Telemental Health

A very effective new way of providing Mental Health help is to use video conferencing.  We see patients from their place - be it home, work, or the Costco parking lot - for our sessions.  We are finding that this is really appealing, as it saves getting ready, fighting traffic/weather to drive to our office.  We meet on your turf.  Most patients say they feel we can do better work when they are relaxed at home or a place of their choice.  

Is this private?

We use VSee or the embedded Teletherapy program from our EHR, ICANotes.  These are HIPAA-Compliant Telemed platforms.  You control who can overhear on your end. No one will be able to see or hear what we cover - from the system or from our end.  Our sessions are not recorded.

An alternate to this security is for you to choose to use any platform with which you are most comfortable.  Examples of these choices are Zoom, FaceTime, and Google Meets.  Since we do not have a BAA for HIPAA with these platforms, we will have you sign an informed consent that you are choosing this alternate platform

Is it hard to set up?

VSEE: We send you an invitation for you to click on from your video-enabled computer, tablet, or smart phone.  Once you have accepted the invitation, you are in our system.  When it is time for our appointment, you sign in to the waiting room of the platform.  We then call you and have our session.

ICANotes Platform: We send you a link.  You click on it and are put into the waiting room.  We open the session and start our work together.

What if I am 'technology challenged'?  

Our Practice Manager, Cindy, is a pro at walking you through the process of getting set up. She is patient and kind as you learn how to do this.  No worries!