How to Use Telepsychiatry to Grow Your Practice and Reach More Patients

A patient who drives 150 miles for quarterly medication checks just joined from her living room. Your evening slot filled with a nurse working night shifts who couldn’t attend daytime appointments. Someone in a rural county with no local psychiatrist accessed care for the first time in three years.

The psychiatrist shortage affects 60% of U.S. counties. Virtual care extends your reach beyond your office walls and serves populations with no local alternatives.

When paired with proper psychiatry billing services that understand telepsychiatry requirements, you avoid coding errors costing thousands monthly. Understanding psychiatry billing fundamentals becomes critical when adding virtual care.

Revenue Impact of Virtual Psychiatric Care

Appointment Economics Comparison

Practice Model	No-Show Rate	Weekly Capacity	Monthly Revenue
In-person only	18-22%	32-35 patients	$38,400 to $42,000
Hybrid model	10-12%	38-42 patients	$45,600 to $50,400
Virtual-focused	6-8%	44-48 patients	$52,800 to $57,600

Based on $120 per 30-minute medication management appointment

A practice with 22% no-shows loses 9 appointments weekly. Cut that to 10% and you gain 5 billable sessions per week. That’s $2,400 monthly in recovered revenue.

Patient Populations You Can Serve

Working professionals need flexible hours. Medication management during business hours forces them to choose between work and psychiatric care. Virtual appointments at 7 AM, lunch breaks, or 7 PM solve this.

Rural patients often travel 90-120 minutes each direction. That’s 3-4 hours per visit. Telepsychiatry eliminates travel entirely while filling slots that would otherwise go unfilled.

Homebound and disabled patients with mobility limitations now access care from home. Medicare covers telehealth psychiatric services for these populations.

Services That Work Virtually

Medication management fits perfectly. Reviewing symptoms, adjusting dosages, monitoring side effects, and discussing adherence all function via secure video.

Initial evaluations work well when appropriate. Gathering history, reviewing symptoms, conducting mental status exams, and establishing treatment plans happen effectively through video.

Crisis assessments can occur virtually with proper protocols. While severe emergencies need in-person response, many psychiatric crises respond to virtual assessment with appropriate safety planning.

What requires in-person: situations needing physical examination, ECT treatments, injectable medications requiring observation.

Billing Requirements

Telepsychiatry billing has specific requirements. Understanding these prevents revenue leaks that drain practices.

Psychiatric CPT Codes for Telehealth

Service	CPT Code	Time	Place of Service
Diagnostic interview	90791	60 min	02 / 10
Diagnostic interview with medical services	90792	60 min	02 / 10
Psychotherapy add-on with E/M	90833	30 min	02 / 10
Psychotherapy add-on with E/M	90836	45 min	02 / 10
Psychotherapy	90832	30 min	02 / 10
Psychotherapy	90834	45 min	02 / 10

Place of Service 02 and 10 are used for telepsychiatry services, depending on patient location and payer guidance.

• POS 02: Telehealth provided other than the patient’s home
  
• POS 10: Telehealth provided in the patient’s home
  

Using the correct POS helps maintain reimbursement parity with in-person visits. Always verify payer-specific rules, as requirements vary across Medicare and commercial plans.

Documentation Essentials

Notes need: “Psychiatric appointment conducted via secure HIPAA-compliant video. Patient located in Phoenix, Arizona. Informed consent for telepsychiatry documented.”

Clinical content stays identical. You’re adding telepsychiatry-specific elements auditors verify.

Common Billing Errors

Using POS 11 (office) instead of POS 02 (telehealth) triggers wrong payment or denials. Billing 90836 for 25-minute appointments when 90833 is correct creates audit risk. Missing required modifiers when payers require them causes auto-denials.

Technology Requirements

HIPAA compliance is mandatory. You need end-to-end encryption and signed business associate agreements. Never use consumer platforms like personal Zoom for patient care.

EHR integration prevents duplicate work. Appointments create automatically. Demographics transfer without retyping. Documentation happens in your existing system.

Prescription capability matters. Medication management appointments often require prescription adjustments during sessions.

Patient access simplicity determines adoption. Best platforms let patients click a link and join immediately. No account setup. No downloads.

Implementation Strategy

Phase 1: Verify medical licenses in states where you’ll provide telepsychiatry. Complete payer credentialing before launching.

Phase 2: Test three platforms. Select based on reliability and ease of use. Configure EHR integration.

Phase 3: Write protocols for patient eligibility, emergency response, technology failures, and consent processes.

Phase 4: Train staff on telepsychiatry workflows, billing requirements, and emergency scenarios.

Phase 5: Launch with 10-15 established patients. Start with stable patients doing quarterly medication management.

Phase 6: Expand gradually based on demand. Monitor no-show rates, patient satisfaction, and technical issues.

Scheduling Optimization

Block specific times for virtual appointments. Morning hours (7-9 AM) and evening hours (5-8 PM) work well for virtual-only sessions.

Virtual appointments need different buffer time. Sessions can stack with 5-10 minute buffers instead of 15-20 minutes. This means seeing 1-2 additional patients daily without extending hours. That’s $2,400 to $4,800 additional monthly revenue.

Common Challenges

Technology problems occur regularly. Internet drops. Software crashes. Maintain phone backup for all appointments.

Some patients struggle with video. They’re distracted by home environments or uncomfortable with format. Offer hybrid options.

Prescribing controlled substances has regulations. DEA rules for prescribing via telemedicine continue evolving. Understand current requirements.

Insurance coverage varies. While most payers cover telepsychiatry, coverage details differ. Verify before providing services.

Competitive Advantages

Telepsychiatry creates differentiation in competitive markets. Specialty practices grow differently than primary care.

Extended hours (7 AM or 8 PM) attract working patients. Geographic coverage of rural areas creates loyalty. Shorter wait times (weeks vs. months) provide significant advantage. Lower no-shows mean better treatment continuity.

Start This Quarter

Month 1: Research platforms. Verify licensing. Begin credentialing. Write protocols.

Month 2: Select platform. Configure EHR. Train staff. Test with patients.

Month 3: Launch with established patients. Gather feedback. Refine workflows. Expand gradually.

Start with medication management for stable patients. Learn from experience. Understanding which tools help specialty practices positions your practice for growth.

Expand Through Telepsychiatry

Telepsychiatry removes geographic barriers, improves attendance, creates schedule flexibility, and serves populations traditional models can’t reach effectively.

Start focused with specific patient types. Scale based on real results. The practices growing through telepsychiatry started small and expanded based on what worked.Need support with psychiatric billing for telehealth?MedLife MBS specializes in psychiatry billing services including telepsychiatry coding and credentialing.