Porting Questions
Q: Which phone number should we port?
Port the main patient-facing phone number — the number patients call to reach reception. Bypass numbers and staff/manager lines should not be ported. If your surgery uses an IVR system to direct calls to multiple departments, Emma can be configured to replicate that routing, so typically only the main line needs to be ported.
Q: Will porting our phone number affect our existing contract with our telephony provider? No.
Porting a specific phone number to QuantumLoopAI does not breach contracts with existing telephony providers. Your current telephony supplier will continue to provide your phone system; only the specific ported number moves to QuantumLoopAI's responsibility. Your surgery will still need a separate telephony supplier, as QuantumLoopAI is not a telephony provider.
Q: Do manager or staff phone numbers need to be ported?
No. Only patient-facing phone numbers need to be ported. Staff lines and internal numbers should not be ported.
Q: Can bypass numbers be ported?
No. Bypass numbers cannot be ported to Emma for legal reasons. They will continue to route directly to reception as normal.
Q: What happens to calls if Emma goes down or is unavailable?
If Emma is down, all calls to the ported number will automatically default to your existing Business Continuity Plan (BCP) — for example, diverting to mobile phones or ringing directly at the surgery as they did before Emma was introduced. Patients will not be left without a way to contact the surgery.
Q: How does the porting process work and how long does it take?
Once the CLOA form is completed, porting is initiated with an estimated date. A few days later, an acceptance date is confirmed. Go-live can happen within two days of the acceptance date. The overall timeline from contract signing to go-live is typically two to four weeks, though this can vary depending on the current telephony provider. Some providers process ports quickly; others can take longer.
Q: Why does the CLOA form ask for the same practice details in two sections?
The duplication exists because the VoIP/porting provider uses both sections to cross-check details against those held by the current telephony supplier. Both sections should be completed with the surgery's details.
Q: What number is used as a substitute/secondary number during implementation?
QuantumLoopAI will request an alternate substitute number from the telecom provider on the surgery's behalf. Only the main patient-facing number needs to be identified by the surgery.