Modern, flexible, convenient: telehealth is a fantastic way to provide effective healthcare to your clients, both during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. At a small practice, it’s particularly important to ensure that your clients always feel taken care of before, during, and between their virtual sessions. These six telehealth tips for providers can help you whether you have no idea how to telehealth or if you want to optimize your telehealth services to grow your client-focused private practice. Healthie’s Telehealth & EHR platform was created with nutrition professionals in mind. Click here to learn how you can try it out for $0 with our free starter plan.

1. Communicate with your clients

Their appointment with you might be your client’s first ever private practice telehealth session. To put them at ease, and to minimize time spent figuring out technical issues, send them an email about what to expect. Consider creating a template to send to each new client, including:

• A confirmation of their appointment date and time.
• How they can join the telehealth appointment - try to include a link to click.
• How to make sure that their camera and microphone are on.
• What to do if they can’t log in or if the call drops partway through. You may want to include your phone number so they can call you if they run into problems.
• Reminders that they should sit in a private space and ensure their device is fully charged or plugged in. You can also let them know if there’s anything you’d like them to have on hand.
  

Let them know how they can get in touch with you if they have any questions or concerns. Choosing a SMB software with an EHR that has an integrated billing & telehealth system, can automate your communication to clients, including appointment reminders and their video call link. Healthie’s platform includes all of this and more!

2. Be transparent about billing

Before your first telemedicine session with a new client, it’s a good idea to be upfront with them about payment. They may not know if their insurance covers telehealth in the same way as in-person sessions. 

Get their insurance details, and verify with their insurer that they’re covered. You can either do this online or by calling the insurer’s representative. If they’re not covered, let the client know about other ways you accept payment, such as by credit card. 

3. Try different types of telehealth

One of the best things about telehealth is its flexibility; there are so many creative ways to stay in touch with your clients between sessions. Through Healthie’s client engagement portal, you can send HIPAA-compliant messages and share resources such as videos, activity sheets, and handouts. Clients can also log photos of their meals, track their workouts, set goals, and keep reflection journals. 

One of the most important telehealth tips is to remember that what works for one client may not work for another. One client may find the collaborative discussion in a group chat to be helpful, but another may prefer the privacy of one on one sessions. Give them a range of options, so they can figure out what they like and enjoy telehealth that’s tailored to their preferences.

4. Don’t forget about HIPAA compliance

Telemedicine requires just as much adherence to HIPAA compliance as in-person sessions do. To make sure you’re meeting all key rules and regulations, choose a telehealth platform that guarantees HIPAA compliance. Be sure to receive access to a Business Associate’s Agreement (BAA) for the telehealth platform. 

Healthie offers a cloud-based EHR and telehealth platform that is quick to implement while supporting compliance with HIPAA regulations–while being customizable to meet your business needs.

Before your first call with each client, they may need to sign a telehealth consent form (this requirement depends what state you’re in). At the very least, they’ll need to verbally agree to telehealth sessions. And finally, always ensure you host your sessions in a private space, on a secure wifi network.

5. Market your telehealth services

Research indicates that many people prefer telehealth care to in-person care, and would actively seek it out. One survey indicates that 50% of people would switch providers so they could have telehealth visits on a regular basis.

So, if you’ve got a great telehealth platform and a range of sought-after telehealth services, then let people know! Email your current client list and let them know about what you’re offering. Some other great telehealth tips for private practices are to post about it on social media, run an email campaign, or start a referral program. 

6. Consider using an all-in-one telehealth platform

For small practices, it’s often so much simpler to provide telehealth through a comprehensive SMD software or practice management system for private practices that also includes EMR, scheduling, billing, and more. Healthie is an all-in-one telehealth platform tailored to the needs of small practices, and not is available to try for free! Our platform allows you to:

• Host telehealth sessions, message clients, share resources, and more, through a completely secure client engagement portal.
• Send forms and collect client paperwork completely electronically.
• Store your clients’ notes and data in a cloud-based EMR, designed for small practices.
• Send bills or pre-filled insurance claims, and receive card payments via Stripe.
• Feel confident you’re maintaining complete HIPAA compliance.
• Choose from a range of plans that suit your practice’s size and needs.
  

Try it yourself! Get started with a 14-day free trial of Healthie today.