There is no right or wrong way to get started in PSYBooks. However, the following list may help you get up and running in the least amount of time:

• Get Oriented

  • Layout and Orientation Terminology

    PSYBooks is divided into 5 main sections listed in the blue bar at the top of each page: Charts, Tools, Libraries, Calendar and Portal. If you hover over any of these main items, you'll see its sub-sections. For example, hovering over Charts displays Active and Archived.

    We often use breadcrumb syntax to describe where something is. For example, we might say that something is on the "Charts > Active" page or the "Charts > Archived" page.

    A client's chart is accessed by clicking their name on the table on either the "Charts > Active" page or the "Charts > Archived" page. Once you're inside a chart, you'll notice several tabs across the top: Demographics, Family, Insurance, Sessions & Payments, etc. Syntax for finding something in a client's chart is: "Charts > Active > Client Chart > (Tab Name)". Sometimes we might shorten it to just the word Chart (or Client Chart) and the tab name, e.g., "Chart > Notes".

  • Tools

    The word "tools" in PSYBooks is both the name of an entire section of the app, and, in a more general sense, the name of anything that might be used to accomplish a task. These general tools don't all look alike. For example, the four images below are all tools in PSYBooks. Notice that in some cases a tool is just a link (e.g., "Add Client Medication").

    

    Tools for each main section are on the left. For example, tools on the Active Charts page are Add Session, Add Payments & Allocations, etc. Continuing the syntax described above, we might describe the Add Session tool as being at: Charts > Active > Add Session. Sometimes additional tools are found at the top of a page, especially in the client chart areas. The syntax for finding them is the same. For example, the tool for adding a client's insurance company is at: Chart > Insurance > Add Client Insurance. Once there, you would click on the Insurance tab and the Add Client Insurance tool would be on that page.

  • Getting Help

    This Manual is extensive and is the best way to get additional help with PSYBooks. Each table or tool in the program is described in detail in the Manual and there are numerous screenshots to help orient you. The Help section (last item on the global nav) also has a Contact Us tab which has a set of FAQs and a way to email us if you need additional help.

• Setting up Group/Clinic Accounts

  • Setting up Group/Clinic Accounts

    PSYBooks is in the process of developing a full set of tools for Group and Clinic practices that will allow maximum flexibility and customization for your practice, while at the same time, maintaining ease of use for practice owners, employees and admins. The description that follows describes features that are available as of May 15, 2024, as well as giving glimpses into what's coming.

    PSYBooks has an entire dashboard dedicated to owners of Group Practices. A full description of that dashboard is found in this section of the Manual: Libraries > Therapist > Group/Clinic Tools.

• Setting up Group of Individuals (GOI) Accounts

  The General Process

  The first step in setting up a GOI (Groups of Individuals) account in PSYBooks is for one therapist in the office to create a new GOI subscription at PSYBooks. The therapist can do it themselves, or an admin can do it on behalf of the therapist, but the initial account will need to be in one of the therapists' names. After this, others in the office are added to that initial account to form the group. By doing it this way, PSYBooks knows all the accounts are linked and can apply the appropriate discounts. You'll be prompted to add others in your group once you've signed in to your new account, but you can also do this with the Manage Users & Subscribers tool at any time.

  The most important thing to understand about GOI accounts is the difference between "Users" and "Subscribers". Subscribers have paid accounts (i.e., they "subscribe") whereas User accounts are free. In general, Subscribers are the therapists in the office and each will need a separate PSYBooks account. Users, on the other hand, do NOT have paid PSYBooks accounts, but rather, are added to one or more Subscriber accounts so they can "use" all or certain portions of that account for tasks such as billing, scheduling, exchanging encrypted email, etc. To qualify for the GOI discount, Subscribers must all practice at the same office. Users can be anywhere; they are not required to be on premises with the therapists. Users are often admins, but there are other uses for User accounts as well.

  Interns and Supervisees: Users or Subscribers?

  If an intern or supervisee has their own clients for whom they do their own billing, they will need to have their own separate Subscriber account. However, if the intern's clients actually belong to the supervisor and the supervisor does the billing, the intern may be able to sign up as a User of that Subscriber and thus have a free account. In both cases, the supervisor can be given full access to the supervisee's account, to enable them to sign off on notes or anything else they may need to do in the supervisee's account.

  When making the decision about how to designate supervisees, notice that in GOI accounts, client records cannot be transferred from one account to another. (This will be a feature in our new Group/Clinic accounts.) For this reason, in situations where an intern in a GOI account may start out working under their supervisor but eventually want to move to their own account, they may want to set up a Subscriber account from the outset. Otherwise, they will have to create all new records for their clients when they move from being a User on their supervisor's account to having their own account. Their old client records will not be able to be transferred to their new account.

  Let's Get Started

  PSYBooks is designed to have maximum flexibility so there's more than one way to set up a GOI practice. However, here's one possible checklist you can use:

  • Create the Initial Account
  • Add the Other Subscribers
  • Add Users
  • Set Up Calendar Sharing
  • Wrapping Up

  Create the Initial Account

  The first PSYBooks GOI account that is created becomes the "Master Clinical" account. The Master Clinical account is the only one that can add other subscribers. Although the Master Clinical permission level can eventually be transferred to any other subscriber in the practice, when you're getting things set up, it will be easiest if the initial subscriber is someone who's willing to participate in the setup. The initial setup can be done by the therapist with the Master Clinical account, or, in practices with one or more admin staff, it's also possible for an admin to assume this role.

  Having an Admin Set Up the Accounts

  An admin can set up the entire practice and then notify the therapists when they can start using it. In this case, the admin would subscribe for the initial account holder, then add all the other subscribers and users - including adding themselves as a User - from that initial account. During the setup process, the admin may need to create usernames and passwords for one or more of the subscribers. However, once the admin has created his or her own User account, the subscribers should change their passwords and the admin should only sign in with their User account from that point forward. The User account will allow the admin to toggle back and forth between subscriber accounts to carry out their duties, which is much easier than having to sign in to each account separately. Also, when the admin(s) use their own User accounts instead of just signing in with the subscribers' usernames and passwords, PSYBooks can track what is being done in each subscriber's account and by whom as required by HIPAA.

  Add the Other Subscribers

  To begin adding other subscribers, the Master Clinical subscriber or their admin should click the "My Profile" link at the top of any page. This takes you to the Therapists page in the Libraries. On the left nav of this page is a tool called Manage Users & Subscribers which will allow you to add everyone else in your office:

  

  You can read details about adding subscribers in the Libraries section of the Manual: Add New Subscriber

  Add Users

  Unlike the ability to add subscribers, ALL subscribers can add Users. It may make sense to add those Users that will be shared by all therapists in the practice from the Master Clinical account. However, Users can be added from any subscriber's account.

  There are several things to know about Users in GOI accounts:

  • Users may be shared by any combination of therapists in the practice. For example, all therapists would most likely need access to all front office staff and other Admin Users, but therapists Jane Smith and Bob Jones may share an accountant that no one else in the practice needs to access.
  • Users can be given different permission levels and work with different clients. For example, Jane Smith may have a practicuum student, Gerta, who sees one or two of Jane's clients from time to time. If Jane does all of Gerta's billing, she may be able to add Gerta as a User and only give her access to the clients she actually sees.
  • When a User has been "shared" with two or more subscribers, the User will be able to toggle back and forth between subscriber accounts from their own account, making it easier to do their work. However, a subscriber must have "accepted" the User before the User will be able to access their account. If you have a User account and are not able to toggle to all subscribers in the practice, it means that those subscribers have not yet "accepted" your User invite.

  You can read details about adding Users in the Libraries section of the Manual: Add New User

  Set Up Calendar Sharing

  Calendar sharing is a permission that each subscriber has to grant. There's no "central switch" that can be thrown to enable all Subscribers' calendars to be shared, because individual therapists may want to choose their own calendar settings. A User who is shared with all therapists will automatically be able to see each therapist's calendar by toggling back and forth between accounts. However, if the User wants to be able to see all (or some) therapists' schedules on a single page so they don't have to toggle, those therapists will have to have specifically shared their calendars with one another.

  The tool to allow calendar sharing is part of the General Settings tool, which is found on the left nav of the Calendar page. The mockup below is of the General Settings tool in Stef Smith's account:

  

  At the bottom of the Calendar Settings window is a section called "Sharing". Once the Sharing section is opened, we can see that this example is a 3-person practice consisting of therapists Stef Smith (the account we're viewing), Jean Harsch and Gus Kaufman. Stef only wants Jean to be able to access her calendar, so she checked Jean's name and gave her the permissions she wanted her to have (i.e., view, add and edit - or just view). Then she clicked "Save".

  The screenshot below is of Jean's account, after Stef shared her calendar with her:

  

  Notice that Stef's calendar is now shared on Jean's page. (The part in the orange box wouldn't be there had Stef not shared her calendar with Jean.) You can click Stef's address (1700 Neuse Blvd) and toggle to Stef's calendar from Jean's account. Another option is that Jean could check the "View all calendars on one page" checkbox and be able to see both her and Stef's calendars on the same page.

  Notice that so far, Stef is the only one who has shared her calendar - and she only shared with Jean. This means that although Jean can see her appointments, Stef can't see Jean's. If either or both of the other subscribers wants to share their calendars, they'd have to go through the same process from their own accounts. In other words, each therapist gets to choose whether they share their calendar and with whom. You can customize it to fit the needs of your specific practice.

  Wrapping Up

  At this point, the practice as a whole is set up and is ready for each subscriber to begin setting up their own accounts by adding clients, populating libraries, etc. More information on these individual subscriber tasks is below. Admins can also complete these tasks for the subscribers although at this point, Admins should be signing in with their own User accounts instead of using a subscriber's username and password.

• Add Clients/Patients

  There are several ways to add clients in PSYBooks, depending on your personal preferences. Probably the easiest way, and the one we recommend, is to start by sending the new client an invitation to create a Portal User account. There's a box on that form you can check to include a Profile Form, which means the new client can then fill out their own PSYBooks chart. Once they've created a Portal Account, you can send them the rest of the forms you need them to have, requesting eSignatures on the ones that need it. You only need their name and email address to send them a Portal User invitation, they do their own data entry work, and your forms can be sent securely.

  Adding a new client chart is easy because the only required fields are first and last name and birthday: How to add a client.

  Completing that step will create the Demographics page in the chart which is the only essential thing you have to do unless you're filing insurance for the client. (Filing insurance just requires a few extra clicks: Add insurance information.)

  Once the chart has been created, you'll see that it's is broken down into several sections displayed as tabs across the top: Demographics, Family, Insurance, Sessions & Payments, Medication, Contacts, Files and Notes.

  The Sessions & Payments and Notes sections both get populated automatically as you work in the program. For example, each time you add a session for a specific client, it will be displayed in their Sessions & Payments tab. Once you've added a session, anything pertaining to that session (such as client payments and adjustments, claims sent to insurance companies, insurance payments and client statements) are displayed beneath that session in the Sessions & Payments tab. Similarly, anytime you add a note that pertains to a specific client – no matter where you are in the program – that note will be displayed in their Notes tab. The remaining sections of the chart (Family, Medication, Contacts and Files) are available for you if you want to use them.

  The Files tab allows you to upload digital documents and know that they are being transmitted and stored in a way that meets HIPAA/HITECH standards. You might, for example, want to store copies of a client's intake forms, insurance cards, EOBs, testing reports – any files that your own practice needs.

  Once you have added your clients, you're ready to add calendar appointments, sessions, payments or whatever else you need. Basically, you're all set! Add appointments Add sessions Add payments

• Populate Your Libraries

  Bullet Point To-Dos

  • Go to Libraries > Diagnoses and enter the diagnoses you use most often.
  • Do the same with Libraries > Procedure Codes, Libraries > Insurance Companies and Libraries > Medications. (Some libraries already have the most common items entered so you may not have much to do.)
  • Go to Libraries > Therapists and check out your profile (by clicking your name in the table) to make sure everything is correct. Also take a look at the Settings & Preferences tool and the Manage Subscription tool, just to familiarize yourself with what's there.

  More Info

  Libraries are where PSYBooks stores information it uses elsewhere. For example, many therapists use diagnoses and/or procedure codes when they add a session for a client. Those values can be entered right on the Add Session form, but if they are already in your Libraries, they will appear in the appropriate dropdown list on the Add Session form so that all you have to do is select them.

  There are six libraries in PSYBooks: Diagnoses, Procedure Codes, Insurance, Medications, Contacts and Therapists. The first five hold information you may need in working with clients. The last library – Therapists – holds your profile, settings and subscription information. The Therapists library is also the place to add additional Users or Subscribers to your account.

  The Diagnoses and Procedure Codes libraries hold the current lists of these items. For example, the Diagnoses library has complete lists of both the ICD and the DSM codes that are currently in use. Similarly, the Procedure Codes library has a list of the current CPT codes that are most commonly used by mental health professionals. And when they change? You don't have to do a thing. PSYBooks will install the new list for you in plenty of time for you to use it on the required date.

  More info

• Sign up for Credit Card Processing

  Before you can accept credit card payments through PSYBooks, you'll have to create an account in Stripe, our payment processing company. It does not cost anything to sign up with Stripe; you pay nothing unless you use it. The per charge fee is automatically deducted from the amount deposited directly to your bank account.

  There are two things it may be helpful to know before you begin the sign-up process:

  • You have to have a web address

    Stripe's financial partners require them to perform some type of verification to help ensure 1) that you are who you say you are and 2) that your clients have a way to get in touch with you in case they have issues or questions about charges you make on their behalf. If you have a website for your practice, use that. If not, you can use some of the automated listings most medical professionals find themselves on such as Yelp, ZocDoc, Healthgrades, Yellowpages, Superpages, etc. If you're not sure where you're listed, try Googling yourself and use one of the URLs that has accurate information on you as your web address.

  • Receiving payments from HSA, HRA and FSA accounts

    Banks have certain guidelines and restrictions they must follow before allowing merchants to process cards from HSAs (Health Spending Accounts), HRAs (Health Reimbursement Accounts) and FSAs (Flexible Spending Accounts). Unfortunately, neither PSYBooks nor Stripe has any control over whether the issuing companies will allow you to process these types of cards.

    The best way to ensure success is to provide a brief, one or two sentence narrative of the services you provide as a healthcare professional on the Stripe sign-up form. This will allow the issuing companies to better determine whether your services fall within HSA and FSA rules and guidelines.

  You can create a Stripe account in one of two ways:

  • Manage Subscription tool at Libraries > Therapists

    If you go to the Therapists tab in your Libraries and click the Manage Subscription tool on the left, you'll see a form like this:

    

    In the Add/Remove Feature section, if you click on the More info link beside Credit Card Processing, it will open to this:

    

    Clicking the blue Connect to Stripe button will take you to the Stripe site to create your account and bring you back to PSYBooks when you've finished.

  • Add Client Payment Tool

    You can also create your Stripe account right from the Add Client Payment Tool (Charts > Active > Add Payments & Allocations > Client) by changing the Method select box to Credit Card. That produces a section like this that also has the Connect to Stripe button:

    

• Get Ready to Efile and Receive ERAs

  The first step to begin efiling in PSYBooks is to determine which of three previous efile categories you fall into. Answer in terms of what's been done on your behalf, i.e., you might have efiled yourself or an office manager or billing person might have done it for you. The categories are:

  1. You've never efiled.
  2. You've efiled with another program that did not use Office Ally as the clearinghouse.
  3. You've efiled with another program that DID use Office Ally as the clearinghouse.

  Once you've determined your category, instructions for what to do are below:

  Category #1 Users (Never Efiled):

  1. You'll need to fill out some forms, but before you do, it will be helpful to understand these terms:
     • Payer: For our purposes, "Payer" means the insurance company.
     • EDI: Electronic Data Interchange, i.e., the ability to efile.
     • EFT: Electronic Funds Transfer, i.e., asking the insurance company to deposit your payments directly into your bank.
     • ERA: Electronic Remittance Advice, i.e., the electronic form of EOBs. Signing up for these will save you a considerable amount of data entry time (and possibly even some gnashing of teeth.)
  2. Now that you're familiar with the terms, check Office Ally's Payer EDI Enrollment Forms to see if the insurance companies you intend to use require pre-enrollment. Some do, others don't. If one or more of your companies is listed, fill out the supplied form(s) and follow the directions on that form for how to submit. Notice that each insurance company that requires pre-enrollment has its own form, so you'll have to fill out a form for each company you intend to use.
     • If there's a checkbox on the form asking if you want to receive ERAs, check that. (Although not essential, most users will want to do this.)
     • If there's no ERA checkbox on the form and you'd like to receive ERAs, you'll need to apply for ERAs separately. ERA enrollment forms can be found at the following link, listed by insurance company: Payer ERA Enrollment Forms. Again, there's no one-size-fits-all, so you'll have to fill out an ERA enrollment form for each company from whom you want to receive ERAs that did NOT have an ERA checkbox on the EDI Enrollment Form. Notice that much of this form has already been filled out for you with Office Ally's information. Don't change any of the pre-filled information. This will ensure that your ERAs are delivered back to your PSYBooks account.
  3. Once you receive notification that you've been accepted for efiling, you will most likely need to contact OA and tell them. This information, along with specific instructions on how to do this, should be on the initial EDI and/or ERA form you filled out above.
  4. If your insurance company does NOT appear in Office Ally's Payer EDI Enrollment Forms mentioned in step #2, it means that your insurance company does not require pre-enrollment, so you can skip that step. However, you will still probably want to sign up for ERAs by filling out and submitting your insurance companies' enrollment forms from this list: Payer ERA Enrollment Forms. As mentioned above, don't change any of the pre-filled information. Office Ally has added these parts to ensure that your ERAs are delivered back to your PSYBooks account.

  Category #2 Users (Efiled, But Not With Office Ally):

  This category of user will need to go through all the same steps needed for Category #1 Users. However, all you're doing here is essentially telling the insurance companies that you'll be using a different clearinghouse. If you kept copies of the forms you used when you signed up with your previous clearinghouse, you may be able to copy the same info on the Office Ally forms.

  Category #3 Users (Efiled With Office Ally):

  If you've been efiling and receiving ERAs through Office Ally, you're good to go with PSYBooks. Just begin efiling - either with the Add Session tool on your Calendar (the couch icon) or with the Add Session tool on your Charts page. Claims will be efiled and your ERAs will be returned to the PSYBooks app.