The short answer
An AI receptionist for plastic surgeons built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.32 per answered call, or $64 a month for 200 calls averaging 4 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 70 of those calls (35%) would come outside office hours, which is where an AI answering service earns its keep. Emergencies, complaints and anything needing judgment should go to a person.
What the AI should handle
Book consultations
Collect the procedure of interest, preferred surgeon, name, phone and email, then book a consult and text the fee payment link and a pre-consult questionnaire.
Explain consult fees and financing
Read from the knowledge base the consult fee, whether it counts toward surgery, and which financing providers the practice accepts, then text the application links.
Match callers to the right surgeon
Use the knowledge base to tell callers which surgeons perform which procedures, and offer consult times with the right one.
Log post-op calls for the nurse
Take the patient's name, surgery date and concern, alert the on-call nurse immediately by text, and read the practice's approved emergency wording. No advice of any kind.
What to send to a person
- Any concern after surgery
- Candidacy, risks and recovery questions
- Surgical quotes and package pricing
- Requests to see a specific patient's photos
HighLevel's voice agents can transfer a live call, create a task, or trigger a workflow that texts the owner. Set the handoff rules before the agent goes live.
Cost per call and per month
Assumptions for a typical plastic surgery practice: 200 calls a month answered by the AI, averaging 4 minutes. Phone minutes are billed per call and rounded up, so each call bills 4 phone minutes at $0.01165.
| Setup | AI cost | Phone line | Per month | Per call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay per use, Standard voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $54.40 | $9.32 | $64 | $0.32 |
| Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $70.40 | $9.32 | $80 | $0.40 |
| Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) | $160.00 | $9.32 | $169 | $0.85 |
| AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat | $97.00 | $9.32 | $106 | $0.53 |
The breakdown of every Voice AI charge is in our Voice AI pricing guide. Agencies can price this as a monthly service with the calculator's Price a client tab, preloaded for a plastic surgery practice.
Compared with staff time
Those 200 calls take about 13 hours of talk time a month. At the US median receptionist wage of $18.27 an hour (May 2025, Bureau of Labor Statistics), that talk time alone is worth about $244, before hold time, breaks, benefits and the calls that come in after hours. An AI receptionist does not replace a good front desk; it catches the overflow and the evenings, and frees staff for the people in front of them.
Sample call
AI AGENTThank you for calling Hartwell Plastic Surgery. I'm the practice's AI assistant. How can I help?
CALLERI'm thinking about a breast augmentation and want to know how consults work.
AI AGENTDr. Hartwell and Dr. Lin both perform that procedure. There is a consult fee that goes toward surgery if you book, and I can text you the details. Would you like to see available times?
CALLERYes. Do you offer financing?
AI AGENTWe work with two patient financing companies, and I'll text you both application links. Dr. Lin has a consult on November 3 at 11:00 a.m. Would that work?
CALLERThat works. How long is recovery?
AI AGENTDr. Lin will go over recovery at your consult, since it depends on your plan. You're booked for November 3 at 11:00, and I'm texting the fee link and financing information now.
CALLERThank you.
Prompt tips
- Tip 1Give the agent a hard boundary: no statements about risks, results, candidacy or recovery times, each answered with one sentence pointing to the consult.
- Tip 2List every surgeon with the procedures they perform, so the agent never books a rhinoplasty consult with a surgeon who does not offer it.
- Tip 3Write and test the post-op path first: identify the patient, alert the on-call nurse, read the approved emergency wording, end the call.
Rules to watch
Patient photos in marketing. HHS says a covered entity generally needs a patient's written authorization before using protected health information for marketing. Treat before-and-after photos as patient information: get a signed authorization before using them in ads, social posts or on the website, and keep it on file.
Review replies can breach privacy. In 2022 a California dental practice paid $23,000 to settle an HHS investigation into patient information disclosed in replies to online reviews. The same rule binds surgical practices: keep public replies generic and turn off automated review replies that might reference a procedure.
HIPAA package cost. A practice that bills insurance electronically, for example for reconstructive procedures, is a HIPAA covered entity. HighLevel accounts are not HIPAA compliant by default; the HIPAA package costs $297 a month, includes a business associate agreement and cannot be canceled once enabled.
General information, not legal advice.
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Questions
Can an AI receptionist answer questions about surgery?
What does an AI receptionist cost a plastic surgery practice?
Should the AI receptionist take post-op calls?
Can the AI follow up with consult no-shows?
Sources
- HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance on marketing (HHS)
- HHS OCR settlement with New Vision Dental over online review replies
- Covered Entities and Business Associates (HHS)
- FCC makes AI-generated voices in robocalls illegal (Declaratory Ruling, Feb 8, 2024)
- HIPAA compliance with HighLevel (help center)
- HighLevel pricing page
- HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
- Voice AI outbound calling (HighLevel help center)
- HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
- AI Voice Agents overview
- HighLevel Phone System pricing and billing guide
- BLS Occupational Outlook: Receptionists (May 2025 pay)