Getting started with SimplePractice

Welcome to your new SimplePractice account. This video series will help you get started with SimplePractice in fifteen minutes or less. First, we'll jump right in by scheduling an appointment with a sample client and sending them intake paperwork. Then in the next video, we'll review the three most important areas to set up before you start using SimplePractice. Scan the QR code to play this video on your phone and follow along on your computer. When you first log in to your SimplePractice account, the SimplePractice calendar is your home page, like your weekly planner. You'll see our demo client, Jamie Appleseed, has a couple appointments scheduled. On the left menu, the clients page shows a list of all of your clients with tools to filter and manage them. If you just started your trial, you can build out your client list with the transfer client data tool here. Or if you have fewer than around twenty clients, it's also reasonable to manually add your clients. So let's cover how to create a client and schedule that client on the calendar. First, click create client. Here, we can add the basic details. If you're seeing minors or a couple, those offer different profile options. Let's enter the client's name, and we'll stick with these default settings for now. Next, scroll down and add their email. Email is crucial because that's how they access your client portal where they can fill out their paperwork, pay bills, and manage their care. You can also add a phone number and enable automated appointment reminders by email, phone messages, or text message. Click continue. After you create a client, it will pull up the option to send intake forms. As you set up your account, you can customize these forms and add your own. If you want to wait to send your intake packet, you can also close this window without sending. If you want to upload notes and documentation from your previous EHR, just click upload. This will securely store the information in the client's files tab. Next, you can schedule an appointment on the calendar. First, you can click directly on the calendar and search the client's name. Select the service for this appointment, and don't worry. These service templates can be customized later in your settings. Group practices can select the clinician who will be seeing this client, select the office location, and even set this as a recurring appointment. Click save, and your appointment will appear on the calendar. When first getting started, we recommend playing around and scheduling test clients and sending them intake paperwork. So let's walk through sending an intake form. First, search for the client. You can use Jamie Appleseed, who is a demo client in your account. Click their name to open their profile. Click the share button in the upper right corner. This three step process starts with selecting the forms that you'd like to send. The demographics form is where clients can easily add more information, which will auto populate in your account. Next, there is the option to customize the email message, and last, review and send. Once you share the intake forms, the client will receive an email with an instant sign on link for your client portal. The client portal starts with this welcome message that you can customize to give specific instructions to your clients. And then it walks through all of the intake forms so you can collect electronic signatures for the forms that you need. Then it goes through the demographics form where clients can fill out their detailed information and even add a picture of their insurance card. Once the client fills out their intake forms, it will automatically populate into their chart, so you don't need to scan or upload any documents. If you wanna review a client's completed intake documentations before your session, first, open their profile page. To access a client's profile, click the client's name or use the search box above the calendar. The overview tab has their appointment schedule, documentation, and notes in a timeline format. The files tab lists any intake forms, questionnaires, consent documents, or other files that have been shared with the client so you can see exactly when a form was viewed or signed by a client. The measures tab will display a graph of the client's responses from scored measures questionnaires, and the billing tab organizes all the client's billing records like invoices, insurance claims, and payments. The billing tab is also where you can create a new invoice, statement, super bill, or insurance claim. On these tabs, there is a date range selector and filters to quickly find what you need. This line on the calendar shows you what time it is in real time. All of your future appointments will show in blue and appointments you've had are green. You can also click and drag these appointments around to change the time. Click on the appointment to see more details. You can do notes or billing directly from this window. For example, after the appointment, if you're collecting payment, you can click add payment directly from the calendar. And when you're ready to add a note, you can click this add note icon, which we'll review later. If a client cancels, you can quickly change the status of the appointment, letting you or your team know that the appointment has been canceled or late canceled. With SimplePractice's integrated telehealth platform, you can start a video appointment directly from the calendar. Just click on the appointment and set the location to your video office. This gives you the option to click start video appointment. Simple practice will open a new tab for your secure telehealth appointment. Next, let's talk about how to save time when you're writing a note after your appointment. Whether you're writing your daily notes, SOAP notes, or plan of care after an appointment, all of your client management can be completed directly through the simple practice calendar. Once an appointment has passed, it will appear in green. Click on the appointment to view the details. To add a note, click add note. Here, you can use a template, whether it's an evaluation or SOAP note. If you've added a note for a previous session, you can click load last note to pull up the content from that note and update what you need. On the side, you can also click to view treatment plans or other documentation that you may need to reference in your note. If you've added access to SimplePractice notetaker tool, which is powered by AI, you can access the session transcript and draft note here. Once you're done making your edits, click save, and then you'll have the option to sign and lock. This finalizes the note and also includes your esignature and credential. Let's briefly review how to accept a payment. On the appointment fly out, you can update the services or fees. Below, you can click to create the invoice and add payment. If your client has filled out the credit card intake form, you can select that card to process the payment right after the appointment. Or if clients send you payment at a later date, you can also add the payment on the client's profile by clicking the billing tab and then add payment. Before we end, we should also highlight the Simple practice for clinicians mobile app. This top rated app is available for iOS or Android and is another way to access your practice to get work done whenever and wherever you want. Now that you have an overview of the most common workflows in Simple practice, the next step is to customize the settings for your practice. This trial is a fully featured account, so it's worth it to use this free trial period to set it up. Click the link on screen to jump right in with the next video.