Front Desk v20.1 includes the ability to manage telehealth appointments, which can be enabled on the Telehealth tab in System Information. When telehealth is enabled for an appointment type, additional telehealth fields are available when making or editing an appointment. When right-clicking an appointment, options are available to Copy, Open, and Send Telehealth Links via Email or SMS. Letter tags have also been added to streamline sending telehealth links. For full details, please see the telehealth setup guide
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Many existing Front Desk users, particularly by our Psychology users, have been successfully managing telehealth appointments using third-party software solutions for the past few years. Not sure which third-party telehealth platform to use? There are several solutions for facilitating telehealth calls with varying degree of functionality and cost depending on your requirements. Some solutions just facilitate the video conference; some also allow telehealth bookings to be made online offering booking and reminder messages to be sent to the patient, and some also include payment facilities.
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Common telehealth solutions include:
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​Physitrack
With Physitrack you can set up secure video calls, live-stream exercise videos and screen share other information with your clients. Their telehealth features are combined with their existing exercise prescription, client education and outcomes tracking features, which are integrated with Front Desk.
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​Covui
Covui offers secure video calls and additional features, such as online payment facilities.
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​Zoom
Zoom offers easy to use apps across all platforms and has a free tier that allows unlimited one to one meetings as well as group meetings that last up to 40 minutes.
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Once a telehealth appointment is booked in your Front Desk system by phone or through the Patient Booking Gateway, some admin work is required to set up the meeting in your chosen telehealth solution. This includes sending an email or SMS to the patient with appropriate instructions on how to join the telehealth appointment at the arranged time. This process will differ based on which solution you opt to use.
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You might also set up an SMS reminder template to use for telehealth appointments, which can be sent automatically in Front Desk 2020 using the automatic SMS appointment reminder features.