Medical Receptionist Telephone Message Template

A useful medical receptionist telephone message tells the next person what the caller needs, how to contact them safely and who owns the next action. “Please call patient” leaves too much work for the person receiving it.

Use this free template during induction in an Australian general practice, then adapt it to the practice’s approved messaging system. It supports administrative message-taking and handover. It does not authorise reception staff to diagnose, interpret results or perform clinical triage.

Go to the blank telephone message template · See two completed examples

Before taking a routine message

If the caller describes an urgent concern, says the matter is an emergency, or you are unsure about safety, pause the routine message process and use the practice’s approved escalation pathway. Do not finish the form before seeking help. The RACGP’s guidance on responsive patient care explains that staff need to know how to obtain urgent clinical assistance and which calls to transfer.

Before putting someone on hold, use the practice’s approved question to establish whether the matter is urgent. Clinical staff determine the clinical response and timing. A caller’s request for “a quick callback” does not establish that it is safe to wait.

Medical receptionist telephone message template

Copy the fields below into an approved practice document or message system. You can print a blank copy for supervised training. Keep completed messages in the approved patient record workflow, with access restricted to authorised staff.

Record the request clearly

Start with the reason for the call. “Requests a copy of last week’s receipt” is more useful than “Query”. Write down relevant words accurately, separate the caller’s report from actions you took, and avoid guesses about motives or diagnoses. Clarify unfamiliar names or terms instead of silently correcting them.

Read back the callback number and the requested action. Ask which contact method is safe and record any restriction, such as no voicemail. Do not promise a callback time unless the practice’s process or an authorised clinician supports it. A useful closing phrase is: “I have recorded your request for [action]. The next step is [approved process].”

Check identity and protect privacy

Follow the local identity procedure before discussing patient information. RACGP Criterion C1.2 calls for at least three approved identifiers when identifying a patient over the telephone. Full name, date of birth and address are examples; a callback number is not a substitute for an approved identifier.

Someone knowing the patient’s details does not, by itself, establish authority to receive information. If a relative or another organisation calls, record who they say they are and refer unresolved authority questions through the practice’s privacy process. Receiving a message and disclosing information are separate decisions. The OAIC explains the circumstances in which health information can be used or disclosed.

Collect the relevant information needed for the request, avoiding unnecessary sensitive detail; the OAIC’s collection guidance explains necessity, consent and privacy notices. Keep voices discreet. Do not place patient messages in personal email, personal messaging apps or public AI tools. Apply the practice’s secure storage and retention procedures to any paper used, consistent with the OAIC’s guidance on protecting personal information.

For more everyday phone scenarios, see what a medical receptionist can say on the phone.

Two fictional message examples

These abbreviated training examples contain no real patient details. In the practice system, link the message to the verified patient record and complete the relevant fields.

1. Receipt request

10:10 — training patient A: Identity checked under local policy. Caller requests a replacement receipt for last week’s payment. Callback number read back; no voicemail requested. Assigned to reception lead Sam, who accepted at 10:12 and will check the payment record before responding through the approved channel. Caller advised of the practice’s usual administrative response timeframe. Status: open, awaiting response.

2. Request for a medication discussion

11:05 — training patient B: Caller says, “I need to speak to someone about my medication.” No medication advice given by reception. Call transferred through the local clinical enquiry pathway to nurse Alex, who accepted at 11:07. Callback details and contact preferences confirmed in the record. Status: clinical team has accepted the enquiry; reception’s handover action recorded. The clinician determines assessment and any further action.

Give every open message an owner

Sending a message is one step. The practice also needs a way to see whether it was received and what remains to be done. RACGP’s communications criterion covers recording patient messages and responses, getting messages to the intended person, and handling their absence.

For this template, agree three local rules: who watches the queue, who takes over when someone is away, and when an unanswered message must be escalated. At a shift change, identify each unresolved request, its current owner and the next review point. Record failed contact attempts and the next step. Do not mark the whole request complete simply because reception has handed it on.

The same habits help when preparing the practice for the three-year-old Healthy Kids Check: record the parent’s concern accurately, confirm who has accepted the handover and keep follow-up ownership clear. See our Healthy Kids Check preparation guide for GP teams for the wider booking-to-follow-up workflow.

Practise the whole call during induction

Ask a new starter to take a fictional message while a supervisor acts as the caller. Check the request, callback details, privacy choices and handover destination together. Include an unavailable recipient so the starter practises the backup route. Add this exercise to your medical receptionist day-one induction.

The GP Receptionist Certificate builds on these habits with structured learning on identity, privacy, communication and escalation, alongside local practice training.

This resource provides general administrative education. Your practice’s clinical and privacy leads should adapt it to local policies, systems and applicable requirements before workplace use.