Do you have a dedicated phone number for clients?
It’s important to have a clinical number separate from your personal one. Most clinicians do. It’s still worth mentioning for those who don’t.

With one personal/work number:

–> You’ll find yourself avoiding lots of calls. If you don’t recognize the number you don’t want to pick up. Occasionally, you may end up answering accidentally…

–> Sometimes you’ll be expecting a work related call. When the call comes in, though, you don’t know who it is. Do you say, “hello?” or a more professional greeting?

–> You’ll be neurotic about letting other people use your phone. All your clients are saved as contacts in your phone. Of course, you’ll need to also make sure that no one else is ever answering your phone.

So now you want to set up a new number for work. How do you shift? It’s pretty simple. You just need to give yourself and your clients a few weeks to transition.

1. Set up an additional phone number that you’ll use for work.
2. Contact any referral sources to give your new number.
3. Record a new VM greeting to say that clients should call the new number.
4. Continue ignoring calls on your old number for a few more weeks until you believe that most callers have shifted.

Now you can enjoy a better work-life balance. You’ll decide when and how you answer the phone for work calls.

Good luck.

Mrs. Elana Robinson

So many phone calls to return! A potential client, a psychiatrist, a Rav… The problem is, you already have a full time job, and not enough time for extra phone calls.

If you always feel like you have a list of people to call back, it’s hard to ever fully relax. When you are running your own practice, it’s up to you to set your schedule and boundaries.

What’s the solution?

1) Delegate. Your time is limited. Have someone else take care of the administrative work. There’s no reason that you need to be the one rescheduling appointments or notifying a client of a declined credit card. Delegate. Delegate. Delegate. It’s the most effective way to maximize your strength.

This is where we come in. Office Stream offers remote office management for therapists, so you’re free to focus on therapy. Imagine that 🙂 

2) Set aside time for calls weekly, and stick to it. There will always be some calls that need to be done by you. Set aside one or two slots a week for those. Potential clients and collateral calls will go in that time slot.

It will be hard to stick to. You may be tempted to fill it with appointments or just take a break. Try it, though, at least for one week. See how it affects you–to not constantly feel like you’re falling behind. 

Just because you’re self employed, there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy a structured work-life balance. If anything, you deserve it the most. As you give and support others all day, make sure you do not neglect yourself. 

Do you utilize an EHR (Electronic Health Record)? I’m referring to those terrific electronic practice management systems for therapists. Most common among them are TherapyNotes and SimplePractice. This is the first step you can take to streamline your process and save time.

1. The main advantage of an EHR is: integrated schedule with billing. Basically, the system keeps track of your balances. This feature alone can save you a lot of time (no data entry!) and money (no more forgotten balances!)

2. Next, it stores the client demographics, schedule, notes, and billing on the same platform. That’s a convenience!

3. No more paperwork or filing (read, messy desk). You don’t need to file notes or intake forms. It’s all secure and backed up online!

These features are basic to all platforms I’ve seen. Many platforms have many more advanced features. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with your EHR. Are you utilizing all the features? There may be some nifty features that you’re paying for, but not utilizing.

Do you need help choosing an EHR, setting up, and implementing features? I’m really excited to offer a new service: we’ll set up a practice management system for you. Are you inspired to go electronic, but don’t have the time or headspace to transition? We’re here for you, just a call away!

Good luck.

Mrs. Elana Robinson

I would like to share another tip this month: Let callers know if you’re full.

Update your voicemail greeting to notify callers that you’re not taking new clients (unless you keep a waiting or cancellation list).

You may feel it sounds snobby.

However, you’re doing yourself and the caller a favor. If you’re not taking new clients, you’re likely not returning calls in a timely manner.

It will help you save time and have fewer calls to return.

You also help the caller by setting his/her expectations right away. Without this message, a caller may be waiting anxiously for your callback only to be informed that there are no appointments.

Good luck,

Mrs. Elana Robinson

Did you ever have a misunderstanding with a client over your fees?

Fortunately, there are tips to help avoid them. My best advice is to discuss payment upfront.

While you’re on the phone scheduling the intake appointment, make sure the fee is mentioned.  Usually, the client will inquire. If they don’t you should.

I know there are clinicians that operate on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” principle, assuming that the client understands there will be a fee and is ready to pay whatever you ask. But, in my experience in the “front office” this is not always the case. 

We say something like, “The intake is $200. You can pay with cash or check when you come”.

It’s important to include how they can pay because it communicates that you expect payment when they come. It also tells them (in this example) that you don’t take credit cards.

You can get some surprising responses:

o   “Ok, thank you” –> That’s what you want to hear 😉

o   “Oh… You don’t take my insurance?!?” –> Good save!

o   “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. That’s a bit too steep for me right now. I’ll need to think this over and call you back”  –> Good save, again!

o   “I’m actually not paying for it, my father is” –>  Important info

By mentioning this upfront you’ll find that it helps avoid those awkward or stressful situations that can come up.

Good luck,

Mrs. Elana Robinson

Today’s tip is about TAXES. Most of us dread this time of year. It means painstaking hours of going through bank statements and data entry, which none of us have the time or patience for.

As usual, I’m a big advocate of delegating. Your time is so precious. Hire someone to do the data entry for you! It may feel uncomfortable to outsource, but there are plenty of bookkeepers out there that are happy to take this off your plate. I use upwork. It’s very easy to use. You can hire freelancers from other countries for very low hourly rates. 

You’ll find a big relief in giving this over and having it done right. Not only will it save you time, but you’ll probably save money as well by having expenses classified properly.

Good luck,

Mrs. Elana Robinson

Office Stream is a “back office” service for psychotherapists in private practice. We offer live phone reception, intake setup, scheduling, and billing. We strive to take care of all administrative aspects of the practice so that therapists can save time, earn more money, and focus on therapy.

Starting a private practice can be exhilarating. You have more financial opportunity and control over your work schedule! But managing it on your own can be stressful. Suddenly you need to answer calls, reschedule appointments, and collect payments. Your work-life balance can easily become lopsided with too much work.

The good news is that when you start a practice there are steps you can take to help maintain your work life balance. For example:
Have a dedicated phone line for clients to call that’s not your personal number. You’ll have more control and maintain boundaries by keeping calls and contacts out of your private life.

Use a practice management system (PMS). Examples include TherapyNotes, SimplePractice, and TheraNest. Although you can make do with a daily planner or Google Calendar, I recommend investing in a proper PMS. These systems are designed for mental health professionals and are loaded with features to save you time and effort. For example:

–Store clients’ credit cards inside your PMS and run the payments after every appointment.

–Send out intake forms through your PMS for clients to fill out in advance. This is more secure and efficient than sending forms via email or having clients fill them out in the office.

–Set up automatic text reminders through the PMS to help avoid no-shows and mix-ups.

These are just a few ideas for new clinicians. If you already have a busy practice and feel overwhelmed keeping up with the office work, then the next step may be to hire a “back office”.

Good luck!

Office Stream is a “back office” service for psychotherapists in private practice. We offer live phone reception, intake setup, scheduling, and billing. We strive to take care of all administrative aspects of the practice so that therapists can save time, earn more money, and focus on therapy.