Phone Calls

Introduction to Spruce phone calls

Once you have set up your Spruce phone number, you can place outbound calls to patients without disclosing your personal phone number. Patients will see your Spruce number on their caller ID, and all inbound and outbound calls and voicemails will be documented in chronological order within Spruce, along with call time and duration.

Making calls from the mobile app

There are three places where you will be able to initiate a call from the mobile app: the inbox (go to + icon and select Phone Call), from the Contact Card, and within Conversation Details. 

Using the Dial Pad from Your Inbox

Calling from Conversation Details 

Call from your Contacts

Making a call from any phone (not connected to Spruce) using Spruce web version

If you or a teammate does not have access to a cell phone with the Spruce app or to a Spruce desk phone, we have a method to let you call from any desk phone, virtual phone, or VoIP you may have. This is a common occurrence if you work with a virtual assistant that is out of the country or if you have not converted your in office phone system to Spruce. To make a Spruce call from any phone, you will log into Spruce from the web, open up the conversation with the phone number that you want to call and you will see a pop up with information for placing the call. You will be told to dial your Spruce phone number, which will disguise the phone number of the phone you are calling from and have the person you are calling see your Spruce phone number. Here are the step by step instructions:

Select the patient thread and tap the phone icon on the top level or while in the contact card (see images below.) A box will pop up with instructions and options for making a call.

1. This section allows you to specify which of your Spruce phone numbers you want to show up on caller ID to the patient when you call. This is what the person you are calling will see on their caller ID. Note: this is only applicable if you have multiple Spruce phone numbers.
2. This section is where you must select the phone number of the phone you will be making the actual call out on. This defaults to your login phone number that you created your account with (where you received SMS codes when you login.) If the users account was created with their virtual number then you won't have to edit this field. If you want to call out using a different phone number or device with a different number, edit this section by clicking on the number and typing in the new number.
3. This section will display your Spruce number, which is what you will dial to place this call. This does not mean that you will be calling your practice but is actually the way that the system will place the call, mask your personal number and display your Spruce phone number on the CallerID. In the 3rd image below, 215-996-7116 is my Spruce number. 

Receiving calls

When a patient calls your Spruce number, the call will ring on your cell phone, as well as on any teammates' devices, phone numbers, or VoIP desk phones listed in the Numbers to Ring list. All phones in the list will ring simultaneously, and the first to answer will receive the call.

Example: If both your number and a medical assistant's number are in the Numbers to Ring list, both phones will ring simultaneously, and the first person to pick up will connect with the caller.

You can find the Numbers to Ring list in your call handling settings under Settings > Phone & SMS > Phone Numbers.

Note: If your phone number’s call handling settings use Call Flows (phone tree), the specific Saved Ring List (Ring Group) will determine which phones ring when there’s an incoming call.

Receiving calls on mobile

• Default Setting: By default, incoming calls to your cellular device will appear as calls from your Spruce number. This allows you to immediately recognize work-related calls. When you answer, you will hear an audible prompt with the caller’s name or phone number. You can then press “1” to connect with the caller or hang up to send them to your Spruce voicemail, allowing you to screen calls. 

• Softphone Setting: With softphones enabled, you can customize how incoming calls appear. To enable softphones, refer to this article on activation. Once enabled, adjust caller ID settings by navigating to Settings > Personal Preferences > Devices and Numbers to Ring. Tap on Edit > Softphone Settings and choose one of the following options:

  • Display Full Name: Shows the full name of the caller if available.
  • Display Partial Name: Shows a partial name of the caller.
  • Do Not Display Caller ID: Keeps caller ID hidden.

These options allow for a more flexible call-handling experience based on your preferences and needs.

Receiving calls on Spruce desk phones

To start receiving inbound calls on your VoIP phone, ensure the following:

1. You have the appropriate Call Flows (Phone Tree) set up to ensure that calls are being routed to the correct individuals or teams.
2. Your phone number’s call handling is set to follow a schedule for after-hours and business hours.
3. Your VoIP phones have been added to the appropriate Saved Ring Lists or Numbers to Ring list if your phone number’s call handling is not managed by a call flow.

Caller ID on Spruce desk phones

Incoming Calls
When you receive an incoming call on your Spruce Yealink phone:

• If the caller's number is saved in your Spruce contacts, the name you've entered will be displayed.
• If the number isn’t saved in your Spruce contacts, only the phone number will appear.
• Spruce does not pull caller information from generic national caller ID databases.
• If there are multiple contacts with the same phone number, the phone will display only the number, not the name.
• Polycom VoIP phones will only show the phone number and not the Spruce contact
• Contact Spruce Support to turn this off. 

Outgoing Calls
For outgoing calls, you can customize which of your Spruce phone numbers is shown to your patients as the caller ID.

Transferring Calls

Inbound Call Transfer

Your Spruce phone number supports Inbound Warm Transfers. You can transfer calls from your cell phone or a Spruce VoIP desk phone. If you use the Spruce VoIP phone system, you can transfer active inbound calls to other phone numbers or Spruce extensions. At this time we do not support transferring outbound calls (i.e., those that you have initiated with a patient).

A warm transfer is the process by which you speak to the person you are connecting the call through before the transfer processes. For example, let's say you are on the phone with Alice, and you'd like to transfer her call to Bob. By following the instructions below, you will first connect with Bob, where you can set context for the call, and then complete the transfer by connecting Bob and Alice. We are unable to transfer calls directly to a voicemail box, so unfortunately if Bob is not available the transfer cannot happen. 

Follow the steps below to transfer an active inbound call:

Calling 911 from your mobile phone

You can call 911 from your Spruce app, but the process will look a bit different than calling any other number from the app. 

When you open the dial pad within the Spruce app and try to dial out 911, a pop-up will show up in the bottom of the screen that prompts you to dial the number from your normal cell phone’s dialer, not from within Spruce. We prompt you to dial out from your personal number because the phone carrier that we use to support your Spruce number, Twilio, does not support calling 911. Once you follow the prompts to dial out from your personal phone, you'll be connected to 911.

Because of this, when you call 911, the operator will see your personal cell phone number and the call will not be placed through or logged in Spruce. In most cases, when you call 911 from a cell phone, it will route to the local dispatch based on your area code. Your location is determined by a process called Enhanced 911 (e911), and routing your call is the responsibility of your personal cell phone carrier, not Spruce. 

Dialing 911 from your Spruce VoIP desk phone

If you use a Spruce VoIP desk phone, you can dial 911 just as you would any other number. When you call 911 from a VoIP phone, the call will be routed to your local dispatch, as we register each phone number with the local address of the practice. If you have moved addresses and want to update the address associated with your desk phone, please reach out to support in the app. 

Calling 988 (Suicide Crisis Hotline) from your mobile phone

Previously we allowed for calls to be forwarded to 988 via an automated Phone Tree, but we have found that this was resulting in failed transfer requests. In working with our upstream provider we have determined that the most effective way to ensure all 988 calls reach their destination is to treat the number the same as you would dialing 911. Please instruct your patients to hang up and dial 988 directly from their mobile phone. The call will then immediately be routed to the Suicide Crisis Hotline.

International calls on Spruce

International calling on Spruce is limited to certain numbers. Spruce supports the North America Numbering Plan, meaning you can call out to countries that use NANP 10-digit phone numbers with a +1 country code. Here is the list of countries you can dial using a Spruce number:

• United States/Canada (+1)
• Puerto Rico (+1-787, 1-939)
• Jamaica (+1-876)
• Trinidad and Tobago (+1-868)
• Turks and Caicos Islands (+1-649)
• Virgin Islands, U.S. (+1-340)

Spruce offers partial support for receiving voicemails from international callers. While you will be able to listen to a voicemail left by an international caller, you will not be able to see the caller's phone number. If you expect to receive international calls, please state clearly in your voicemail greeting that the caller should say their phone number. 

If you need to contact a patient who is located internationally, please reach out to the Spruce Support team for additional assistance.

Providers traveling internationally

Spruce supports forwarding calls to your U.S. number regardless of where you are physically located. If you travel internationally with your U.S. mobile phone, Spruce will still be able to forward your calls to that mobile phone. However, you will be charged according to your cell phone plans international usage rates. 

As long as you have a strong internet connection, you will be able to access the Spruce app to view secure messages, SMS text messages, and voicemails regardless of where you are. 

Patient app requirements

Please note, in order for a patient to download the Spruce app and engage in secure messaging and video calls, they must have a 10-digit phone number to receive verification codes during the login and password reset process. Additionally, the Spruce App is only available in the United States or Canadian app store (on either iPhone or Android).