Business phone system for optometry practices in Maryland

Optometry practices in Maryland by the numbers

The Census Bureau counted 295 optometry practices in Maryland in its 2023 County Business Patterns (NAICS 621320). They employed 2,340 people in mid-March and reported $132.6 million in annual payroll. That is the 26th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Optometry practices make up 0.21% of the 142,967 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Maryland has 4.7 optometry practices, 28.8% below the national rate of 6.6. The average establishment has 7.9 employees against 6.6 nationally. Payroll per employee is $56,682, 15.9% above the U.S. figure of $48,910.

Optometry practices by metro area in Maryland

Census published optometry practice counts for 8 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Maryland. The largest is Washington, DC-VA-MD-WV, with 381 establishments (a multi-state area; its count covers every state it spans). Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 49% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at optometry practices in Maryland

45.1% of Maryland's optometry practices with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 47.9% nationally. 72.2% 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 optometry practices in Maryland

Eye-care offices combine exam scheduling with eyewear and contact-lens orders, so callers want both appointments and order status. Calls about broken glasses or eye irritation also need to reach someone quickly.

A few of the calls that come in to optometry practices in Maryland:

• Someone calls about sudden eye irritation and asks whether to come in.
• The office calls patients when an order arrives.
• A parent calls to book a child's eye exam before the school year.

When nobody can pick up

After-hours messages are typically order questions or appointment requests that can be returned the next business day.

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

Phone system pricing for an 8-person optometry practice

Optometry practices in Maryland average 7.9 employees, so the comparison uses an 8-person team. On a per-user plan that headcount sets the bill: $199.60 a month on Ooma Office Pro or $240.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core at list price (checked September 28, 2026). On Callata the same 8 people cost $159.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $972. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

Area codes in Maryland

Maryland has 6 geographic area codes in service according to NANPA. You can choose local numbers in the area codes your patients know, subject to carrier inventory, or port your current number for free.

How Callata works for optometry practices in Maryland

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 Maryland, 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.