What happens on every call
This is the exact sequence from the moment a patient calls your number to the moment you see the booking in your calendar. You can verify steps 1–5 in two minutes by calling the demo line: +1 (650) 489-4915.
The call arrives — Ava answers within 2 rings
Your patient calls your practice number. Call forwarding routes it to Ava's dedicated line. She picks up within 2 rings — not 4, not after a hold queue. She greets the caller with your practice's name and your custom greeting phrase.
Compliance note: Ava announces at the start of every call that it may be recorded and that she is an AI voice assistant — satisfying federal baseline requirements and the all-party-consent laws of California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, and other states that require it. You see the exact disclosure language before she goes live; you can request wording changes.
Ava listens — no menus, no "press 1 for"
The caller speaks naturally. Ava uses conversational AI to understand what the caller needs: a new appointment, a reschedule, a cancellation, a question about services or pricing, or something else.
She does not require the caller to navigate a phone tree. She asks clarifying questions in natural language when she needs more information — e.g., "Which service were you interested in booking?" or "Which day works best for you?"
Ava checks your real calendar — live, on the call
For booking or rescheduling, Ava queries your practice's connected booking calendar in real time during the conversation. She reads actual available slots — not a pre-scripted list of times, not a "someone will call you back with availability."
This is the part that most AI answering services skip. The caller hears real availability, not generic hold language. Supported calendars: Acuity Scheduling, Vagaro, Boulevard, Mindbody, Square Appointments, Jane App, GlossGenius, Zenoti, and other major platforms. If your system isn't listed, ask us before committing — hello@ramelo.ai.
Ava books the appointment — before the caller hangs up
Once the caller confirms a time, Ava creates the booking directly in your calendar. The slot is locked before the call ends. The caller gets a confirmation on the call ("I've got you booked for Tuesday at 2pm at [Practice Name]. Is there anything else I can help you with?").
This is the result that separates Ava from answering services that produce callback lists. The patient leaves the call with a confirmed appointment — not a message left with a hope that someone calls back.
Email confirmation — automatic on every booking
Once the appointment is booked, Ava sends an email confirmation with the date, time, and practice name. Email confirmation is the live channel today. Text / calendar reminders are on the roadmap and will be added automatically once carrier registration is complete.
The appointment is confirmed on the call regardless of channel. The optional reminder channel (not yet active — on the roadmap) will require explicit opt-in consent per A2P 10DLC and TCPA requirements.
You receive a call summary — every time
After the call ends, you receive a structured summary: caller name, caller phone number, request type, outcome (booked / rescheduled / cancelled / question answered / flagged for follow-up), appointment details (if applicable), and any notes from the call that your team should know about.
Nothing happens in the dark. If Ava couldn't answer something, you see it in the summary. If the caller seemed frustrated, Ava flags it. Your team has full visibility into every call she handles.
What Ava does when things get complicated
The cases below are the ones most practices ask about before going live.
Medical questions
What if a caller asks about a specific treatment or medical question?
Ava is configured with your practice's services list and general pricing ranges. She can answer "Do you offer Botox?" or "What's the price range for a hydrafacial?" She cannot and does not answer medical questions ("Is this filler right for my skin condition?"), clinical recommendations, or anything that requires medical judgment. If a caller asks something outside her configured knowledge, she says: "That's a question I'd want your team to answer directly — let me make sure they follow up with you." The question and the caller's contact info are included in your call summary.
Urgent / emergency calls
What if a caller is in distress or describes a medical emergency?
Ava is trained to recognize distress signals and redirect immediately. If a caller describes a medical emergency or acute distress, Ava directs them to call 911 or emergency services and ends the call appropriately. She does not try to handle emergencies. The call is flagged in your summary as requiring immediate follow-up.
No available slots
What if there are no open appointment slots in the caller's requested timeframe?
Ava tells the caller honestly: "I'm not seeing availability on [day] — the nearest open slot I have is [next available]. Would that work?" She offers the next available time rather than a vague "we'll call you back." If the caller can't find a time that works, Ava takes their name and number and flags the summary for follow-up outreach from your team.
Repeat callers / existing patients
Does Ava know if someone is an existing patient?
In the current configuration, Ava does not access your patient database or EHR — she does not look up patient records, treatment history, or past appointments. She treats every inbound call as a new booking request and handles it from there. This is intentional data minimization: less PHI exposure, simpler HIPAA posture. Future enterprise configurations may connect to specific systems with appropriate BAAs in place.
Language / accent
What if the caller has a heavy accent or doesn't speak English fluently?
Ava operates in English by default. She handles accents and varied pacing reasonably well. If a caller is not able to communicate in English, Ava cannot effectively assist them today — she will indicate this and suggest the caller try reaching the practice directly. Spanish is available on request for clinics that need it.
What data Ava handles — and what she doesn't
Every column in this table is exact. If you need a different data posture for your practice, ask before you go live.
| Data type | What Ava does with it | How long it's kept |
|---|---|---|
| Caller name | Used to create the calendar booking and call summary. Not stored in a separate patient database by RAMELO. | In call transcript: 90 days then deleted. In your calendar: depends on your calendar system. |
| Caller phone number | Used for the call summary today. (When text reminders go live — on the roadmap, carrier registration in progress — it would also be used for text confirmation with explicit consent.) | Call transcript: 90 days. Future text-reminder consent records: duration of client relationship + 3 years (regulatory minimum). |
| Requested appointment type / service | Used to find the right calendar slots and create the booking. | In your calendar: per your calendar system's retention. In RAMELO call summary: 90 days. |
| Call audio (recording) | Processed in real time by RAMELO's voice infrastructure for conversation handling. Used by RAMELO for QA and support only. | 90 days, then deleted. Clients can request earlier deletion. |
| Medical history / treatment notes | Ava does not ask for or collect this. If a caller volunteers medical details, Ava acknowledges and redirects to the booking flow. No medical information is stored. | Not applicable — not collected. |
| Insurance information | Not collected. Ava does not handle insurance verification, billing codes, or claims. | Not applicable — not collected. |
| Payment / card details | Not collected on calls. If deposit collection is enabled, the caller is directed to a secure payment link — Ava does not read card numbers. | Not applicable — not collected by Ava. |
How your data is handled
Ava is built on enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure. Here is the data posture for each component of the call flow.
Voice conversation layer
SOC 2 Type II certified · HIPAA BAA signed with RAMELO
Voice synthesis layer
SOC 2 Type II certified · HIPAA BAA available
SMS delivery layer
SOC 2 Type II · ISO 27001 · HIPAA BAA available
Your booking calendar
Compliance posture varies by system — you remain the data controller
API & storage infrastructure
SOC 2 Type II (all providers)
RAMELO will notify clients of material subprocessor changes with 30 days' notice. For the full security and data posture document, see ramelo.ai/trust or email hello@ramelo.ai.
How your Ava gets built for your practice
Generic AI receptionists fail because they don't know your practice. Here's what we configure — and how.
Step 1 — Intake form
What information do you need from us?
After you sign up, you receive an intake form (typically 15–20 minutes to complete). It asks for: your practice name and greeting style, your services list with pricing ranges, your business hours and holiday schedule, your booking calendar link or credentials, any specific instructions ("always mention the parking garage on 3rd," "never book more than 3 laser slots per day"), and your AI disclosure preference (we provide a default; you can adjust).
Step 2 — Configuration
What does the build actually involve?
We configure Ava's knowledge base with your services and pricing ranges. We connect her to your booking calendar using an integration or API key you provide. We set her greeting, her voice style (professional / warm / concise — your choice), and her escalation behavior. We test the calendar connection by attempting a real booking in test mode. This takes approximately 2–4 hours of RAMELO time; you do not need to be involved until the acceptance test.
Step 3 — Acceptance test
How do we know it's right before it goes live?
We run test calls together with you — you call the test line, play the role of a patient, and evaluate: Is the greeting right? Does she understand the services? Does she find availability correctly? Does she handle edge cases (e.g., "I want to book for my friend" / "do you take insurance?") the way you want? We revise and re-test until you are satisfied. Nothing goes live until you give the green light.
Step 4 — Go live
What does "go live" mean technically?
You set up call forwarding from your existing practice number to Ava's dedicated line. (Or we port your number if you prefer — discuss during onboarding.) Call forwarding takes about 2 minutes to set up from your carrier's online portal. From that moment, Ava answers every inbound call to your practice number. Your team's phones remain intact — they can still call out, and you can call in during hours when you don't want calls forwarded to Ava.
The only way to really understand it is to try it.
Call the demo line — Ava will walk you through a real booking from start to finish. Takes 2 minutes. No sales call required first.