For patients
Calling a practice that uses Counterbell
Some practices use Counterbell to answer their phones when they’re closed. If you’ve just heard it, here’s what it is and what happens next.
In an emergency, hang up and call 000 (triple zero).
If you need to talk to someone, Lifeline is available any time on 13 11 14.
You’re speaking with an automated receptionist
At the start of the call you’ll hear:
“Thanks for calling [the practice]. You’ve reached the practice’s phone assistant. This call is answered by an automated system, and is transcribed.”
It works for your practice. It isn’t a doctor or a nurse, and it won’t give medical advice. If you ask whether it’s a real person, it will tell you it isn’t.
What it can help with
- Taking a message for the practice team, who will get back to you.
- Taking a request to book, cancel or change an appointment. The practice will contact you to confirm it.
- Answering common questions, such as the practice’s address, with wording the practice has approved.
Talking to a person
You can hang up at any time and contact the practice another way, for example when it opens.
Where the practice has set it up, you can say “reception” during opening hours to be put through. If nobody can answer, you can leave a message instead. After hours, it takes a message for the morning.
For health advice when your practice is closed, you can call healthdirect on 1800 022 222, or use your practice’s own after-hours arrangement.
Counterbell understands English. If you need an interpreter, TIS National on 131 450 can call the practice with you. If you’re deaf, or find it hard hearing or speaking, the National Relay Service can help you contact the practice.
It won’t give medical advice
It can’t answer questions about symptoms, test results or prescriptions. It will take a message so the practice team can help. If what you say sounds like an emergency, it will tell you to hang up and call triple zero.
Checking it’s you
For an appointment, it may ask for your full name (and read it back to check), your date of birth and your postcode, so the practice knows exactly who called. It never reads out anything from your medical record, and your phone number on its own is never treated as proof of who you are.
What happens to your information
- No recording of your voice is kept. What you say is turned into text as you speak, so the practice knows what you need.
- A record of the call, with a short text excerpt of what you said, is kept for 30 days by default, then deleted automatically. Your practice can choose a longer period. Dates of birth and phone numbers are removed from that excerpt.
- The speech recognition, voice and language model that handle your call run on servers in Perth, Western Australia. No overseas speech or AI service is involved in the call.
- It’s never used to train AI, never used for marketing, and never sold.
- Your practice’s staff can see it. Skycomm support can see it only for a stated reason, and the practice can see when that happens. Counterbell doesn’t read your medical notes or results.
Your practice holds your health record, so to see, correct or delete your details, please ask your practice first. For questions about how Counterbell handles your information, read our privacy policy or contact our Privacy Officer at info@skycommcloud.com.au. If you’re not happy with our answer, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.