Iphone App For Beeper/Pager?

My father is Psychologist and recently got his first iPhone.

He still uses a Beeper/Pager for when his *patients* have an emergency.

He is in private practice and does not have other partners who are on call, nor a dedicated answering service. So when patients call his office number, they are directed to call his beeper number if they absolutely must speak with him immediately.

Of course, having this is expensive, and I would really think that there would be an iPhone app he can use to replace this beeper.

Now there are several beeper/pager apps available, but what I keep finding is that they are for *doctors* to contact each other during an emergency. I can't find any for *patients* needing to contact the doctor directly.

If there was an app that had a numeric message feature, that will make the phone loudly go off, when a different number is dialed, that would be perfect.

I've looked into burner number apps, but none of them really seem to fit, because they are all Wi-Fi based, and it would simulate a phone rather than a beeper. Thus, patients would be potentially leaving messages on a phone that is neither secure nor reliable.

Is there a solution for replacing the beeper/pager for patients in an emergency?

Maybe you can develop one…

Professionally, it's better not to give patients your mobile phone number. It means they can interrupt your daily routine when you need to have a time out.