Comparative guide 2026
6 options for managing
clinic calls
Honest and direct comparison so you can choose the option that best fits your clinic, your volume and your budget.
Traditional Receptionist
The most complete option but the most expensive.
Advantages
- ✓ Human flexibility and judgement
- ✓ On-site task management
- ✓ Warmth and patient connection
Limitations
- ✗ High cost (salary + social security)
- ✗ Limited opening hours
- ✗ Sick leave, holidays, turnover
- ✗ Doesn't scale without hiring
Best for: Clinics with high operational complexity or very high volume
Cost
€1,800–2,400/month
Availability
Working hours only
Score for health clinics
Voicemail / IVR
Very cheap, but the patient experience is terrible.
Advantages
- ✓ Very low price
- ✓ Always available
Limitations
- ✗ Doesn't book appointments directly
- ✗ Frustrating patient experience
- ✗ Very high abandonment rate
- ✗ No calendar integration
Best for: Nobody — an obsolete solution that damages the clinic's image
Cost
€0–30/month
Availability
24/7 (but useless)
Score for health clinics
Outsourced Call Centre
Generic agents who don't know your clinic.
Advantages
- ✓ Cheaper than a full-time receptionist
- ✓ Some scalability
Limitations
- ✗ Agents without clinical training
- ✗ No integration with your calendar
- ✗ High error rate
- ✗ Inconsistent brand experience
- ✗ Variable cost hard to control
Best for: Large companies with generic, high-volume calls
Cost
€400–1,200/month
Availability
Extended hours
Score for health clinics
Text Chatbot (web)
Useful as a supplement, but most patients prefer to call.
Advantages
- ✓ Low cost
- ✓ Available 24/7
- ✓ Captures web leads
Limitations
- ✗ Doesn't handle calls (different channel)
- ✗ Very few people use it to book
- ✗ No natural voice
- ✗ Robotic experience
Best for: Supplement to a primary voice channel
Cost
€50–300/month
Availability
24/7 (text only)
Score for health clinics
Virtual Secretary (freelance)
A real person handling calls for multiple clients.
Advantages
- ✓ Real human voice
- ✓ Cheaper than a full-time receptionist
- ✓ Flexible hours
Limitations
- ✗ Limited availability
- ✗ Little knowledge of your clinic
- ✗ No direct calendar integration
- ✗ Variable quality
Best for: Small clinics needing partial coverage without much personalisation
Cost
€300–800/month
Availability
Agreed hours
Score for health clinics
CAi — AI Voice Assistant
Natural conversational voice that knows your clinic, books in real time and sends reminders.
Advantages
- ✓ Predictable flat cost
- ✓ 24/7 availability including public holidays
- ✓ Direct integration with PracticeHub, Cliniko, etc.
- ✓ Books appointments in real time
- ✓ Automatic WhatsApp reminders
- ✓ Metrics and transcriptions dashboard
- ✓ Scales to multiple locations
Limitations
- ✗ Requires the website to have up-to-date information
- ✗ Very complex cases escalated to the human team
Best for: Clinics that want to maximise appointments without increasing headcount
Cost
€199/month (flat)
Availability
24/7 including public holidays
Score for health clinics
How to choose?
How many calls do you receive per day?
Fewer than 20: CAi or virtual secretary. 20–50: CAi is the best option. More than 50: CAi + part-time receptionist.
How much do you want to spend per month?
Less than €500: CAi. €500–1,500: CAi or virtual secretary. More than €1,500: traditional receptionist or hybrid CAi + human.
Do you need cover outside office hours?
Yes: CAi or chatbot (CAi is better). No: any option can work.
Are you planning to open more locations?
Yes: CAi scales per location. With a receptionist, you'll have to hire for each new location.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free option for managing calls? ↓
Voicemail can be almost free, but the abandonment rate is so high it costs more in missed appointments than in money saved. If you want a free option that actually works, the CAi demo lets you test the AI before committing.
Can I combine several options? ↓
Yes. The most common combination is CAi (for inbound calls and reminders) + a part-time receptionist profile for administrative tasks. This reduces the cost of a full-time receptionist while maintaining human capacity for complex situations.
Which option has the best ROI for a small clinic (1–2 therapists)? ↓
CAi. For €199/month you cover 80% of call management needs: booking, reminders, information. Compared to a receptionist at €2,000/month, the saving pays for itself in the first week. And you free up time to focus on patients.
Can older patients use an AI voice assistant? ↓
Yes. CAi uses natural voice, not keypads or menus. The conversation is fluid and the AI adapts to the rhythm and vocabulary of each caller. In our tests, patients over 65 accept it without problems when the quality is good.
What if a patient insists on speaking to a person? ↓
CAi detects the preference and escalates the call to the team. You can configure exactly when and how to do the transfer. No patient is left without attention if you have a human team available.
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