FAQs – Providers

1. What is telepsychiatry

Telepsychiatry connects psychiatrists and other behavioral health providers with their patients via online video sessions. If you are a licensed psychiatrist in any state, you can see patients without leaving your office no matter where it is located. e-Psychiatry's telepsychiatry platform allows HIPAA-compliant video sessions from anywhere – all you need is a broadband internet connection, computer or laptop, and a webcam. This convenience expands your availability and outreach, making it easier to give your patients the most attentive care when and where they need it. Routine counseling and behavioral therapy are enhanced when patients can participate from the comfort of home. Telepsychiatry makes mental healthcare adaptable for both patients and physicians. With telepsychiatry, behavioral health providers can conduct face-to-face video sessions with patients who are homebound or disabled, incarcerated, living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, receiving inpatient care and living in an institution such as a substance abuse rehabilitation center.

2. Why should I join the e-Psychiatry network?

  • By offering convenient and effective online counseling, e-Psychiatry providers enjoy greater scheduling flexibility, reduce costly no-shows, reach new clients, and increase client satisfaction.
  • Unlike other generic video platforms that may be used for online counseling, e-Psychiatry is designed specifically for secure, HIPAA compliant therapy sessions.

  • Telepsychiatry allows for better management of chronic disease, fewer hospitalizations, reduced travel times and increased patient contacts. Telepsychiatry via e-Psychiatry is the perfect solution if your patients live in a rural area, can’t afford to take time off from work to commute to weekly office appointments, have limited financial resources, don’t have transportation, are unable to drive, are unable to leave their home, or are not allowed to drive due to medical, health, age or mental conditions.

    3. I am a licensed therapist. Am I eligible to join e-Psychiatry's provider network?

    Yes. We welcome you to join our panel if you are a licensed behavioral health professional. Then, if you carry a current behavioral health license in a state where e-Psychiatry's contracted client is operating, or a state in which the patient is located, we will invite you to accept the contracting position with the interested facility, employer or health plan, or accept treatment of the patient who has requested your services from our Site.

    4. Is e-Psychiatry available in my state?

    e-Psychiatry operates in all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.  

    5. I already use other video platforms (Skype, Facetime, etc.) with my patients. How is e-Psychiatry different?

    Unlike Skype or Facetime, e-Psychiatry's platform is specifically designed for secure, private, convenient sessions. Through e-Psychiatry.com, you and your patients can conduct video counseling sessions and exchange emails easily and securely.  

    We take personal health information and privacy seriously, which is why e-Psychiatry is 100% encrypted and HIPAA compliant. Using e-Psychiatry, you can be confident that you are adhering to the very best evidence-based practices and standards for online counseling.  

    6. How is my patient’s personal health information (PHI) protected?

    e-Psychiatry is a HIPAA compliant company and adheres to all HIPAA policies and regulations, including staff training and third-party auditing. In addition, e-Psychiatry's sessions are encrypted to ensure that you and your patients can exchange information securely through our website.  

    7. Will I be required to work a minimum number of hours per week for e-Psychiatry?

    As a provider in e-Psychiatry's network, you manage your own schedule and can conduct as many sessions on e-Psychiatry as you wish.  

    8. Can I e-prescribe medications to my clients through e-Psychiatry's platform?

    e-Psychiatry maintains a vendor relationship with one or more e-prescribing companies that are available through our telepsychiatry portal. You have the option of purchasing a license with an e-prescribing vendor if it is within the scope of your license.  

    9. What are e-Psychiatry's educational, licensing and registration requirements for practitioners?

    Physicians must be licensed as an MD or DO and have completed a residency in psychiatry. Psychiatrists must hold, or be eligible to hold, at least one unrestricted DEA registration certificate. While ABPN/AOBNP board certification in psychiatry/child and adolescent psychiatry is not always required by the organization with which we contract, it is preferred.   

    Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) must be licensed as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, or in select states, as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist. APRNs licensed as a family nurse practitioner will be considered as long as they are either (1) post-masters certified in psychiatry/mental health or (2) were a board certified RN in psychiatric-mental health nursing prior to becoming an APRN. APRNs must also be licensed to prescribe medication in the state(s) where they practice and must hold, or be eligible to hold, at least one unrestricted DEA registration certificate. APRNs specializing in working with children/adolescents must be post-masters certified in either pediatric or family psychiatry/mental health. While ANCC/PMHS board certification in psychiatry/mental health is not always required by the organization with which we contract, it is preferred. 

    10. Are the services provided through video-teleconferencing equipment or web-based applications really as good as those provided during traditional face to face visits?

    Research historically supports the premise that the most important predictor of client satisfaction is whether or not they feel that a positive rapport was developed with their provider. There is a growing body of empirical data which show that clients who received psychiatric services via video teleconferencing technology reported equal (and in some cases better) outcomes to clients receiving psychiatric services received via traditional face-to-face visits.  

    11. In what settings do e-Psychiatry practitioners practice?

    Telepsychiatry is utilized in many different settings including outpatient clinics, inpatient units, correctional facilities, residential programs, long term care facilities, Primary Care Physician group practices and mobile crisis teams. While we are always looking for options to expand our services, currently we serve primarily outpatient mental health centers and inpatient psychiatric units

    12. What type of patients will I see?

    e-Psychiatry contracts with a variety of organizations and facilities, that treat a full range of patients in a variety of insured populations (Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial) and uninsured populations. These organizations serve people seeking treatment for a wide variety of behavioral health concerns including serious mental illness, general mental health issues and substance use disorders.  

    13. Does e-Psychiatry provide practitioners with professional liability insurance?

    e-Psychiatry will provide the video teleconferencing software to use when providing services to organizations with which e-Psychiatry subcontracts. You are responsible for you the other items. In most cases, any standard PC or Mac, with a web camera and speaker will be sufficient to conduct telemedicine services.  

    14. What kind of equipment is required?

    e-Psychiatry will provide the video teleconferencing software to use when providing services to organizations with which e-Psychiatry subcontracts. You are responsible for you the other items. In most cases, any standard PC or Mac, with a web camera and speaker will be sufficient to conduct telemedicine services.  

    15. If I decide to work with e-Psychiatry, will I be an employee or an independent contractor?

    Most of the psychiatrists and APRNs working with us are independent contractors. Therefore e-Psychiatry withholds no taxes, and practitioners are responsible for paying their own state and federal taxes quarterly.  

    16. Besides a valid license, what will I need in order to get started in a new state?

    In most instances, you must apply for either a new (additional) or replacement (change of address) DEA certification. The DEA states practitioners must have a separate DEA registration for each state in which they will prescribe. Once e-Psychiatry has placed you with a provider agency, you will be given the clinic address to list as the practice address of your new/additional registration. Here is the link to the registration materials: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/index.html. Additionally, most states require practitioners to register for either a Controlled Substance Registration (CSR) number or as a participant in a state administered Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). e-Psychiatry staff will assist you with these processes when applicable.  

    17. While the majority of the United States observes Daylight Savings Time (DST), several states and territories do not. If I live where DST is observed but work where it is not, how will this affect my schedule when the time changes twice a year??

    Although there are exceptions, practitioners are expected to adjust their availability to fit the need of the organization at which they are placed. For example, if you start between April and November, live on the East Coast and work an 8 hour day at an Arizona clinic that opens at 8am, your start time would be 11am Eastern and you would end at 8pm Eastern. Once the time changes in November, your start time would be 10am Eastern and you would end at 7pm Eastern.  

    18. I travel overseas quite often, could I provide services via telepsychiatry while traveling?

    Per federal regulation, a practitioner must be located within the United States or a United States territory if providing services to a Medicare or Medicaid patient. Currently, approximately 95 percent of the organizations with which e-Psychiatry contracts serve this population.  

    20. How do I apply to join e-Psychiatry's provider panel?

    Joining the e-Psychiatry team is simple. Contact us either by telephone at (844) 4-ePsych/(844) 437-7924, or contact us at Contractor@e-Psychiatry.com.