Business phone system for medical laboratories in Massachusetts

How many medical laboratories operate in Massachusetts

Massachusetts had 402 medical laboratories in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns (NAICS 621511, Medical Laboratories). They employed 4,766 people in mid-March and reported $375.5 million in annual payroll. That is the 16th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Medical laboratories make up 0.22% of the 183,767 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Massachusetts has 5.6 medical laboratories, 15.2% above the national rate of 4.9. The average establishment has 11.9 employees against 14.0 nationally. Payroll per employee is $78,778, 6.2% above the U.S. figure of $74,156.

Massachusetts's largest markets for medical laboratories

Census published medical laboratory counts for 7 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Massachusetts. The largest is Boston, MA-NH, with 262 establishments (a multi-state area; its count covers every state it spans). Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 33% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at medical laboratories in Massachusetts

71.3% of Massachusetts's medical laboratories with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 69.4% nationally. 84.3% had fewer than ten. That is the size of team where a missed call usually means nobody was free, not that nobody was on staff.

Why the phone matters for medical laboratories in Massachusetts

Labs answer calls from both patients and ordering providers, and the questions differ: hours and preparation instructions on one side, specimen and result status on the other. Routing those calls separately keeps both groups from waiting. That holds for medical laboratories in Massachusetts as much as anywhere.

A few of the calls that come in to medical laboratories in Massachusetts:

• A patient calls to ask about walk-in hours.
• A provider calls to add a test to an existing order.
• A patient calls to ask whether fasting is required before a blood draw.

When nobody can pick up

After-hours calls are mostly about the next day's hours and preparation, which a clear greeting can answer.

Callata voicemail is transcribed and triaged for urgency, and business-hours routing decides where calls go once you close.

What a phone system costs a medical laboratory in Massachusetts

Medical laboratories in Massachusetts average 11.9 employees, so the comparison uses a 12-person team. Per-seat business phone plans bill every one of those people. At month-to-month list prices checked September 28, 2026, 12 users on RingCentral RingEX Core cost $360.00 a month and 12 on Ooma Office Pro cost $299.40. On Callata the same 12 people cost $239.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $1,452. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

Area codes in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has 9 geographic area codes in service according to NANPA. You can choose local numbers in the area codes your patients and providers know, subject to carrier inventory, or port your current number for free.

How Callata works for medical laboratories in Massachusetts

Callata Office costs $99 per month for up to 5 people, and each additional user is $20 a month. That covers up to 3 local numbers, calling from a browser or your cell, transcribed voicemail, recorded calls with AI summaries, after-hours routing and E911 on each number.

If you already have a number in Massachusetts, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.

Practices that handle protected health information should review their own privacy obligations before recording calls, enabling AI summaries or texting appointment details, and keep clinical conversations out of text messages unless their policies allow it.