A phone system with a CRM for a multi-site clinic
A clinic with several sites has one problem that looks small until you run into it: the patient does not know and does not care which site they are calling. They are calling the clinic. Everything after that is your job.
The brief
They needed a phone system that serves several locations as one: call history, callback requests, and real-time visibility into what is happening on the lines. The requirement was that it be self-hosted rather than a rented service where patient call data lives with a third party.
What we built
The system routes calls between sites through an IVR menu, a choice that carries the conversation to the right place instead of relying on the patient having dialled the right number. On top of that we added an emergency ring group: a path where the call rings several handsets at once, because for some calls waiting for a free operator is not acceptable.
The built-in CRM keeps the history of who called, when, about what, and what was agreed. The operator sees that on pickup rather than hunting for it while the patient waits on the line.
The operator dashboard runs in real time over WebSockets: line state changes on screen the moment it changes in the exchange, with no reload. Access is protected with two-factor authentication, which for a system holding patient call history is not a luxury.
Why self-hosted
Off-the-shelf cloud exchanges are faster to launch and for many businesses they are the right answer. Here they were not: recordings and call history in a medical context are sensitive data, and self-hosting keeps both the data and the access rules inside infrastructure the clinic controls.
The cost of that choice is real, because maintenance becomes your responsibility. It is a trade worth making deliberately rather than by default in either direction.
What we carry forward
Two things proved to matter on later projects. First, call routing has to reflect the organisation as it actually is, not as it appears on the org chart. Second, real time is not showmanship: an operator who can see the state of the lines makes different decisions from one who refreshes a report.
Running several sites with telephony stretched awkwardly between them? Tell us how it is set up today.