You love your job as a therapist, but don’t enjoy the repetitive tasks that pile up between each appointment. And with the cost of labor rising, you’re finding it difficult to find talented assistants without sacrificing profitability.
Ever thought of going virtual?
Therapists can benefit significantly from hiring virtual assistants for their private practice. Virtual assistants are more affordable than in-person assistants and can provide more convenient support.
Let’s dive into everything you need to know about a virtual assistant for therapists.
What is a virtual assistant (and what do they do)?
A virtual assistant is similar to a regular administrative assistant, except that they provide services from a remote location instead of working with you in person.
These types of administrative workers have several useful skills to support a therapy clinic. Some virtual assistants are self-employed, but others work at agencies that handle all the overhead and management that comes with the territory.
Virtual assistants can either work full-time or part-time for a therapist, so even if you don’t need a full 40 hours of support, you can still get help.
Plus, virtual assistants can be located anywhere in the world. Thanks to today’s technology, it’s easier than ever to collaborate with an assistant remotely, even if you’re in a different timezone.
All you need is a device to communicate with your assistants, such as a tablet or laptop.
Are you interested in learning more about a virtual assistant for your clinic or practice? Book a call with our team, and we’ll help match you with the ideal virtual assistant.
What does a virtual assistant do for a therapist?
A virtual assistant can be incredibly useful for a therapist. Even therapists who already have in-person teams can benefit from onboarding a virtual assistant.
First off, virtual assistants can handle almost any type of administrative work you can throw at them. By doing so, they can keep your private practice organized.
Here's a breakdown of the responsibilities a virtual assistant can take off your plate:
- Manage your calendar. When you walk into your office, they can tell you what your day will look like.
- Take care of contacting patients. If a patient needs to cancel or reschedule an appointment, they can go through your virtual assistant instead of waiting for you to call them back once you finish your sessions.
- Make phone calls for other purposes.
- Help you stay on top of all your email correspondence. You can train them on common questions people ask so that they can communicate with your patients and other correspondents.
- Perform receptionist duties if you don’t have a receptionist, or if your current receptionist is overwhelmed with too much work.
- Support the accounting side of your therapy clinic by handling light bookkeeping and other data entry tasks.
Benefits of having a virtual assistant at your therapy clinic
Not sure how a virtual assistant could support you? Here are six ways your therapy clinic can benefit from hiring a virtual assistant.
1. Save you time on office tasks
Even if you have existing staff who work in your clinic, menial tasks can pile up and overwhelm you and your team.
But this gets even worse if you’re a self-employed therapist with no supporting staff.
Delegate your appointment setting process to a virtual assistant to spend less time at your desk. You can let your virtual assistant handle follow-ups with patients and update files when necessary. They can also send appointment reminders to reduce no-shows.
While your virtual assistant takes care of these tasks, you can focus on what you do best — providing therapy.
You can finally end your day at 5 p.m. without worrying about your to-do list piling up. Imagine going home and being able to leave work at the office. Instead of staying late, you can spend time with your family and get the rest you need to come back refreshed the next day.
2. Reduce your overhead
Working with a virtual assistant requires almost no overhead. There’s no office space required to give them a place to work. You only need to account for space in your clinic if you set up a virtual reception area.
Virtual assistants don’t consume electricity in your clinic, either. You don’t need to purchase a computer for them when you source them through an agency.
Plus, most virtual assistants who work offshore require a more affordable salary than people who work in the US. For example, in the US, administrative assistants average an hourly wage of $19.08 per hour. And that’s for salary alone.
On the other hand, Hello Rache virtual assistants cost a flat fee of $9.50 per hour.
You don’t need to factor in additional fees for their benefits, taxes, or insurance since that’s all handled by the agency. You also don’t need to worry about paid time off, vacations, or sick leave.
3. Access a highly trained assistant for your workflow
Virtual assistants at Hello Rache are healthcare professionals who already have HIPAA compliance training. They’re not entry-level administrative professionals. However, even if they’re healthcare professionals, they’re still highly experienced with administrative tasks.
Keep in mind that all virtual staff members get rigorously tested, vetted, and trained to support therapists in their practice. Plus, they know how to use any EMR/EHR software or easily adapt to it.
That’s why virtual assistants can adapt to your workflow. Alternatively, they can improve it and make your private therapy practice run more smoothly. If you’re unhappy with the current processes in your private practice, a trained virtual assistant can give you the support you need to make improvements.
4. Go beyond local talent
What happens when self-employed therapists try to hire local assistants for their private practice?
First off, you’re limited by local talent when hiring an in-person administrative assistant or receptionist. When you’re in a larger city, you may find several suitable applicants.
However, if you’re in a smaller town, finding people with the right skillset who are interested in working for you can be difficult.
For a therapist who’s already busy, going through the hiring process can be a grueling experience. You not only need to draft and publish a job listing, but you also need to:
- Vet applicants and read through resumes and cover letters
- Perform interviews
- Run background checks on potential candidates
- Prepare paperwork for employee onboarding
- Train your assistant before they’re ready to become productive at your private therapy practice
But you need to do more than hire an assistant — you also need to retain them. Competitors can poach talented staff if they have better offers for them. This means you need to offer a competitive salary and benefits. Otherwise, you risk losing someone who you’ve spent countless hours finding, hiring, and training.
On the other hand, using virtual assistant services removes the need for the entire hiring process. You can also access a much wider range of people who don’t live in your local area.
5. Focus on providing high-quality therapy and care
You can focus your mental load on caring for your patients when you’ve got a trustworthy virtual assistant to handle the administrative side of your business.
Use time between appointments to rest and prepare for your next patient instead of quickly getting administrative work done. This will help you reset between patients and serve them better.
6. Grow your private therapy practice
Yes, a virtual assistant can help you save time and work shorter days. But you can also use the time you save to work with more patients and generate more revenue from your private practice.
Because you charge more per hour than a virtual assistant, the math will always make sense. But let’s break it down.
Let’s say you hire a virtual assistant for only five hours a week. You’ll save five working hours during which you no longer need to handle administrative duties. Those hours will cost you:
$9.50 x 5 = $47.5
If you charge $150 per 1-hour session, you can take five more sessions per week. This means you’ll generate an extra $750 in revenue per week.
When you remove the costs of your virtual assistant, this works out to an additional $700 in profit per week. That’s an extra $2,800 per month — now imagine what you could accomplish with a full-time assistant to help you.
Find the best virtual assistant for your private practice
Running a private practice as a therapist can be overwhelming without assistance. Virtual assistants are the best type of support for therapists who want to get home by 5 p.m. without sacrificing the quality of care they provide their patients.
Book a call with us today, and we’ll find you the best virtual assistant for the needs of your private practice.
