I wrote a previous blog How Can Online Booking Systems Improve My Practice? This was more of pros and cons and letting clients book their own appointments. With this blog, I specifically want to delve into the 12 ways Power Diary can improve your Private Practice. I truly believe in this system and it’s what I recommend to all my clients.

When you start in Private Practice it may not be your full-time job and it may start out slowly. You can never get your systems and processes in place too early. In fact, it is a great benefit to do this in advance so that when you are busy and full you know exactly what you’re doing. Alternatively, it’s never too late to start with an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system and below are the 12 ways Power Diary can improve your Private Practice at whatever stage you’re at.   

1. The Client Files

The client files within Power Diary are amazing. I can’t list ALL the things you can capture inside them but here are the things that I use and love the most.

Personal Details – Keep all the details about your client in one place. No need to search on multiple systems or find paper copies of contracts to get a clients address or telephone number.

Contacts – You can add as many contacts as you want to a client file. If you work with minors or someone who has a guardian they can automatically get appointment reminders. You can add doctors, psychiatrists, and an emergency contact.

Billing Set Up – You can decide who will get the invoice for the client so when you send an invoice it will go direct to the right person. You will never need to check paperwork or a spreadsheet for who you should be sending the invoice to. 

Appointment history and statistics – including amount attended and cancelled.

Resources – you can keep a log of what resources/homework you have sent the client.

Another amazing benefit when using Power Diary is that nearly every drop-down option you have is customisable. Create your specified client statuses, the insurers you work with, how people heard about you, relationship types, gender options and so much more.

You won’t need specific notes about the client as everything can be customised for each individual. 

2. Intake Forms

You can create any type of form you require for your Private Practice. Intake form, contact details form, release of information etc. You create your form once and then you can send to anyone inside Power Diary. You can even capture a signature as well saving you time and money on e-signature platforms. Once they’ve completed it you will be notified and a copy of it will be added to the client file inside Power Diary.

3. Appointment Bookings

Yes adding an appointment to your calendar or paper diary doesn’t take you long but what do you do with it from there? Send the client a text to let them know their appointment time. Follow that up with a zoom link for the appointment. How are you invoicing?

Using Power Diary you can do all three things with one action. Create the appointment, send the confirmation and the invoice in less than 2 minutes. I promise! You can also set a recurring appointment if your client has a regular slot which can save you additional time. 

4. Online Call Setup

Do you dread setting up all your zoom calls each week? Entering them one by one on zoom and then sending them one by one to your clients. With Power Diary you add your Personal Meeting Room link to your confirmation and reminder email templates and it automatically gets sent to the client. In addition they also have Telehealth which works for 2 participants. You can add a link to that on your email templates which gives each client their own personal room key so it is very secure.

5. Appointment Confirmations and Reminders

As I’ve talked about previously you can set up email templates for appointment confirmation and reminders. You can also set these up so they go to the client automatically at the time of booking and on a day of your choosing prior to the appointment. You can add any information you want including your cancellation and payment policy. My clients have found that they get fewer cancellations and late payments using this EHR system.

6. Invoicing

My free download What is the best way to Invoice outlines all the ways you can invoice in Private Practice and includes EHR systems. It outlines the pros and cons of each and includes an overview of ways you can accept payment also so check that out.

With Power Diary you can invoice the client when the appointment is booked and confirm that it has been paid within that same system. It syncs directly with Stripe so clients can make payments from the email using a secure payment link. You can easily see from the main screen if an appointment has been paid and you can run reports to see an overview of what’s outstanding and send reminders easily. 

7. Cancellations and Rescheduled Appointments

Dealing with cancellations and clients wanting to reschedule can also be an admin headache. As I have mentioned my therapist clients have found that they get fewer cancellations using this Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.

This, I believe is due to multiple factors. Clients generally pay in advance when they get the invoice so are less likely to cancel a paid session. They get a booking confirmation and reminder emails. When working with an EHR system processes are usually more robust so it just leads to clients being less flaky.

8. Session Notes

You can keep a record of the session notes inside the client file. Easily add a note for each session and see all your notes neatly in one place. You can quickly scan through them prior to a session as a refresher with the most recent appointment at the top of the list.

Another great thing about Power Diary session notes is that you can do it voice to text. This works best on your phone but you can use your phone or laptop microphone to record the notes and save you lots of time!

9. Medical Insurance

Although with most medical insurers you will need to invoice using Healthcode or another system outside of Power Diary. You can manage the administration for clients using medical insurance to fund their therapy easily within Power Diary. If you read my blog on How to Organise Insurance Clients you will know that it is imperative you have strong systems in place so this doesn’t get overwhelming and time-consuming.

You can store all the insurance details, insurer, policy number and authorisation number on the client file. Create a specific insurance pack for the client and tell the system how many sessions they have authorised. Then use the countdown function to know how many sessions they have used and how many they have left. The system will even notify you when they have one more to use so that you can advise the client.

10. Waiting List

If you have people on your waiting list there is a specific area inside Power Diary you can add these to. If a slot becomes available you can easily see who has availability that day and who has been on the waiting list the longest. No more searching through spreadsheets or emails. Keep that inbox empty! Send them an email or SMS directly through Power Diary to advise them of the opening. You could even send to multiple people and offer a first come first serve basis.

11. Bulk Emailing

Another thing I absolutely love with Power Diary is the bulk send function. Sending out one email to multiple clients is such a time saver. Holiday reminders, fee increases, advising of sickness/cancellations etc. It’s just like sending an email through a mailing service like Mailerlite. Each client gets their own individual email personalised to them but you can send as many as you want using filters within Power Diary.

12. Adhoc Clients

If you have adhoc clients you can give them access to the Power Diary portal and let them book a session themselves when it suits them. This would be based on your availability previously set. You can customise this so they cannot book earlier than a day ahead for example and also ensure you get payment in advance at the time of booking to avoid cancellations. I personally do not recommend allowing everyone access to the portal but if you have a few adhoc clients it can be beneficial for all involved and avoid the back and forth in emails trying to find a mutually convenient time.

Those were the 12 ways Power Diary can improve your Private Practice. Power Diary has a lot more capability but these are the features I use for my clients regularly. You can check out Power Diary for yourself. If you sign up with that link you will get 500 FREE SMS credits added to your account. I also get commission but as you have read I truly believe in this system and it is the ONLY one I recommend now. You also get 50% off monthly fees for 6 months when you join and they offer a full year money back guarantee if you don’t love it for yourself so there really is nothing to lose.

All your data can be migrated in from most systems out there or via a simple spreadsheet. You can set the system up yourself or I can do a full Power Diary set up for you and give you the best practice procedures for your private practice. This is tailored specifically to you and your practice. We would start with a FREE 15-minute discovery call. Based on that call I will then send you a proposal outlining my fees and how the project would go from start to finish. If you would like to discuss migrating your practice to Power Diary please get in contact – kim@virtuallyirreplaceable.co.uk