5 Best medical office phone systems: Prices & features

When someone calls your medical office, they want answers fast. But so does everyone else who’s calling. As your call volume rises, patients may need to wait on hold or leave a voicemail until you have time to follow up. Meanwhile, you’re responsible for keeping every conversation secure and compliant.

Outdated phone systems aren’t built for this. Cloud phone systems for healthcare are. They give you the features to handle high call volume, multiple locations, and remote staff‌ — ‌while keeping patient data secure. 

You’re short on time, so we’ve narrowed down eight features you should look for in your medical office phone system. Plus, we explore five HIPAA-compliant providers to consider for your practice.

8 Key features to look for in your medical office phone system

Here’s what healthcare practices need in a phone system:

1. Technical security features required by HIPAA

HIPAA requires you to protect personal healthcare information, or PHI, when it’s shared through a VoIP platform. That means your business phone system must provide certain technical safeguards.

The most important security features include:

• Phone call encryptions. Encrypted calls protect electronic PHI during transmission and storage. This way, bad actors can’t intercept sensitive information you discuss with patients. 
• Audit logs. Track all staff actions, like call access, voicemail retrieval, and record downloads. This lets you easily spot unusual activity and keep records for compliance reviews.

• User access controls. Decide which users should have access to patient calls, messages, and records. Only specific team members can access sensitive data if their job roles and responsibilities require it.
• Secure storage. Networks handling ePHI, including servers and cloud platforms, must follow secure configuration standards. 
• Data redundancy and backups. You’ll want a provider that stores data across multiple locations. That way, if something shuts down or gets corrupted in one location, there’s a backup. 
• Automatic logoff and session timeouts. Log users out of your phone system after a certain period of time. This reduces the risk of unauthorized viewing when a device is left unattended.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each feature’s benefits:

With phone call encryption	Without phone call encryption
Patients can securely call your practice and share PHI without worrying about their privacy.	Unencrypted calls can be intercepted by bad actors. This risks significant HIPAA violations.
With audit logs	Without audit logs
You can quickly skim call logs and message details to see who sent what on your team.	There’s no record of who accessed what, making it difficult to investigate incidents or prove compliance during audits.
With access controls	Without access controls
Only authorized users can access patient calls, messages, and records, reducing the risk of misuse or exposure.	Anyone can view sensitive data. This increases your likelihood of a data breach.
With secure storage	Without secure storage
Customer communications are handled and stored in encrypted, HIPAA-compliant environments.	Customer communications sit in unsecured systems, where they can be accessed, copied, or breached without detection.
With contingency planning and backups	Without contingency planning and backups
Redundant backups and failover routing keep your phone system running so patients can still reach you.	Outages halt all communication, preventing patients from connecting with your team and potentially delaying urgent care.
With automatic logoffs and session timeouts	Without automatic logoffs and session timeouts
Phone system users are automatically logged out of their accounts after a set period of time, preventing unauthorized user access.	Logged-in accounts remain logged in indefinitely, increasing the risk of breaches whenever devices are left unattended or lost.

2. Phone menus to route calls

Phone menus or auto-attendants help patients reach the right person without going through your front desk first. When someone calls, they can press one to book an appointment, two for billing, and three for medical questions. You can set up the options based on your organization. This reduces the load on your receptionist and gets patients to the right department faster.

Phone menus also handle simple requests automatically, like sharing your office hours or location. This frees up your team to focus on callers with more complex issues. As a bonus, most robocallers can’t navigate phone menus, so spam calls are filtered out.

With auto-attendant	Without auto-attendant
A patient with post-surgery symptoms calls the clinic. They select the “post-surgery complications” option and are routed directly to the triage nurse.	A patient needs to explain post-surgery symptoms to the front desk staff, risking disclosure of PHI to unauthorized personnel before reaching the triage nurse.

3. Customizable call routing based on business hours

Customizable call routing lets you adapt a phone system to how your team already works. That way, you can adjust coverage based on staff schedules, clinic hours, or unexpected changes — like when someone calls in sick or takes a few days off.

The best call routing tools help you:

• Create different flows for whenever you’re closed or open. You likely won’t have the same call handling expectations during business hours as you would after hours.
• Control how calls are routed. For example, you can use Quo, formerly OpenPhone, to control how calls are handled based on shifts or team member availability. Plus, you can set up sequential ring to distribute calls in batches.
• Set up a flow within minutes. The interface should be intuitive and not require technical knowledge to set up.

With customizable call routing	Without customizable call routing
Easily decide how calls should be handled during or after business hours. For example, sending calls to an emergency number after hours. This runs in the background on autopilot.	Calls ring one number regardless of availability. If no one picks up, patients go to voicemail with no way to reach someone else who could help.

4. Texting and tools to automate text messages

Use texting to send appointment reminders and confirmations or to receive cancellation requests. You should also be able to schedule texts and use texting automations to speed up repetitive tasks like sending reminders.

Just make sure you don’t share any sensitive information or PHI through text to avoid HIPAA violations. Remember: texting isn’t HIPAA compliant by default. 

With texting and tools to automate texts	Without texting and tools to automate texts
Send reminders, request reviews, and stay in touch with patients through their communication channel of choice. Then, automate messaging with scheduled messages, templates, auto-replies, and third-party integrations.	Patients may be less likely to take calls than check texts, so they might miss your appointment reminder calls.

💡Learn more about the technical limits of SMS for HIPAA.

5. Voicemail transcriptions for missed calls

It’s not always possible to answer every call and listen to every medical office voicemail. Instead, you can use voicemail transcriptions to get up to speed with what patients want or need. This also helps you triage with team members and create more efficient call-handling workflows.

With voicemail transcriptions	Without voicemail transcriptions
Easily find key pieces of information without listening to entire conversations. It takes seconds to locate details and delegate action items to the right people or departments.	Medical office staff have no way to skim conversations for key insights or details. Staff may need to listen to entire voice messages to find specific pieces of information.

6. Business Associate Agreements or BAAs

To use a HIPAA-compliant phone system, you must sign a Business Associate Agreement, or BAA. Not having a BAA can make you liable for fines ranging from $100 to $50,000+ per violation, with an annual maximum of $1.5 million. Intentional misuse of patient data can result in fines of up to $250,000 and prison sentences of up to 10 years.

A BAA ensures that both you and your VoIP vendor are accountable in the event of a PHI breach. It outlines how the vendor will protect patient data and what safeguards they must follow under HIPAA. It also defines your responsibilities as the business owner and sets security expectations. 

Without a signed BAA, a vendor can’t legally handle PHI.

With BAA	Without BAA
The healthcare practice can use its phone system in a HIPAA-compliant way and protect PHI.	The healthcare practice has no legal agreement holding vendors accountable for security breaches. Businesses risk financial fines, loss of patient trust, and potential lawsuits if PHI is compromised.

7. HIPAA-compliant call recording 

Call recordings automatically capture important details. They can also document consent conversations and treatment discussions. That way, you’ll have a record of verbal authorizations in case of legal issues, disputes, and liabilities. 

Make sure to consult your compliance or legal team to confirm how to handle recordings in a HIPAA-compliant manner. And always notify your patients when a call is being recorded. 

With HIPAA-compliant call recording	Without HIPAA-compliant call recording
The healthcare practice can document conversations, treatment discussions, and verbal authorizations in the event of legal disputes and liabilities.	The healthcare practice has no legal call recording system. If a patient disputes what was discussed, the practice has no documentation to defend against liability claims.

8. Mobile app for staff

The best medical office phone systems offer a mobile app so you can stay in touch with patients from anywhere. That way, you can address urgent questions after hours or on the move. All you should need is an internet connection — you’re not chained to a desk or stuck in the office.

With mobile accessibility	Without mobile accessibility
Remote, hybrid, and in-office teams can collaborate from anywhere. Calls can be made securely outside the office on a secure connection.	Medical offices are limited to communicating on-site. Remote team members or employees in the field can’t collaborate with coworkers or stay in touch with patients.

How to choose a phone solution for healthcare providers

Here’s what you should be looking for when comparing HIPAA-compliant VoIP systems:

✅ Efficient setup. You shouldn’t have to reach out to sales or hire dedicated IT or compliance staff just to get up and running. Plus, you shouldn’t have to wait for weeks or months for full implementation.

✅ Scalability. Can your medical phone system grow alongside your practice? Is it easy to add users, departments, and features quickly?

✅ Customer support. Does the phone system offer responsive customer support? Or updated help docs when troubleshooting simple issues?

✅ Value for price. Does the base plan offer the features you need? Or are the most useful tools locked behind more expensive plans?

✅ Lack of long-term contracts. Does the provider have flexible contracts? Or will they lock you into a long-term contract?

✅ Third-party audits and certifications. You’ll want confirmation that your VoIP system follows other security standards in addition to HIPAA. For example, you should check for SOC 2 Type II certification.

5 best phone systems for medical practices

Here are the five best medical office phone systems compared side by side:

Keep reading for a more detailed breakdown of each VoIP provider.

1. Quo: The best medical office phone system for growing practices 

Pros

• Unlimited calls and texts in the US and Canada
• One free new local or toll-free number per user
• Mobile app
• Secure call recordings
• Team collaboration features like internal threads and shared numbers
• Auto-attendant functions or IVR for inbound calls
• Granular user access and permission controls

Cons

• Can’t verify accounts through two-factor authentication*

*Nearly all virtual phone numbers share this problem. For safety reasons, companies like Facebook, Uber, and Google rarely let you authenticate accounts through a virtual phone number.

Quo helps growing medical offices reliably build customer relationships without sacrificing patient privacy.

You can use Quo in a HIPAA-compliant manner with a BAA, available upon request on our Business and Scale plans. This secures PHI storage and transmission across calls, recordings, and voicemails. You can get started within days — no additional setup required.

Access controls let you set up three workspace roles that control who does what. This includes Owner, Admin, and Member users. Only some users will have full administrative control, while others can only access calling and texting. If someone quits or loses their work device, you can revoke their user access to protect patient data.

Quo also offers other security features, like data encryption. We encrypt data at rest with AES-256, and data in transit with TLS 1.2+. These are the same encryption standards used by financial institutions. 

Quo is also SOC 2 compliant. This is an independent audit that continuously monitors our security standards.

Quo lets you manage patient calls, texts, and voicemails in one secure, HIPAA-compliant platform. You can use shared inboxes and smart call routing to split responsibility for incoming calls. Spending too much time on repetitive tasks? Use texting automations to speed things up. For example, you can schedule texts like appointment reminders.

You can also use our AI voice agent, Sona, to help patients book appointments after hours. For patients who’ve already opted in to Sona and SMS communications through your intake process, Sona can text them a link to your scheduling page during the call.

Need help managing higher call volumes? Quo offers a drag-and-drop call flow builder so you can set up custom phone menus. Now you can determine how to route calls and to which team members. Simple inquiries can be routed to reception, while health questions are routed to nurses.

You can also set up call flows for specific situations. For example, you can set up a call flow for when your office is closed for a holiday and one for everyday situations. Easily toggle between them from your call flow settings.

With Quo, you get all of this without enterprise pricing. Plans start at $23 per user per month.

See why more than 90,000 customers trust Quo as the best small business phone system.

Sign up for a free seven-day trial and get started in 15 minutes or less. Then, use a temporary phone number to test the platform. Port any US, Canadian, or North American toll-free number over once you’ve confirmed we’re a fit for your practice.

Once you’ve activated a paid Quo account, request a BAA in 15 seconds.

Key features of Quo

• Free calls and texts in the US and Canada
• Text from your computer, smartphone, or tablet 
• Shared numbers
• Business hours
• Call routing
• Phone menus, or IVR

• Voicemail transcriptions
• Call forwarding and transfers
• Call hold

• Automatic call recording notifications
• Free calls and texts in Canada and the US
• On-demand and automatic call recording

• Direct team messaging and internal threads
• Snippets, or templated messages, and auto-replies

Quo pricing

Quo’s pricing plans are designed to grow alongside your business. You’ll find HIPAA compliance on the Business and Scale plans:

• Starter: $15 per user per month for calls and texts in the US and Canada, voicemail transcriptions, on-demand call recording, access to Sona, our AI voice agent, and more
• Business: $23 per user per month for HIPAA compliance, IVR, custom ring groups, call transfers, analytics and reporting, and more
• Scale: $35 per user per month for dedicated onboarding, priority chat and email support, inbound phone support, and AI call tags

2. Dialpad: Best for large companies needing HIPAA-compliant video calls

Pros

• Unlimited calls in your country, the US, and Canada
• Video meetings are available
• Voicemail to email

Cons

• Additional numbers require an upgrade
• Need to invest in two modules to get certain EHR integrations
• Time-consuming to set up as an admin
• No unlimited SMS/MMS
• User minimums for upgraded plans can drive up costs

Dialpad offers unlimited video meetings and domestic calling on every plan. If your medical office offers telehealth, you can also store video meeting transcriptions. That lets everyone on your team review past interactions to improve patient outcomes. To make Dialpad HIPAA compliant, you must first sign a BAA in the mobile app. This is available on all paid Dialpad accounts. But keep in mind, you must be the Company Admin to do so.

You can make any Dialpad plan HIPAA-compliant — but not every Dialpad plan makes sense for growing practices. For one thing, you can’t purchase additional numbers on the base plan. And once you upgrade, you’ll have to contend with user minimums. There’s no support for unlimited SMS and MMS, no matter how much you’re willing to upgrade. 

Want to integrate with EHRs like Epic or Athena Health? You can’t get those integrations on the Connect plan, which has calling and texting features. Instead, you need to invest in the Support plan, which comes with call center features like screen recording and AI scorecards.

Keep in mind, these plans are significantly more expensive — think $80 to $150 per user per month. And you’ll end up paying for features like AI live coaching, which aren’t necessarily geared toward medical offices.

Dialpad pricing

There are three Dialpad pricing plans to pick from:

• Standard: $15 per user per month for unlimited domestic calling, multi-level phone menus, support for toll-free numbers, call recording, and call and voicemail transcription
• Pro: $25 per user per month for additional phone numbers, third-party integrations, 25 ring groups, and international texting support, three seats minimum
• Enterprise: Custom quote for unlimited ring groups, SSO, number extensions, more integrations, and a 100% uptime guarantee

3. Nextiva: Best for enterprise organizations that need advanced call center tools 

Pros

• Unlimited calling in the US and Canada
• Customizable caller ID
• Priority and skills-based routing with an add-on
• Integrates with major CRMs with an add-on

Cons

• Must contact sales for HIPAA-specific pricing
• Voicemail can’t be played through the portal
• SMS and MMS have a capped message limit
• Limited toll-free minutes
• Call recording requires an upgrade
• Most integrations require an upgrade or add-on fee

You can set up unified communications with Nextiva that ensure secure calls, texts, and video meetings. You can schedule patient meetings on your calendar and set up HIPAA-compliant video calls. But first, you’ll have to choose one of Nextiva’s healthcare-specific business plans and sign a BAA. These plans offer features and pricing separate from  Nextiva’s Small Business and Enterprise plans.

Keep in mind that, to remain HIPAA-compliant, Nextiva eliminates certain functions in your phone system.Nextiva’s HIPAA-compliant phone plans get rid of:

• Voicemail playback in the Nextiva Voice portal
• Voicemail transcriptions
• Send or receive faxes via email
• Download or forward faxes via email from the vFAX portal

Nextiva pricing

Nextiva’s pricing for HIPAA compliance isn’t transparently listed online. You’ll have to reach out to sales to receive a custom quote.

4. RingCentral: Best for desk phone rentals

Pros

• Unlimited calls to the US and Canada
• Provides local and toll-free phone numbers
• Desk phone rentals are available
• Real-time data and reporting

Cons

• 25 texts per user per month
• Storage limits, with no truly unlimited tier
• Automatic call recordings require an upgrade
• Only includes 100 toll-free minutes per month on the base plan

RingCentral provides desk phone rental options if you use legacy equipment. It also offers unlimited calling in the US and Canada, with support for local or toll-free numbers. To set up HIPAA compliance, you must request the RingCentral BAA from your RingCentral representative. 

But keep in mind, RingCentral’s plans are significantly more limited when compared to alternatives. The base plan limits you to 25 texts and 100 toll-free minutes per month. Upgrading to the most expensive plan still caps you at just 200 messages per user per month, which might not be enough as you grow.  

Plus, you can’t get “unlimited” storage without upgrading to the most expensive plan. Even if you do, your data is subject to time-based deletion policies. For example, RingCentral deletes all data on HIPAA-compliant accounts after 30 days. This could cause problems if you need to retain data longer for clinical or legal reasons.

RingCentral pricing

RingCentral’s pricing has four distinct tiers:

• Core: $20 per user per month for on-demand call recording, 100 video meeting participants, 100 toll-free minutes, and 25 texts 
• Advanced: $25 per user per month for automatic call recording, 100 texts, 1,000 toll-free minutes, and advanced call monitoring functions such as call barging and call whispering
• Ultra: $35 per user per month for device analytics and alerts, “unlimited” storage with time-based limits, 200 texts, and 10,000 toll-free minutes
• Customer Engagement Bundle: Contact for pricing for SMS compliance management, access to the Business SMS Booster, and access to the call queues booster

5. 8×8: Best for global calling

Pros

• Video conferencing is available
• Microsoft Teams integration is available
• Global local number support
• Unlimited international calling on some licenses

Cons

• Can be complex to set up
• Must contact sales for pricing and to trial
• Outdated support articles

8×8 offers global calling in up to 48 countries, depending on your plan. You can also purchase local phone numbers in international countries. That way, you can set up familiar area codes anywhere you offer patient care. You’ll also have access to a few bells and whistles, like video conferencing and Microsoft Teams integration.

But you should know 8×8 doesn’t transparently list its plans, pricing, or features online. We reached out to support and confirmed the platform is HIPAA-compliant and audited for SOC 2. But there’s no information about which plans offer these features. If you want more details, you’ll need to contact sales.

Finally, keep in mind 8×8 is complex to configure. With outdated support articles, it could be harder to get up and running.

8×8 pricing

At the time of writing, 8×8 doesn’t publicly list its VoIP costs. You’ll have to reach out to the 8×8 sales team for a quote.

Why healthcare providers choose VoIP medical office phone systems

Healthcare organizations adopt HIPAA-compliant healthcare communication systems for benefits like:

• Improved patient experiences. Features like call queuing, ring groups, and smart routing mean patients spend less time on hold or getting bounced around. They’ll also reach the right person faster. Studies show that shorter perceived wait times can improve patient satisfaction.
• Stay easily reachable. You can use VoIP wherever you are, whether you prefer smart devices or computers. Plus features like voicemail transcription and text mean staff can respond to patient inquiries faster. They can keep in touch with patients even while away from their desks.
• Handle high call volume better. Some VoIP systems offer ring groups and IVR to distribute callers to the right members of your team. Providers like Quo also give you shared phone numbers so everyone on your team can split responsibility for incoming calls.
• Save operational costs. On-premises landlines could cost thousands in hardware and maintenance. With cloud phone systems, providers like Quo securely manage and maintain things for you. No need to worry about server closets, physical phone lines, and footing the bill for unexpected costs. 
• Remain HIPAA-compliant. Some VoIP systems come with built-in security and compliance features. You can rest easy knowing your patient information is safe in calls and voicemails.

Quo: The best medical office phone system for growing practices

VoIP phone systems help medical practices scale patient communication while remaining HIPAA compliant. You also get features that solve everyday communication challenges like high call volumes and missed calls.

Quo’s HIPAA-compliant VoIP service lets you make unlimited calls and texts in the US and Canada. Port or buy as many local or toll-free numbers as your team needs. Then, download secure apps you can use on any device — phone, tablet, or computer. Every plan comes with robust security features, compliance certifications, and collaboration tools.

All of this starts at $23 per user per month.

Confirm that Quo is the best fit for your medical practice by signing up for a free seven-day trial.

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