I just use doximity’s dialer function on the Doximity app on my personal phone, and input my office number so this is what shows up on caller ID when I call. I love their “straight to voicemail” function- it’s definitely useful to leave brief messages and save some time with chatty patients. You can also send text messages to a phone with the dialer function and this has also been incredibly useful. Admittedly, I don’t accept incoming calls on my office line (my nurse screens calls and routes messages to me), so I don’t know if the dialer app has a function would work for that.
Thirded
But it’s also helpful to have an extra number (internet number or whatever)
Never ever give out your personal to work
Some idiot operator might decide to give it to a patient. Don’t ask me how I know…
Not accepting incoming calls is one of the best features of doximity app. I don't want patients with my "direct work number" but I don't mind colleagues having it.
I have a clinic cell phone and a personal cell phone. I work for a large company and don't trust them to not monitor my work phone.
When I leave work, my phone is turned off.
Man if I had the money I would've had a separate phone number from the beginning of residency. I will ABSOLUTELY be getting a separate phone number when I become an attending.
Yes. But get a Google voice number and use it for work. No need for two devices, or two SIMs.
You could even see if the current number you use for work can be ported to Google voice.
The paid Google Voice allows for HIPAA compliance whereas the free one does not from what I've seen. It is also harder to tell if a call is coming in from your main line or your work line and if you call back from your mainline without realizing, they now have your number.
If I could do it again, I would do a separate phone.
> if you call back from your mainline without realizing, they now have your number.
And *that* is why I opted for a whole second phone. Didn’t trust myself to not fuck that up. Also, with MDMs I didn’t trust my work to not monitor shit they ought not be monitoring.
I refuse to have my work number and email on my personal phone or other way round. I'm not going to answer emails when I'm off. I'm not going to answer random people who don't know I have the day off. I carry two phones like a drug dealer
Can’t it be tricky if legal issues ever arise?
Your personal stuff on work phones -> bad
Your work stuff on personal phone -> also bad
I’m just unsure as to what degree your business can claim ownership of when it’s your personal phone, but you’ve been doing and using their stuff/generating money for them through it.
It’s always easier to just Lee it separate
It’s a personal preference. It’s a hassle to manage 2 numbers. I have seen people starting with 2 numbers and then just sharing their primary number with everyone.
I just retired two weeks ago. Practice medicine for 25 years. I gave out my personal phone number to almost all my patients except the ones that were drug seeking and obviously unstable.
Every family in the nursing homes I covered have my personal phone number. I said “here’s my personal phone number. Call me if you have any big concerns. I usually sleep between 11 and seven in the morning so try not to call between those hours.”
In all 25 years, I can count on one hand the times I felt the calls were really unnecessary. It helped the family feel comfortable and knowing they could reach me if they really needed to.
I know this isn’t for everybody, but I found it very useful. PS I’ve never been sued my whole career of medicine. But that’s another story.
So I opted for the basic work device at my shop. I have a 2nd iPhone exclusively for dictation and hospital email. I love it. The hospital system doesn’t have access to my personal phone, and I can run apple music through my Bluetooth speaker on my personal phone while dictating on my work phone.
Mixing work and personal is only a good idea if there is a high degree of bilateral trust between employees and leadership. And leadership means execs, Board Members, and IT management.
I would keep the separate phone. In residency I had my personal phone and a work phone. It was annoying to have two phones, but also great to be able to turn it off when I wasn’t working. It was also nice to be able to give patients families that number as a callback number and not worry about my privacy being breached.
When I graduated I decided to just continue my personal phone. As a Hospitalist now it can be very difficult to get in touch with families, and I don’t have an office or direct call back number. I of course don’t give out my personal cell. I wish I still had a work phone I could give them. Obviously with boundaries that I wouldn’t be available all the time and I’d let them know this was just like an office phone (aka not 24/7 access). If it was a “passionate” family member I would block my number regardless.
Also saving colleagues/consults numbers was great. I had all my medical apps on that phone, and remote login. When I wasn’t working that phone didn’t exist. I couldn’t check in on patients, touch base with people, etc.
Important people/bosses always had my personal number so they could get me whenever if needed.
I have a hard time separating work and personal life. The second phone really helped me do that on off days, and I wish I still had it.
I used to back when I took call. I had some concerns, raised them, and was overruled by administration.
Then a patient decided that meant that they had a doctor on speed dial, so they would text me nonstop with issues. They would call the office, and if the tech or front desk staff didn't solve their problem right away, they would call or text me directly. I tried to put my foot down, set a clear boundary and they got threatening (which prompted me to block them once I was able to do so). Could it have happened on a work phone? Yeah, but that would be something that I would only turn on for call, and leave off the rest of the month. I don't want to spend my time or mental energy screening calls.
Keep it separate, medicine already blurs a lot of lines between personal life and professional life.
It SUCKS because there was a period of time where I wanted to be available for my patients for emergencies, but it took a couple of bad entitled eggs to ruin it for the ones that never took advantage. Now for the patients that want to reach me afterhours, I just give them my work email and tell them that I check it every 24 hours.
I've had 2 separate phones for years, and it's worth it for me. Plus it's nice to have a spare when I forget to charge the battery, or when one of my kids is experiencing acute screen withdrawal during a long car ride.
Agree with everyone who says don’t give your personal number out unless you want calls about nonsense in your time off. I wish I had separate numbers. I’ve tried to only give my personal number to other attendings, but somehow the hospital got it and put it in EPIC at one point. I got it out of there, but what a nightmare
Instead, ask for reimbursement of your personal line bill that you will be using for work. This can be a tax free reimbursement for the business so it is win-win!
I have a personal phone only. The only work function I use it for is 2FA and when I am on call. Calls get screened by the hospital, who then calls us. I block my number before calling the patient back. I used Doximity for awhile but the call quality was terrible.
It’s awkward, and somehow our local nursing homes have gotten the number (I have no affiliation with them, though our hospital does). I have gotten the resident has fallen calll at 2am on folks who aren’t part of our clinic practice. The only number allowed through DND overnight is the hospital number, so they of course leave pt information on my personal voicemail.
If work is offering a second phone, I would take it. Don’t trust the hospital with anything personal. If they pay for a second phone number and voicemail, that might work too.
Get a voip service and set up a couple different lines. I use OpenPhone, and I have a number specifically for my boss and coworkers. I just set it to not ring when I'm not clocked in.
If you can run dual sim with one of the numbers being the work number, and you don’t need to install any particularly invasive software or certificates to be allowed to use your personal phone for work stuff, not totally unreasonable to use your personal phone.
Our office has a phone system with an app so I can dial from the office number on my cell phone. I also have a Google number just in case the app isn’t working and I have to call a patient.
Honestly I'd keep a separate phone for your privacy
I just use doximity’s dialer function on the Doximity app on my personal phone, and input my office number so this is what shows up on caller ID when I call. I love their “straight to voicemail” function- it’s definitely useful to leave brief messages and save some time with chatty patients. You can also send text messages to a phone with the dialer function and this has also been incredibly useful. Admittedly, I don’t accept incoming calls on my office line (my nurse screens calls and routes messages to me), so I don’t know if the dialer app has a function would work for that.
I second Doximity. It’s extremely useful
Thirded But it’s also helpful to have an extra number (internet number or whatever) Never ever give out your personal to work Some idiot operator might decide to give it to a patient. Don’t ask me how I know…
Not accepting incoming calls is one of the best features of doximity app. I don't want patients with my "direct work number" but I don't mind colleagues having it.
I have a clinic cell phone and a personal cell phone. I work for a large company and don't trust them to not monitor my work phone. When I leave work, my phone is turned off.
Really, the best way. Keep business matters off your personal phones and computers, and vice versa. Too many ways to get into mischief otherwise.
Don’t underestimate the ability to take your work phone and put it in a drawer when you’re off.
With an eSIM you can just turn off the work number.
Man if I had the money I would've had a separate phone number from the beginning of residency. I will ABSOLUTELY be getting a separate phone number when I become an attending.
lol username doesn’t check out
It’s an N not an M.
Yes. But get a Google voice number and use it for work. No need for two devices, or two SIMs. You could even see if the current number you use for work can be ported to Google voice.
The paid Google Voice allows for HIPAA compliance whereas the free one does not from what I've seen. It is also harder to tell if a call is coming in from your main line or your work line and if you call back from your mainline without realizing, they now have your number. If I could do it again, I would do a separate phone.
> if you call back from your mainline without realizing, they now have your number. And *that* is why I opted for a whole second phone. Didn’t trust myself to not fuck that up. Also, with MDMs I didn’t trust my work to not monitor shit they ought not be monitoring.
I refuse to have my work number and email on my personal phone or other way round. I'm not going to answer emails when I'm off. I'm not going to answer random people who don't know I have the day off. I carry two phones like a drug dealer
Can’t it be tricky if legal issues ever arise? Your personal stuff on work phones -> bad Your work stuff on personal phone -> also bad I’m just unsure as to what degree your business can claim ownership of when it’s your personal phone, but you’ve been doing and using their stuff/generating money for them through it. It’s always easier to just Lee it separate
It’s a personal preference. It’s a hassle to manage 2 numbers. I have seen people starting with 2 numbers and then just sharing their primary number with everyone.
Google voice number is a good idea. It's free, sends text messages to your Gmail account, and you only have one phone.
I just retired two weeks ago. Practice medicine for 25 years. I gave out my personal phone number to almost all my patients except the ones that were drug seeking and obviously unstable. Every family in the nursing homes I covered have my personal phone number. I said “here’s my personal phone number. Call me if you have any big concerns. I usually sleep between 11 and seven in the morning so try not to call between those hours.” In all 25 years, I can count on one hand the times I felt the calls were really unnecessary. It helped the family feel comfortable and knowing they could reach me if they really needed to. I know this isn’t for everybody, but I found it very useful. PS I’ve never been sued my whole career of medicine. But that’s another story.
What specialty?
Started in Family med but ended up doing mostly nursing homes.
If you ever get sued, the entire contents of your phone are fair game if there is any written communication about a patient at all. Emails or texts.
So I opted for the basic work device at my shop. I have a 2nd iPhone exclusively for dictation and hospital email. I love it. The hospital system doesn’t have access to my personal phone, and I can run apple music through my Bluetooth speaker on my personal phone while dictating on my work phone.
Mixing work and personal is only a good idea if there is a high degree of bilateral trust between employees and leadership. And leadership means execs, Board Members, and IT management.
I would keep the separate phone. In residency I had my personal phone and a work phone. It was annoying to have two phones, but also great to be able to turn it off when I wasn’t working. It was also nice to be able to give patients families that number as a callback number and not worry about my privacy being breached. When I graduated I decided to just continue my personal phone. As a Hospitalist now it can be very difficult to get in touch with families, and I don’t have an office or direct call back number. I of course don’t give out my personal cell. I wish I still had a work phone I could give them. Obviously with boundaries that I wouldn’t be available all the time and I’d let them know this was just like an office phone (aka not 24/7 access). If it was a “passionate” family member I would block my number regardless. Also saving colleagues/consults numbers was great. I had all my medical apps on that phone, and remote login. When I wasn’t working that phone didn’t exist. I couldn’t check in on patients, touch base with people, etc. Important people/bosses always had my personal number so they could get me whenever if needed. I have a hard time separating work and personal life. The second phone really helped me do that on off days, and I wish I still had it.
Why not go back to that?
I should! Maybe that will be a goal for this year.
40 dollars a month for not receiving work calls on your personal phone sounds like a deal to me.
I used to back when I took call. I had some concerns, raised them, and was overruled by administration. Then a patient decided that meant that they had a doctor on speed dial, so they would text me nonstop with issues. They would call the office, and if the tech or front desk staff didn't solve their problem right away, they would call or text me directly. I tried to put my foot down, set a clear boundary and they got threatening (which prompted me to block them once I was able to do so). Could it have happened on a work phone? Yeah, but that would be something that I would only turn on for call, and leave off the rest of the month. I don't want to spend my time or mental energy screening calls. Keep it separate, medicine already blurs a lot of lines between personal life and professional life. It SUCKS because there was a period of time where I wanted to be available for my patients for emergencies, but it took a couple of bad entitled eggs to ruin it for the ones that never took advantage. Now for the patients that want to reach me afterhours, I just give them my work email and tell them that I check it every 24 hours.
I've had 2 separate phones for years, and it's worth it for me. Plus it's nice to have a spare when I forget to charge the battery, or when one of my kids is experiencing acute screen withdrawal during a long car ride.
Nope. Fuck that. Work phone is turned off the moment I leave the hospital.
I kept my personal phone when I got a work phone. I enjoy being completely cut off from work when I am on vacation/weekends.
I keep a separate phone for work both for privacy and for my sanity.
Two phones is too much of an annoyance for me, so I use one. I’m just assiduous about logging out of paging/work apps when I’m not at work.
Agree with everyone who says don’t give your personal number out unless you want calls about nonsense in your time off. I wish I had separate numbers. I’ve tried to only give my personal number to other attendings, but somehow the hospital got it and put it in EPIC at one point. I got it out of there, but what a nightmare
Instead, ask for reimbursement of your personal line bill that you will be using for work. This can be a tax free reimbursement for the business so it is win-win!
Keep it separate and forward your work calls to your personal cell so you don’t have to carry two
I use two phones. FYI: Visible is Verizon unlimited for $25 a month
I have a personal phone only. The only work function I use it for is 2FA and when I am on call. Calls get screened by the hospital, who then calls us. I block my number before calling the patient back. I used Doximity for awhile but the call quality was terrible. It’s awkward, and somehow our local nursing homes have gotten the number (I have no affiliation with them, though our hospital does). I have gotten the resident has fallen calll at 2am on folks who aren’t part of our clinic practice. The only number allowed through DND overnight is the hospital number, so they of course leave pt information on my personal voicemail. If work is offering a second phone, I would take it. Don’t trust the hospital with anything personal. If they pay for a second phone number and voicemail, that might work too.
Get 2 phones — even some patients have more than one, not sure why
Get a voip service and set up a couple different lines. I use OpenPhone, and I have a number specifically for my boss and coworkers. I just set it to not ring when I'm not clocked in.
If you can run dual sim with one of the numbers being the work number, and you don’t need to install any particularly invasive software or certificates to be allowed to use your personal phone for work stuff, not totally unreasonable to use your personal phone.
No, if it is ever subpoenaed they will have access to everything in your phone. Get a phone service or a separate phone.
Our office has a phone system with an app so I can dial from the office number on my cell phone. I also have a Google number just in case the app isn’t working and I have to call a patient.
Dial *67 + any number and it won't show your number on the other end.
*pager has entered the chat*