How many calls is our front desk missing, and how do I measure it?
Most clinics guess. A phone report gives the real number in an afternoon.
- How do we know how many calls we miss?
- Which missed calls matter most?
- What does a missed call cost us?
Export a month of call logs from your phone system and count calls with no answer and no callback within an hour. Split them by hour of day and by new versus existing numbers. Missed calls from new numbers during business hours are the most expensive. Repeat the report monthly once you've made changes, so you can see the improvement.
How to run the report
- Export call logs: time, number, answered or not, duration.
- Mark new numbers by checking against your patient list.
- Count misses by hour.
- Check for callbacks within an hour.
| Measure | Example |
|---|---|
| Total inbound calls | 1,200 |
| Unanswered | 180 (15%) |
| From new numbers | 60 |
| No callback within an hour | 45 |
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We run this report as the first step for most clinics, then fix the worst hours. See the fixes.
- Guessing the miss rate.
- Counting voicemails only.
- Ignoring new numbers.
- Never repeating the report.
- Monthly call report.
- New versus existing split.
- Misses by hour.
- Callback time tracked.
What dentists and regulators say
Here is what dentists say.
Dentists share what they found when they first measured missed calls.
Browse the threads →Speed of response strongly affects whether inquiries convert.
Read the summary →With schedules hard to fill, every captured call matters.
Read the ADA report →Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll run the report and show where calls are lost.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
Does our phone system have reports?
Most VoIP systems do. Older systems may need the carrier's data.
What's a reasonable miss rate?
Lower is better. Track your own trend after changes.
Should we record calls?
Recording helps training. Tell callers and set a retention policy.