruby's $250 a month for 50 minutes (NextPhone comparison) and PATLive's from about $205 a month for 75 minutes (PATLive pricing); busy months run past the included minutes. Both dedicated medical answering vendors in our answering service pricing index are quote-based. Lydoh is $199 a month with unlimited calls; see what's included on pricing.
How to choose
The options also combine: staff for the desk, an AI receptionist for overflow and after hours. For what the AI option looks like in practice, see the AI receptionist for medical practices and the AI answering service pages, or the full medical answering service by specialty.
Before you sign
The same six questions work for remote staff agencies, call centers and AI vendors, including us.
Lydoh's answers: a BAA is available for eligible healthcare deployments; after hours it opens with a 911 reminder, lets the caller choose urgent or routine, dials your on-call provider until one accepts and logs every attempt; every call gets a transcript, summary and recording link; appointment requests are texted to your desk to enter, with webhooks and an API for other systems; billing is flat; and it never gives medical advice. More on the HIPAA-compliant answering service page.
For dental offices
Dental front desks are busiest when the schedule is full and hands are gloved, which is exactly when new-patient calls arrive. A virtual dental receptionist has to catch those calls, answer "Do you take my plan?" and "How much is a crown?" from your own content, and get a complete request to your team. Lydoh does that, and after hours it opens with a 911 reminder (facial swelling or trouble breathing is an emergency), lets the caller flag severe pain, trauma or uncontrolled bleeding as urgent for your on-call dentist, and turns routine calls into a morning request. It never diagnoses. See the dental answering service.
FAQ
A virtual medical receptionist answers a practice's phone from somewhere other than the front desk. It comes in three forms: a remote staff member who works for your practice, a live answering service whose shared operators cover many clients, or an AI receptionist that answers in a natural voice. All three take calls your team can't; they differ in cost, hours and how much they can actually resolve.
It depends on the type. A remote staff member is priced like an employee, by the hour or month. Live answering services mostly bill per minute or per call: Ruby starts at $250 a month for 50 minutes and PATLive from about $205 a month for 75 minutes, per their published plans. AI receptionists vary from per-minute to flat monthly pricing; Lydoh is $199 a month with unlimited calls. Our answering service pricing index lists published rates with sources.
Any type can be HIPAA-aligned if the vendor signs a Business Associate Agreement, keeps protected health information to the minimum, limits access, and keeps an audit trail. Ask for the BAA before the first live patient call. Lydoh offers a BAA for eligible healthcare deployments, collects a name, callback number and brief reason, and isolates each practice's data. No product is "HIPAA certified"; compliance also depends on your own environment.
Some live services and remote staff log in to your scheduling system; many AI receptionists do not. Lydoh captures a complete appointment request (name, callback number, service, preferred time) and texts your front desk to confirm and enter it, so it never double-books your schedule. Calls, transcripts and requests can also be pushed to other systems through signed webhooks and a REST API.
Yes. Dental front desks miss calls when hands are gloved and the schedule is full. Lydoh answers on the first ring, answers insurance and treatment questions from your approved content, captures new-patient requests, and after hours lets the caller flag urgent problems like severe pain or trauma for your on-call dentist. It never diagnoses.
No, and it shouldn't. The in-office work (checking patients in, collecting balances, anything that needs judgment) stays with your staff. A virtual receptionist covers the calls they can't reach and the hours you're closed. During business hours Lydoh transfers callers who need a person to your line.
Start a 14-day free trial and forward your phone in under 10 minutes.
