Should we hire another front desk staffer instead of using an AI receptionist?

For Medical Clinics

The economics rarely favor hiring for pure phone coverage. A full-time front desk hire costs a clinic roughly $35,000-$45,000/year in salary alone before payroll tax, benefits, and training time, and one staffer still can't answer two calls simultaneously during the 8:30am rush when six patients are checking in and the phone rings. A second hire covering evening or weekend after-hours shifts specifically to catch the 7pm symptom call adds another significant cost for coverage that might only be needed a few hours a day. Voksha's Premium plan at $99/month handles simultaneous calls around the clock, meaning it covers the exact gap a single additional hire can't: the moment when your existing staff is already busy and a new patient call would otherwise ring out. This isn't an argument for eliminating front desk roles; front desk staff do check-in, in-person patient management, complex insurance conversations, and relationship-building that an AI receptionist doesn't replace. The better framing is that hiring solves a headcount problem, while an AI receptionist solves a coverage problem, and those are different gaps. A clinic that's short-staffed on the floor needs a hire. A clinic that's fully staffed but still losing calls during rush hours, lunch coverage, and after-hours needs coverage, not another salary. Many clinics run both: adequate front desk staffing for in-person operations, plus Voksha specifically for the overflow and after-hours gap that no amount of front desk staffing fully closes, since staff physically can't answer a call while checking in a patient at the counter.