Virtual assistants can support your therapy practice in numerous ways. From taking care of your administrative tasks to managing insurance claims to boosting your social media, the right assistant can give you free time to focus on your top priority- the well-being of your clients.
In this article, we'll overview the main benefits that virtual assistants can bring to therapy practices, and we'll also discuss how to vet the right people to add to your team. At Navix Health, we're deeply committed to supporting mental health professionals to augment their practices- virtual assistants are just one dynamic option for optimizing your business.
Appointment Scheduling and Management
How often are you scheduling and then rescheduling client appointments? Have you ever unintentionally double-booked your mental health patients? If you run a large medical practice, you oversee a master schedule- along with each clinician's schedule, and all of that administrative work can become a fast time-suck.
Virtual assistant services can help:
- manage the complete process of booking appointments through your online system, phone, or email
- oversee calendar management and sync it appropriately with your EMR
- ensure that appointment reminders are sent and received
- manage new inquiries from potential clients
- facilitate cancellations and rescheduling appointments
Client Onboarding
Getting a new client situated with your therapy practice requires multiple steps, from the initial consultation to intake paperwork to securing payment for the first session. If you're a mental health professional handling this yourself, you're likely spending hours each week with onboarding. And if you facilitate a larger group practice, getting more patients often takes up even more time.
Mental health virtual assistants can help streamline initial communication and onboarding for new clients. This can come in many forms, but it may include specific administrative support focused on:
- responding to relevant referral inquiries on your behalf
- screening new clients to determine eligibility
- managing your waitlist
- sending intake forms and ensuring they are completed
- monitoring voicemail, email, and directory inquiries
- scheduling initial consultations or first sessions
Insurance Billing
There is no doubt that managing insurance can be arduous and time-consuming for busy mental health professionals. If your practice accepts insurance, you must ensure that your clients are in-network (or appropriately using their out-of-network benefits). You must also stay on top of all claims forms and documentation requirements.
If you're interested in getting paneled onto insurance, a virtual assistant may also be able to facilitate this process for you. They can streamline your paperwork process and act as a partner as you engage with your insurance coordinators.
In addition, when managing billing, a virtual assistant can help:
- verify benefits and ensure ongoing insurance verification
- generate and send superbills for out-of-network clients
- send invoices, process payments, and update credit card information
- research and resolve claim rejections or denials
- process weekly co-pays
- support with claim submissions
Social Media Marketing and Content Creation
While therapists don't necessarily need to use social media for their practice, having a robust online presence can help you broaden your reach and obtain more clients. However, managing social media can be time-consuming, and you risk negatively impacting your reputation if you arbitrarily create content without having an effective strategy.
When it comes to overseeing social media, virtual assistants can help:
- create engaging content, including graphics, posts, reels, and videos tailored to your ideal clients
- help with scheduling content based on your client's schedule
- engage with your audience by responding to messages, comments, and mentions
- participate in relevant forums, groups, or communities central to your practice
- manage social media advertising campaigns and optimize your current ad performance
- track key metrics, including your engagement, reach, and conversion rates
Personal Support and Management
In addition to your practice management, virtual assistants can also help you better manage your day-to-day life tasks and other professional needs. For example, they may be able to:
- create to-do lists for you based on your most important tasks each day
- research optimal professional development or continuing education units for you to take
- help with travel planning, including booking flights, accommodations, and transportation
- schedule personal appointments (hair, nails, massage, personal therapy, etc.)
- organize family and leisure activities to reduce stress and make your overall life easier
When Should You Consider Hiring a Virtual Assistant?
One of the hardest parts of running a thriving therapy practice is the wearing-all-the-hats phenomenon. In other words, you're not only responsible for providing excellent clinical care, but you also must ensure you manage all the administrative tasks associated with being a private practice owner.
While there's no perfect time to consider virtual assistance services, you may want to consider this option if any of the following apply:
- you have no real concept of a work-life balance because you're so busy
- you're starting to experience burnout due to all the tasks you have to do
- you're leaving money on the table because you get so caught up in administrative work
- you're looking to expand your practice within the next year or so
- you keep sensing that you're "doing more" without getting the results you want to see
Questions to Ask a Potential Mental Health Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants have different specialties and levels of experience. Before hiring an assistant, it may be helpful to spend some time drawing out your job description. What are you most looking to outsource right now? What expertise are you seeking? What unique needs does your practice currently have?
Some helpful vetting questions can include:
- What experience do you have working with mental health practices?
- What are the main services you offer?
- Who will be my point of contact? Do you work alone or as part of a team?
- How will we be communicating and what is your preferred method for communication?
- Can you provide me with any referrals of work you've done within the mental health field?
- How do you charge for your services? On an hourly rate? Flat-rate basis? Monthly retention?
It's not uncommon for virtual assistants to initiate a trial when working with new clients. This is a good thing- it helps you both establish a routine with one another, and you get a feel for how they work and understand the specific needs of your business. Remember that communication is key to getting and staying on the same page.
Streamlining Your Therapy Practice With Navix Health
At Navix Health, we're all about helping our practitioners save time and focus on cinching in their most important clinical priorities. Our talented team is dedicated to revolutionizing behavioral healthcare through our streamlined, customized software solutions. We have extensive experience in the behavioral health industry, and we're committed to helping our clinicians build and maintain ideal practices.
Want to schedule a custom demo for your therapy practice? Contact us today.
