Delivering quality, sustainable behavioral health care should be a priority for any healthcare organization. However, this goal isn’t always attainable due to resource restraints or the current provider shortage. That’s where telepsychiatry steps in to help facilitate access to high-quality behavioral health care and extend existing behavioral health programs to healthcare organizations across the country.
While navigating the fast-growing and rapidly evolving world of telepsychiatry, finding a partner you trust is essential. The right partner should work with you to support the long-term well-being of both your organization and your patients.
But, how do you find the right fit? Read on to learn all the questions you should ask to ensure you find the most effective and patient-focused telepsychiatry partner for your organization.
General questions to ask a telepsychiatry vendor
With so much growth in the world of telehealth, this basic information has never been more critical in the vendor selection process. By asking the following questions, you can help narrow in on partners who can offer your patients high-quality, long-term care.
Questions to consider:
- How many dedicated employees does the organization have on staff? If possible, ask if you can see an organizational chart broken down by department, person, and title.
- How many clinicians do they currently have on staff? How many are W2 employees versus 1099 contractors?
- Does the company have experience licensing providers through IMLC and ENLC?
- How many psychiatrists have applied to their organization in the last year?
- Can they provide 5-6 references? How long have they been working with their current partners?
- How many of their partner organizations provide similar services to the one your organization offers?
These questions can help you determine which vendor can provide the most compassionate care your patients deserve. For example, you can learn a lot about care quality and provider access by asking how many employees a vendor currently has on staff or whether or not their providers are 1099 contractors or W2 employees. Gathering these insights is key to finding the right fit for your organization.
Telepsychiatry and the importance of job matching
Finding the right provider fit is key to your patients’ well-being and your organization’s success. By working with a telepsychiatry vendor that delivers job matching services, you can find a provider who meets your organization’s needs and fills in care gaps. However, not every telepsychiatry vendor can make successful, long-term matches. That’s why it’s important to know what questions to ask.
Questions to Consider:
- Does the company have a rigorous provider vetting process?
- What type of providers does the company have available? PMHNPs? LCSWs? Specialist providers like child psychiatrists or bilingual providers?
- Does the company get to know your organization’s needs, culture, and values?
- Will the telepsychiatry provider offer a meet and greet to ensure you and the provider are on the same page?
Getting the answer to these questions is essential for selecting a telepsychiatry vendor. At Iris, we believe job matching is a necessary piece of the puzzle. That’s why we created the Iris Match. We take pride in this approach, and we think it’s a crucial piece of the puzzle. When matching a provider with an organization, we work to ensure the match is mutually beneficial. We guarantee that by the end of our match process, your care team and your patients will love.
Telepsychiatry’s approach to quality control and assurance
Ensuring your patients get the high-quality mental health care they deserve is essential. But, how do you ensure that your potential partner can meet this requirement? One option is to review their recognized third-party accreditations and look into other fundamental aspects of their business model and priorities.
Questions to Consider:
- Is the company Joint Commission accredited for behavioral health?
- Does the company have experience meeting HEDIS measures or other quality benchmarks?
- Is the company a medical group that’s clinician-led and clinically driven?
Joint Commission accreditation enables an organization to credential more quickly and offers assurance that you, as a healthcare organization, will receive high-quality services. At Iris Telehealth, we’re proud to be led by clinicians and healthcare experts and the only telepsychiatry company to receive Joint Commission accreditation for behavioral health.
Questions to ask about telepsychiatry implementation
Implementing telepsychiatry and successfully integrating the services into your organization’s workflow requires focused time, effort, and care about your practice, providers, and patients. Getting specifics on their approach is crucial to getting your service up and running successfully.
Questions to Consider:
- Is the vendor technology agnostic? Can they seamlessly integrate within your existing platforms?
- Does the vendor develop custom workflows?
- Will the vendor’s providers use your existing EMR for notes and documentation?
At Iris, we provide best-in-class support that ensures your organization is set up for long-term success. We work within your existing systems and workflows to ensure a seamless transition for your team. Additionally, we take care of tasks like licensing and credentialing to help relieve the burden on your teams. By making integration as seamless as possible, we help set your organization and your patients up for success.
Where Iris Telehealth fits in
Iris Telehealth is dedicated to improving patient outcomes with exceptional behavioral health care while decreasing the burden on your care team. Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about our approach to job matching, our in-depth expertise, or our best-in-class support.
