Some calls need a person: a disputed bill, a treatment plan question, an upset patient. With an AI receptionist warm transfer, Elva sends each one to the teammate you chose for that topic. She rings their phone and the Warm transfer page in ELVA at the same time, and the first person to accept takes the call, with the caller's name, the reason and a summary already in front of them.
Nothing is left open. A transfer is live: someone picks it up, or Elva comes back to the caller and takes a callback.
A typical transfer is a button and a ring. The person who picks up doesn't know who's on the line, what they asked, or whether anyone confirmed who they are. So the patient explains again, spells their name again and gives their date of birth again. If nobody picks up, they reach a voicemail they didn't ask for.
Transfers happen at the busiest moments, and that's exactly when the person on the other end is least ready.
The fix isn't a faster transfer. It's a transfer that carries the conversation with it.
A transfer should hand over the conversation, not just the line.
You list when Elva transfers ("billing questions, payment plans or a disputed charge"), to which number, during which hours, and whether the caller must be verified first. One rule can be your catch-all. Elva tells the caller she's getting someone, and that she'll come back if they can't pick up.
The rule's phone number rings, and the transfer appears on the Warm transfer page for everyone at the location, with a desktop notification. On screen: who's calling, the topic, where it's routed, how long they've waited, the patient's details once verified, and Elva's summary. On the phone, a short announcement says who it is and why, with "press 1 to take the call".
Pick up in the browser, or press 1 on the phone; the other one stops ringing. If someone clicks Reject, or nobody answers in time, Elva returns to the caller, apologizes and takes a callback request, which goes to the Triage Inbox marked as a failed transfer.
Hand over the conversation, not just the line.
"Questions about a treatment plan the dentist already explained" goes to the treatment coordinator.
Office hours only, or always. Outside them, Elva takes a callback instead.
Require the caller to confirm who they are before a transfer, rule by rule.
For anyone who asks for a person, or is getting upset.
The rule's number and the Warm transfer page ring at once.
Caller, topic, routing, wait time, patient details and Elva's summary.
No assigning. The first to accept takes it; everyone else sees who did.
Elva goes back to the caller and offers a callback.
From Live calls, listen in on any call or take it over in the browser.
In a 20-minute demo, watch a transfer land on screen with the summary before you pick up.
The details on a transfer come from your practice management system once the caller is verified: date of birth, phone and insurance. The transfer and how it ended are saved with the call, so the next person who talks to this patient sees it. Works with Dentrix, Dentrix Ascend, Open Dental, Eaglesoft, Curve Dental, Denticon and CareStack.
Warm transfer is part of the AI receptionist for dental offices, and your transfer rules live with the rest of your customizable dental AI receptionist settings. For when a call should go to a person at all, read our guide to AI receptionist human handoff.
Authorized API Partner
| Cold transfer | Warm transfer with Elva | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it goes to | Whoever's extension was pressed | The teammate set for that topic |
| Where it rings | One phone | The rule's phone and the browser at once |
| What they know | Nothing | Caller, topic, patient details, summary |
| Identity | Asked again | Verified first, when the rule requires it |
| Busy or away | Rings out | Reject or no answer sends it back to Elva |
| Caller on hold | No idea if anyone is coming | Told Elva will come back if nobody can pick up |
| Missed transfer | Voicemail, no record | Callback request in the Triage Inbox |
| Afterwards | Nothing saved | Who picked up, where and for how long, on the call |
"Billing" outlasts the person who does billing today.
"A charge I don't recognize", not "A/R inquiry".
A transfer to an empty desk is worse than a callback.
The teammate shouldn't have to ask for a date of birth again.
Someone has to take "I just want a person".
Decide how long a transfer rings before someone comes back.
If you can't take it, say so, so the patient gets a callback now.
The first sentence should be about their problem.
It is a transfer in which the AI receptionist passes on the conversation, not just the line: who is calling, why, and what has already been said. With ELVA AI Receptionist, the person who picks up sees a summary on screen, or hears a short announcement on the phone, before they talk to the patient.
ELVA AI Receptionist does. Elva transfers by topic, using rules you write in plain words, rings the rule's phone and the browser at once, and shows the caller's name, the reason and a call summary before anyone picks up. If nobody answers, she comes back to the caller and takes a callback.
Anyone at the location. The transfer rings the number in your rule and shows on the Warm transfer page for everyone signed in. The first person to accept takes the call, and everyone else sees who picked it up.
No. The phone number in the rule rings as well. On the phone, Elva announces the caller and the reason, and you press 1 to take the call or 2 to decline.
After the ring time (25 seconds by default), Elva comes back to the caller, apologizes and offers a callback. The request goes to the Triage Inbox as a failed transfer, with the summary and the patient's preferred time.
You decide. Each rule can require the caller to be verified first, and can apply only in office hours. Outside a rule's hours, Elva takes a callback request instead.
Yes. On Live calls you can listen in on any call, or click Take the call: Elva tells the caller she's connecting them and your browser joins.
Elva's part of the call is always recorded. Whether recording continues after a teammate picks up is a setting your office chooses, and your recording notice plays first.
In 20 minutes, see a transfer arrive with the summary on screen, using your own transfer rules.
Product details from ELVA AI Receptionist. No outside figures on this page.
Dentrix, Dentrix Ascend, Open Dental, Eaglesoft, Curve Dental, Denticon and CareStack are trademarks of their respective owners.
