An independent practice based on talk-therapy
“My time as a travel nurse practitioner has taught me a lot of very valuable lessons, which I’m putting to use as I open my new practice,” Dr. Felton says. “The clinic is called Brain and Body Connections. I’m specializing in depression and anxiety therapy, because that’s where I feel I can make the greatest difference. So many people are dealing with depression and anxiety, especially with the impact of Covid, and they need someone to talk with. I don’t like taking medications myself. So I don’t want to prescribe them to patients if talking will do the trick. In many cases, we can avoid medications entirely with a few sessions of talk therapy.”
A user-friendly integrated platform
It was the same person-to-person emphasis that led her to choose Kareo as the EHR for her new clinic. “I’ve used Kareo in the past and love everything about it. But the best thing is its customer service. If I ever have a problem with the software, I just pick up the phone and call Kareo. A real person answers the phone and helps me. They tell me what to do right then and there, without constantly chatting, texting, or otherwise wasting my time. It’s wonderful.”
She uses Kareo to run all aspects of her practice. “New patients go onto the Kareo portal and can set up their own appointments. I write up my notes in Kareo after each patient visit, and it’s stored safely in the cloud. Afterwards, I go into the medical section of Kareo and write any prescriptions that are necessary. Kareo sends the script directly to the pharmacy, which saves me about 15 minutes each time. Patients like ePrescriptions because they don’t have to carry around a piece of paper. They just call the pharmacy to see if their meds are ready and go pick them up.”
Remote counseling through telehealth
Dr. Felton says that telehealth is changing the face of mental health treatment. “I’m running a practice in Arizona right now while I’m servicing as a nurse practitioner in California, and it’s all possible because of telehealth,” she says. “On my off days in California, I just put on a nice blouse over my pajama bottoms and house shoes and start seeing patients. Nobody knows that I’m not there in Arizona or dressed professionally from head to toe. It has allowed me to take travel jobs while still running a thriving practice in another state, and save up money for opening the new practice in Texas.”
PatientPop for online presence
Dr. Felton is using PatientPop to market and create a solid reputation for her new clinic in Texas, which will open soon. “PatientPop is creating a website for us, complete with search engine optimization so new patients can find us. Patients will be able to schedule their own initial appointments from the website, which will save me a lot of time. It will be great to have the PatientPop capabilities fully integrated with our existing Kareo system.”
