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To measure response time, a practice records three timestamps for every new inquiry: when the call or form arrived, when staff made the first contact attempt, and when the first two-way conversation happened. The gaps between them give two numbers, speed to first attempt and speed to conversation. Review both every week and test them with a secret-shop inquiry.
What should a practice timestamp for each new inquiry?
A practice should timestamp three moments for each new inquiry: the arrival (the call time or the form submission time), the first contact attempt by staff, and the first two-way conversation with the person. Arrival to first attempt is speed to first attempt. Arrival to conversation is speed to conversation. Both belong on the same record.
The third timestamp matters because a phone call often reaches no one. In a secret shopper study published in Community Mental Health Journal in April 2026, researchers attempted to contact 183 psychiatric providers listed in an insurer directory in Puerto Rico, and approximately 47% of the calls were answered. A practice that logs only its callbacks can look fast on paper while prospective clients are still waiting to speak with a person.
Why track speed to first attempt and speed to conversation separately?
Speed to first attempt and speed to conversation measure different things, so each needs its own column. Speed to first attempt shows how quickly staff act. Speed to conversation shows how quickly a prospective client actually talks with someone. Beacon’s published standard, explained in How Fast Should a Practice Respond to a New Inquiry?, is a response within five minutes, three minutes ideal.
A voicemail belongs in the attempt column. Federal secret shopper guidance draws a similar line: in CMS technical guidance for Marketplace health plans, a voicemail greeting during regular business hours is one of the outcomes that, logged on each of three contact attempts, defines a provider as nonresponsive. Beacon has observed that the first call to a new inquiry often reaches voicemail, and that one attempt gets logged as “contacted.” Two separate columns keep that gap visible. The weekly review should show the median for each number, the five slowest inquiries and every inquiry that still has no conversation.
How can a practice secret-shop its own response time?
A practice can secret-shop its own response time by posing as a new inquiry and timing each step. Regulators use the method too. Announcing a settlement that followed a secret shopper survey of a health plan’s listed mental health providers, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in August 2025, “New Yorkers seeking mental health care deserve timely, accurate information.” A monthly test takes five steps:
- Agree on the test with the practice owner in advance, then use a phone number and email address the staff will not recognize.
- Submit the website form and note the exact time.
- Call the main line once during business hours and once after hours, noting whether a person answers.
- Record when the first callback, text or email arrives, and what it says.
- Compare those times with the CRM record, then cancel any appointment offered.
What does this answer not cover?
This answer covers how a practice measures the time between a new inquiry and a real conversation. It does not set a clinical standard for how soon someone should be seen, and it does not cover crisis response, clinical triage or level-of-care decisions. Those belong to licensed clinical staff and the practice’s own policies.
It also does not cover which phone system, CRM or call tracking product to choose. If a tool stores inquiry details, the practice should confirm its privacy terms, including any business associate agreement, with privacy counsel; this is general information, not legal advice. Programs that admit only by referral may measure different moments, and the staffing needed to hit the standard varies by practice. Nothing here guarantees a booking rate.
Frequently asked questions
Where does response time data live in a practice?
Response time data usually lives in four places: the phone system’s call log, which shows inbound and missed call times; call tracking reports; form notification emails or the form tool’s entry log; and the CRM, where staff record attempts and outcomes. Beacon recommends pulling all four into one weekly list.
How should after-hours inquiries be counted?
After-hours inquiries should keep their real arrival time so the record stays honest. Beacon recommends reporting them in a separate column and also measuring from the next opening time, which shows whether the first-morning callback happens fast. High after-hours volume makes the case for extended coverage or an answering service.
Measurement is the first step in the broader follow-through fix described in Are You Ghosting Your Own Leads?
