Jun 22, 2018
In this episode of the Practice of Therapy Podcast, Gordon does a “reverse interview” with Joe Sanok about why using G-Suite in your private practice might be a good idea. The original interview was first released as Episode 309 of the Practice of the Practice podcast with Joe Sanok. Gordon and Joe talk about why they started using G-Suite and some of the hacks and tips therapists and counselors can use in their practices to work more efficiently and make it HIPAA compliant.
Joe is no stranger to the Practice of Therapy. Joe is the person behind the Practice Of The Practice Podcast which is the #1 podcast for counselors and therapists learning about private practice and what to do to grow and scale. It is one of the top resources out there in this private practice building space. Joe has been a previous guest on the Practice of Therapy Podcast, Episode 011, How To Level Up And Grow Your Private Practice.
Joe, his wife Christina and their two daughters live in Traverse City, MI where Joe owns Mental Wellness Counseling, a private group practice. Joe is nationally known and has been a guest on numerous podcasts and most recently a TEDx talk in Traverse City. Joe a true entrepreneur with big heart and genuineness for helping people.
Google G-Suite is the set of applications and tools that comes with every Google account. Most of the tools, like GMail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Sheets are familiar to most. But the big game changer for most clinicians is being able to use the paid version of G-Suite in order to make it HIPAA secure. In particular, by using the paid version of G-Suite, you can get the BAA (business associate agreement) from Google which is a HIPAA requirement.
One of the big game changers in using G-Suite, is that it allows you to use your own domain name for your email. So for example, if you can have you email address be @yourdomainname.com vs. @gmail.com or yahoo.com, etc. Also, when using the paid version of G-Suite, you get the functionality of GMail that is HIPAA secure.
Another, “selling point” of the tools of G-Suite, is that you can customize them and make use of templates to streamline repeated tasks. For example, using the “canned responses” feature of GMail for those emails that you respond to repeatedly; like requests for information, etc.
You can also use the tools of G-Suite to automate a lot of administrative functions. For example, setting up a Google Form that can be embedded on your website for people to request services or do intakes.
Another automated task is to set up a Google Calendar to use for people to self-schedule appointments using the appointments feature that is built in. The calendar then can be embedded on your website.
Because G-Suite is so adaptable and cost-effective, it’s a great choice for counselors and therapists during those “bootstrapping” phases of private practice growth. The applications and tools have pretty much everything you need to do all of your administrative functions.
Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog.He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Play. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn and Pinterest “Like” us on Facebook.