Making the move from private practice to working for a telehealth group comes with a lot of benefits and considerations. In this blog, we’ll outline the pros and cons of making this switch and offer recommendations for making this transition seamless.
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Table of contents
Why you might consider a transition to telehealth
The benefits of working for a telehealth group
How to make your transition to telehealth seamless
What life at Iris looks like
Why you might consider a transition to telehealth
Owning and operating your own practice comes with many benefits and challenges. On the one hand, you can choose your clientele and the type of care you want to provide and create a schedule that aligns with the type of practice you wish to have. On the other hand, being in charge of everything can be demanding.
For instance, running your practice requires you to book and bill your clients, manage your paneling, licensing, and credentialing, and pay for an electronic health record. It may also feel like you always have to be available to patients. When working in a hospital, community mental health center, or federally qualified health center, patients have a line to call for emergencies – but in private practice, you are that line.
While there are several challenges to private practice, let’s take a close look at some of the benefits telehealth offers.
The benefits of working for a telehealth group
While private practice requires a significant amount of time and attention, working for a supportive telehealth group can take a huge weight off your shoulders.
Here are a few of the biggest benefits of working for a telehealth group:
Less overhead: Telehealth groups like Iris Telehealth pay providers based on hours scheduled, not volume seen. In a private practice setting, you might schedule seven clients in a day, but if only three show up, you’re only paid for that three. Additionally, in certain organizations like Iris, we provide all the necessary equipment and you don’t have to worry about billing.
Multiple layers of support: With a telehealth group on your side, you have someone to walk your entire journey. At Iris, you are supported by a full cycle recruiting team who walk alongside you from your first phone call through your placement at a hand-selected partner group.
Help with licensing and credentialing: If you’ve worked in mental health before, you understand how laborious it is to keep up with licensing, credentialing, and paneling. That’s why working with a telehealth group that takes care of these processes for you is invaluable. For example, once you are matched with an Iris partner group you are provided the support of a medical staff services team who takes care of these logistics and helps maintain these things for you.
Unique perks of telehealth: With telehealth, you’re not at risk of running into patients when you’re out and about in your community. In many cases, you will be a couple of states away from where your clients live. Additionally, telehealth also takes away the stressful commute, the need to do your own marketing, and provides a comfortable work from home environment. With telehealth, you can expand your experience and maintain your work-life balance in a way you may not have been able to in a private practice setting.
How to make your switch from private practice seamless
If you think telehealth might be the best fit for you and your needs, here are a few ways you can begin your transition from private practice.
- Create a transition plan: Consider how you will transition your clients and where they can go for treatment after your time together ends. It’s essential to be mindful of your time and ensure you’re not overworking yourself with additional private practice work once you transition to telehealth.
- Think through lifestyle changes: Transitioning from working for yourself to working for someone else can take some getting used to, so it’s important to consider what that change will be like. There might also be new assessments, documentation, and specific therapeutic engagement and approaches that you might have to become familiar with as you transition to telehealth.
- Consider your working space: Working for a telehealth group means you’ll be working from your home. With that change comes a few different considerations. First, you should ensure your space is HIPPA compliant and has good lighting, acoustics, and a strong internet connection. It’s also important to check that your internet has adequate upload and download speeds.
- Determine how you’ll manage work-life balance: Another consideration for working remotely is how you’ll manage work-life balance when your office becomes a part of your home. It’s important to think through how you’ll separate the two and the structures you can put in place to help transition from work to life with more ease.
What life at Iris looks like
At Iris Telehealth, we believe our providers should be applauded for the incredible work they do each day. By partnering with us, you can feel good about working with a group that since 2019, has been accredited by the Joint Commission for behavioral health.
We can’t wait to see how we can work together to create a better world through healthy minds. Contact us today to learn more about open roles at Iris!
