5 Reasons to Go Mobile as a Psychologist Practice

What do you mean by mobile healthcare services?

Mobile healthcare services are the leading healthcare delivery option for prioritized convenience and efficiency within healthcare practices. Transitioning to mobile health will prove highly advantageous for both your healthcare practice and for your patients. After all, a lot more people are using it; telehealth visits increased by 50% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 (CDC, 2020). This explosive growth may be attributed to the COVID-19, but it doesn't stop there. After the pandemic calmed down, telehealth visits followed, but they're still higher than before 2021—with 37% of all mental health visits conducted via telehealth (Epic Research, 2023).

With a mobile health app, you will be able to strengthen relationships with your patients, whilst providing them with the highest level of care. Patients can book appointments online, send payments in minutes, and have constant access to their medical information. Having a more integral role in the healthcare process can provide a greater sense of control for patients, which is vital towards their overall progress and treatment. 

The benefits aren't just for patients, either. With mobile healthcare services, you can conduct online sessions from the comfort of your home, as well as have a platform to compile clinical documents and medical records. Even better, implementing the software has been shown to be highly cost-effective, boosting patient satisfaction by helping them save on time and energy they would have spent on the commute.

Mobile healthcare services are an evident pathway to ensuring your practice's success, and if this doesn't convince you, we have collated the top reasons why you should implement mobile practices.

Can a psychology practice adopt mobile services?

It's not always possible to meet in person. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us this lesson, and for many people, it's a lesson they won't forget in a hurry. Mobile services let you meet patients from the comfort of your home while they stay in theirs—or anywhere in the world if they so choose. For example, at any time or place, you can maintain and strengthen professional relationships with your clients through video conferencing, calling, and messaging services. You can deliver a high standard of care and quality from anywhere.

If you're concerned as to whether your mental health care practice can handle mobile services, don't be! In fact, psychology practices are one of the best healthcare disciplines to be fully immersed in mobile services, largely due to the way most counseling and therapy sessions go. Whether you are trying to help a client get over substance abuse or post-traumatic stress disorder or simply trying to teach them coping strategies for self-esteem issues and anxiety, mobile services will work for you. Even anger management and stress management can be done over telehealth sessions.

In the case that you don't have access to your work computer, mobile apps and services can still enable you to stay connected, and patients are able to link with online support communities to chat with others and receive support. This is a very useful feature for any therapist who is trying to support a patient with depression or suicidal thoughts—it is common for patients with these feelings not to want to come out at all, and with mobile services, you will always be within their reach.

5 benefits of going mobile as a psychology practice

If you're not convinced yet, let's delve deeper into why you should try to become a mobile psychology practice. Here, we have compiled some of the benefits of going mobile:

Increased accessibility for patients

Going mobile allows patients to access mental health services regardless of their location. This is particularly beneficial for individuals living in remote or underserved areas, as well as those with mobility issues or busy schedules. By offering telehealth sessions, you can eliminate the barriers associated with travel and time constraints, making it easier for patients to receive the care they need. This increased accessibility can lead to more consistent therapy sessions and better overall treatment outcomes.

Enhanced flexibility for therapists

Mobile services provide therapists with the flexibility to conduct sessions from various locations, not just their office. This can lead to a better work-life balance, reducing burnout and increasing job satisfaction. Therapists can manage their schedules more efficiently, fitting in sessions around other commitments. This flexibility also allows for emergency sessions or check-ins, providing immediate support to patients in crisis, thereby improving the overall quality of care.

Cost-effective operations

While adding a telehealth option to a large practice that already has a clinic can increase costs, these can be somewhat offset by the increased accessibility for patients. Transitioning to a mobile practice also reduces overhead costs, particularly for therapists and mental health professionals who are just starting out. Without the need for physical office space, expenses such as rent, utilities, and office supplies decrease. Additionally, mobile practices can save on administrative costs, as digital platforms often include features like automated scheduling and billing. These savings can be passed on to patients in the form of lower fees or reinvested into the practice to enhance services, ultimately benefiting both therapists and patients.

Improved patient engagement

Mobile health platforms often include features that enhance patient engagement, such as easy appointment booking, secure messaging, and access to educational resources. Patients can take a more active role in their treatment, which can lead to better adherence to therapy plans and improved outcomes. The convenience of mobile access can also encourage patients to reach out more frequently for support, fostering a stronger therapeutic relationship and promoting continuous progress.

Comprehensive service offerings

Many telehealth platforms come with multiple features that enhance the overall functionality of a mobile practice. These platforms often include integrated tools for scheduling, billing, documentation, and secure communication, making it easier for therapists to manage their practice efficiently. By consolidating these services into one platform, therapists can streamline their workflow and focus more on patient care.

What are the features of a mobile health platform?

Not all mobile health platforms are made equal. Some are bare-bones and only provide features for web sessions, while others are full-blown healthcare practice management platforms that only have telehealth as a feature. The amount of features you get will also affect the cost, and usually, the ones with more features are costlier.

Now, we can't speak for anyone else, so we'll give you Carepatron's features. Here's what you'll get by signing up, apart from telehealth features:

1. Clinical documentation: Carepatron has online resources and templates for high-quality progress notes that any healthcare professional can easily understand and use. Our app also provide a place for you to store clinical notes and documents securely, with all electronic records accessible from your laptop mobile. Carepatron also has templates for tests, notes, and other documents that you can customize and share with other users. With us, going mobile comes with the benefit of avoiding the long and tedious process of handwritten notes. Nice!
2. Easy scheduling: With Carepatron, you can create optimized appointment schedules that accommodate any cancellations or reschedules, whether it's you who did it, or your teammates or patients. Carepatron also sends out automated reminders to reduce no-shows, ensuring that you're seeing as many patients as capacity allows, whilst also sustaining a self-sufficient system, with patients able to book themselves an appointment. This reduces the need for administrative staff, as patients are less likely to call the clinic and book appointments manually. All in all, it's a win, as the time and money saved can benefit other areas of your healthcare practice. 
3. Real-time payments: You can also send bills and receive payments online through Carepatron, all in real-time, which is super convenient for easy processing and quick transactions. No more delays or long waits, with real-time data ensuring significant reductions in outstanding payments, which is highly beneficial for your practice.
4. Highly secure data: When it comes to healthcare, you often deal with sensitive patient information that needs a high level of protection. For example, patient contact details, banking information, and medical records all need a high level of encryption to prevent data leakages. Carepatron has HIPAA-compliant encryption, letting you rest easy with full confidence that all your information is safe. 
5. Integrated workspace: Never has it been easier to manage a variety of features all at once, from a single, secure place. With Carepatron, you can collaborate and communicate with other healthcare professionals and patients through video conferencing and messaging. You can also manage clinical information and notes while examining medical records, treatment plans, medication management, and processing payments. Medical billing and coding processes are also simplified, with embedded templates and Stripe integration guiding you to create accurate claims. Best of all, you can do all these things with minimal training and adjustment. 

Tips for effective mobile therapy

Mobile therapy has its nuances, and to ensure that you implement it successfully, there are some things you should consider. Focusing on these aspects will allow you to provide higher quality and standard of care when it comes to your patients, and enable you to be just as effective as if you were to conduct sessions in person.

1. Ensure privacy: When you have a session with a client, they should be assured that any information shared will remain between the two of you. For example, there needs to be limited access so that only you and the relevant patient/s can log in. Having unique logins, encrypted software and security protocols can help maintain confidentiality. 
2. Maintain ethics: Just because you're conducting sessions online, doesn't mean you're exempt from the ethical code. You still need to adhere to ethical guidelines to maintain professionalism in your workplace and document good decision-making. 
3. Minimize distractions: When having therapy sessions at home, it can be very easy to be distracted by children, your dog, or the postman at the door. Not to mention laggy internet! We know it can be tricky, and it's not always possible to have smooth-running sessions, but these obstacles can be avoided. Use a separate space removed from others, and turn off any notifications that may be distracting—it's vital that your client knows that you are there to help them, not for anything else.
4. Verification: Verify the patient's identity and location to ensure that you're talking to the right person. This is particularly useful for emergencies when there is a high-risk patient, and in a situation where their camera is off, you need to monitor that they are safe. 
5. Have intentional communication: Communicating can look very different online vs. face-to-face, and so you need to be very clear with what you want to convey. For example, if a patient has a fuzzy camera connection, you should acknowledge this, saying something like, “I can't see you right now, but I understand that this is a difficult experience for you.” You may need to talk more often, and take closer note of facial expressions and vocal cues. This is a learning curve for everyone, but it helps to remember that sensitivity and awareness are at the core of mobile therapy, just like with in-person sessions.

Take home message

Being a mobile psychologist has a lot of advantages. You can maintain patient relationships whilst providing a more convenient channel for clients to communicate. Mobile healthcare services revolutionize the way healthcare services are delivered, with easy access reaching a wider clientele and enabling you to work towards an efficient standard and higher quality of care. Because they're customizable to your needs, mobile health is highly flexible and accommodates a variety of needs for low and high-risk individuals who need mental health help. Quite simply, they're the way of the future, and taking advantage of this growing trend will drive the success of your practice. 

If you want all these benefits for your practice, register to Carepatron today—it's free!

References

Bartelt, K., Piff, A., Allen, S., & Barkley, E. (2023, November 21). Telehealth utilization higher than pre-pandemic levels, but down from pandemic highs. Epic Research. https://www.epicresearch.org/articles/telehealth-utilization-higher-than-pre-pandemic-levels-but-down-from-pandemic-highs

Koonin, L. (2020). Trends in the use of telehealth during the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic — United States, January–March 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(43). https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6943a3