Start a Telehealth Session

With TherapyNotes Telehealth, you can meet clients where they are using reliable, HIPAA-compliant video technology. Any device with a camera, microphone, compatible web browser, and Internet access is suitable for a telehealth session.

Enabling Telehealth

To enable this feature, the Practice Administrator would need to update their settings. They can enable it for all clinicians or select specific clinicians who need access to the premium features.

• Click Settings > Telehealth
• In the Telehealth Access panel, enable Basic or Premium.
• Premium Telehealth can be enabled for all clinicians or selected clinicians. 

To Start a Telehealth Session

Telehealth sessions can be started by any clinical user who has an appointment with a patient with a portal account. In order to start a telehealth session for an appointment:

• The Type must not be a Scheduled Event, Extra Availability, or Unavailable.
• If your client doesn’t use our client portal, you can have them join as a guest. 

Note: To invite a client as a guest, they’ll need your practice's TherapyPortal link. Practice Administrators can find this link by navigating to Settings Client Portal and copying the URL displayed in the blue banner at the top of the page.

If you do not have access to Client Portal settings, you can also start a Telehealth session Select the People icon in the top-left corner Click Portal to copy your TherapyPortal link.

Share the link with your client and refer them to How to Join a Telehealth Session as a Guest User for step-by-step instructions.

• The Use TherapyNotes Telehealth checkbox must be selected on the appointment.
• The appointment has not been marked as Missed or Cancelled.

As long as the appointment meets the above criteria, the Clinician on the appointment can start a telehealth session beginning 5 hours prior to the Scheduled Time until 5 hours after the Scheduled Time. So, for an appointment scheduled at 5:00 PM, the Clinician may start the telehealth session between 12:00 PM and 10:00 PM.

• Click Scheduling
• Click on the desired appointment on the calendar.
• If the appointment is eligible for telehealth, a banner will be displayed at the top of the appointment dialog. Click the Start Telehealth Session button.

• Your browser will prompt you to share access to your camera and microphone. Click Allow.

• In the Select Your Camera and Microphone dialog that appears, select the Camera and Microphone you want to use for your session. You should see a preview of your video and an audio meter that responds to your voice.

• Click the I'm Ready button.

When your client is ready to join the session, you'll see a notification in the middle of your screen, and most browsers will play a sound. Their name and photo (if required) will appear in the top-left corner of the Telehealth window with a "Logged In" status. You can choose to accept or ignore their request. Please note that TherapyNotes does not store the client's verification image for privacy and security reasons. 

To Disable Photo Verification in Telehealth: 

1. Go to Settings > Telehealth.
2. Under the Telehealth Settings, find the option to require a photo for identity and environment verification before joining a session. This setting is enabled by default.
3. Uncheck the box to disable photo verification.
4. Click Save Telehealth Settings.
   
   
    

Managing Your Telehealth Session

Once in a telehealth session, a small preview of your video will appear, and your patient's video will appear larger in the middle of the browser. Here's what you can do in your session:

• Reposition your video preview by clicking and dragging with your mouse, tapping and dragging with your finger on a touch device, or using keyboard controls by pressing Tab to focus on the video preview.
• Hide your preview by hovering over, tapping, or focusing on your video preview and selecting the eye icon that appears.
• Temporarily disable your camera or mute your microphone.
• Chat with other participants using the in-session messaging. 
• Share your screen.
• End the session.

With Premium Telehealth:

• Share your screen with sound.
• Customize your background.
• Enable closed captioning (supports English and Spanish).

Ending the session will remove both you and your patient from the video call. If you or your patient end the session by mistake, you may rejoin the session. To rejoin a session, click the Rejoin Session button in the Your Telehealth Session Has Ended dialog that appears when a session ends. Both you and your patient must select the option to rejoin in order to reconnect in the telehealth session.

After you end a Telehealth session, a banner will appear at the top of your TherapyNotes window where you can rate the session and share feedback about your experience.

If you report a negative experience, you’ll have the option to provide additional details. Your feedback helps us continue improving Telehealth.

If you experience connection issues during your session, please refer to Troubleshooting Telehealth Connection Issues.