Captrix Research · Front Desk Benchmark
What happens when a patient calls an elective practice?
We called 122 LASIK practices as a prospective patient, during business hours and after, with the same script every time. LASIK is one of the most competitive markets in elective medicine, so it is a fair test of the best front desks in the field.
- Practices
- 122
- Business-hours calls
- 118
- After-hours outreach
- 49
- Published
- July 2026
Key findings
- 129%of business-hours calls never reached a person.
- 24 in 5calls ended with no record that we had called.
- 311%of answered calls were followed up afterward.
- 42 in 5practices never responded after hours, on any channel, within seven days.
1 · Reaching a person
Seven in ten calls reached someone who could help.
Source: Captrix Front Desk Benchmark, July 2026. n = 118 calls.
34 of 118 calls never reached a person, even during office hours. In 2 of 122 practices the doctor personally answered or returned our voicemail. In both, the doctor was the follow-up system.
2 · On the call
Most calls answered the question and let the patient go.
Source: Captrix Front Desk Benchmark, July 2026. n = 84 calls.
71% quoted a price when asked. Fewer than one in five took our phone number or email, so four out of five calls left no record that a patient had called.
3 · After hours
After hours, most practices had nothing automated.
Source: Captrix Front Desk Benchmark, July 2026. n = 49 practices.
Two in five practices never responded at all within seven days. One in eight had any automated reply.
What it means for elective practices
- The call is not the problem. The handoff is. Almost everyone who answered was warm and knew their practice. The call, the voicemail and the web form lived in different places, so nothing told the team who still needed a follow-up.
- Capture comes before conversion. A patient whose name and number were never taken cannot be followed up.
- After hours is when patients research. Any practice where patients compare options for weeks, from LASIK to hair restoration to plastic surgery, loses the ones who call when the office is closed.
Methodology
- 136 practices were contacted; 14 confirmed on the call that they do not perform LASIK in-house and were excluded, leaving n = 122.
- Business-hours calls (n = 118) and after-hours outreach on every available channel (n = 49) were run as two independent campaigns on separate dates; 46 practices received both.
- “Reached a person” means a staff member able to help, not merely an answered line. A call forwarded to a line that never picked up does not count.
- All times recorded in Pacific, reported in practice-local time.
- Full data set available on request: alex@captrix.ai
The script, used on every call
The opener
“Hi, I’m interested in LASIK and found you guys online. I’m thinking about scheduling an appointment, but I had a couple questions about the logistics and process first. I was curious if I’m speaking to the right person to ask.”
If the response was cold
“Great. My friend recently had LASIK in a different state and really liked it, so I’m interested too.”
The core question
“I was just curious what the general LASIK process would be like at your practice for a new patient?”
Only if they didn’t offer next steps
“If I decide I want to move forward, what happens next?”
The price check
“How much does LASIK usually cost?”
Who answers the phones
“Am I speaking to the front desk, a coordinator, or a call center?”
How patients usually reach them
“A bit of an odd question, but I work in healthcare too. I was curious, is it common for people like me to call in? I’m old school and just moved here, but I’m not sure if people are signing up via forms and referrals.”
The close, on every call
“This is super helpful! Thank you. To be fully transparent, I’m calling around a few places in the area to learn more. If it’s alright with you, could I do some more research, check my work schedule, and I’ll call back if everything lines up?”
By Alex Kuang and Jack Robinson, Captrix. Questions or press: alex@captrix.ai
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