Today, schools and educators are facing myriad challenges daily, one of which is finding the best related service providers for their students. With several choices available today, including E-Therapy and other teletherapy providers, it is important to review your options carefully to be sure you find the best fit for your school’s needs and requirements.
Key points when choosing a teletherapy provider
Teletherapy provider’s level of experience and expertise
The first question to ask is about the provider’s level of experience and their therapy expertise.Operating and running a service based, people-centered teletherapy business through an online, real-time, delivery model, provides for unique experiences with awesome challenges and wins. In our twleve years in the teletherapy space, we have jumped over many hurdles and learned amazing lessons that make E-Therapy the company it is today. Our company was founded by an actual working speech therapist, Diana Parafiniuk, who needed a solution but couldn’t find one. It is this seasoned experience and expertise makes the difference.When considering what you look for in an online services provider, there are no shortcuts in reaching students and shaping the lives of school age children. We pride ourselves in our personal approach and long-term experience. We encourage those seeking a provider to find the partner that not only can offer the right tools, therapists, and technology, but also, one that has an abundance of experience in delivery.
Caseload requirements and cost for teletherapy services
The second question to ask your potential teletherapy provider, is, “Does the online therapy company have a minimum caseload requirement and what are the actual charges of service you are paying for?”Many teletherapy providers today require a minimum caseload before agreeing to contract with the school. While we understand the business reason for doing this, the team at E-Therapy never requires a minimum caseload. We believe in reaching every student, whether it’s one or one hundred. Each student matters. We offer our new schools a pilot program of any enrollment size, so that we can demonstrate the benefits of our services, while simultaneously addressing your immediate online therapy needs. Also, it is important to ask about billing transparency of specific charges upfront. Be sure to have the provider clarify what you will be billed for exactly and what the terms are and how detailed the invoice will be. Ask for a sample report (or a sample invoice) to ensure all your services and budgeting needs will be accurately billed.
Real-time service and therapy session tracking
Third, does the teletherapy provider have the ability to provide real-time service and session tracking for your school?Be sure your provider has a system or platform where real-time session tracking is easily accessible to you and your staff. In a busy administrator’s day, there is no time for hunting and pecking for information. You should not have to search for updates through emails online or have to “wait on hold” to speak to someone to get simple, easy, student session information. The E-Therapy STAR Platform has everything an exceptional educator/administrator needs at their fingertips, with a click of a button.
Support and training for your therapists and staff
Finally, what does the teletherapy provider offer to address school/teacher access and customer service? In other words, is the provider working for you or are YOU having to comply with the provider’s needs?Access to a dedicated account manager and your immediate school service needs are mission critical. Ask who will be your point person and will they be a dedicated support for your school’s teachers and aides. Ask about what technology your school will need to use. At E-Therapy, we use our proprietary teletherapy platform and get consistently great feedback on how easy it is to integrate and use. All our administrators, educators, and students are up and running in no time with a desktop/laptop, a webcam, and a headset. The E-Therapy platform does the rest, taking all of the heavy lifting out of the way. E-Therapy includes a fully transparent real time billing system as well as mandatory IEP Compliance reporting features. We want educators to focus on educating and not hunting down reports or being IT managers!
Contact E-Therapy to talk about your needs
These are a few key points to keep top of mind. If you would like to set up a time to talk about your school’s needs, we are happy to keep the conversation going! Contact Kelly, E-Therapy’s National Sales Manager. If you prefer talking, then call 1-800-330-0093.
We can help you find the resources you need – as soon as you need!
