Using the Client Portal


Videos

Please see our client portal tutorial videos here.


Configuring the client portal

Permissions: This feature requires administrator permissions. If you don't have permissions, please contact your account administrator regarding this feature.

You may turn on your client portal under Account Settings > Portal.

Turn on the client portal

When you first set up the client portal, you will be asked to enter a subdomain. The subdomain is a custom name you may give your client portal. As long as it isn't already taken, you may use whatever you'd like for your subdomain.


Features

The client portal has four main features:


Cancel Appointments

By enabling this, your clients can cancel upcoming appointments from the client portal. However, you can set guardrails around how close to a sessions they can cancel, or automatically marked as a late cancellation. Once you enable cancel appointments, a Cancellation Policy section will appear. Click the "..." to edit.

Next, you can specify:

  • How close to a session the cancellation will be considered a late cancellation. Your appointment will remain on your calendar but marked as a late cancellation, and any default late cancellation fee you set in your Billing Settings > Billing tab will be applied to the bill.
  • How close to a session to prevent clients from cancelling. This is helpful if you don't want your clients to be able to cancel within a certain number of hours before your session. If a client attempts to cancel within that window, there will be a prompt indicating they need to contact you directly to cancel.


Client Uploads

By enabling client uploads, you are allowing your client to share files with you through the client portal. Once logged in, your client will go the the Document & Forms tab and scroll down to the My Uploads section. They can then click Add to upload a new document.

My uploads

Note: Clients may also share files through Secure Messaging.

You can access any client uploaded forms by going to Clients > [Client Name]. In the right section of the client profile, scroll down to the Files area to view any files from your client in the Uploaded by the Client section.

Uploaded files

Secure Messaging

If you've chosen to enable secure messaging through the portal, you can communicate through your client portal, which is HIPAA compliant. To do this, simply click in the conversation icon in the upper right corner of the application and click on the edit icon. 

Secure messaging

If a client responds or messages you, secure message alerts will appear at the top of the screen on the chat bubble icon. 

Clients can only start a new conversation with their assigned practitioner. However, anyone on the account can initiate a conversation with a client, at which point the client can message them back.


Sharing Files

Files may also be shared through Secure Messaging by clicking on the paperclip icon.

Share a file

Online Payments

When Online Payments is turned on, clients may receive bills and superbills through the client portal. They may also make payments. Please see Online Bill Pay for more details.


Online Booking

Online booking allows both current and new clients to schedule appointments with you. You can choose the services, duration, your availability, and other settings. See Online Booking Using the Client Portal support article for more details.


Inviting a new client to the portal

There are two ways to invite a client to the client portal, which depends on if you're inviting a new client or an existing client that you may have imported from another EHR.

Note: We currently don't provide code to embed the portal within your web site. However, you may post a link directly on your website to your client portal. This is found at Account Settings > Portal.

After adding a new client's first name, last name, and email address, the setup wizard will ask if you would like to give your client access to the portal. You can decide what features to enable, information to collect, and forms and documents your client should complete or sign. 

To add a client to the client portal, within the Client > [Client Name ] > Details tab, select Start Setup.

You will confirm information on the first page and continue to the second page. From here, you can choose to grant your client access to the portal.

Portal access wizard

At this point, you can also select any consent or intake forms you'd like your client to complete as part of the onboarding process.


Inviting an Existing Client to the Portal

If you've imported your client details from another EHR, you will want to invite each of them to your new portal. You can do this in the  Clients > [Client Name] > Portal tab.

Redeliver an Invitation to the Client Portal

If your client needs a reminder to accept the invitation to the client portal or they cannot find their original invitation email, you can resend the invitation by going to the  Clients > [Client Name] > Portal tab and clicking on the "..." like you see below.

Redeliver the portal invitation

Putting it All Together

The client portal is essential for you to streamline your practice and save you valuable time. We recommend you invite all your clients to the client portal, and re-deliver the invite if needed. Not only will this help you, your clients will appreciate being able to see upcoming appointments, sign documents, fill out assessments, and more. To view your client's experience, view the Client View of the Client Portal video tutorial.

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Managing the client portal for minors


Contacts who have been given access to the minor's portal, may manage documents for the minor. When there are multiple contacts, such as in the case of divorced parents, each contact will only have visibility to documents they have submitted.

To give the parent access to the minor's portal, navigate to the Portal tab.

You may give a contact access to manage a minor's information through the client portal

You may toggle access for both the minor and any contacts from this tab. Toggling access to the client portal doesn't immediately send an invitation. You will be presented with a modal before sending the invitation. The modal for sending the portal invitation to the minor and/or contacts will allow you to determine access and select any consent and/or intake forms.

Once a contact has been invited to the portal, you may further manage the contact's permissions for the minor client.

Manage permissions for the contact
  • View Appointments will allow the contact to see upcoming appointments.
  • Manage information will allow the contact to manage the minor client's details from within the portal.
  • Manage Documentation will allow you to send additional forms and documents to the contact through the portal.

Client portal documents

Contacts will see any paperwork for the minor client in the client portal under the Documents and Forms tab

Contacts can fill out paperwork on behalf of the minor

Note: Contacts and clients can only see paperwork in the portal that was explicitly shared with them.

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Sharing forms documents using the client portal

Occasionally, there may be new forms or documents to share with your clients. Sharing a new form or document will notify your client by email that there's a new document to review.

We recommend sharing assessments, intake forms, and questionnaires by creating custom forms and sending those to your clients to fill out. This saves both you and your clients time. 

If you've created a new consent or intake form that you'd like to share with a client, go to  Clients > [Client Name] > Portal. In the Requested and Shared Documents section, click Manage Documentation. From there, you can check any new forms you'd like to share or uncheck any forms you'd like to un-share, then click Save. If any new forms are sent, you'll have the opportunity to customize your email message.  

Sharing a PDF Document or File Through the Client Portal

To share a PDF or other type of document, go to  Clients > [Client Name] > Portal. In the Requested and Shared Documents section, click Manage Documentation. Scroll to the bottom to find the Shared Document section. Click +Add and follow the instructions to upload an attachment. 

Share a document or PDF through the client portal

Click Continue and add a custom email message if you'd like. 

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Notifications

We send a notification when a client completes their on-boarding through the portal (which includes any initial intake paperwork they've been requested to fill out). Outside of that, we also notify via the daily digest email of any completed/signed treatment plan or assessment, and any client uploads.

We may add additional notifications in the future.

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FAQ

What does the subdomain mean when I'm setting up my client portal?

The subdomain is the part that you may customize. For example, you may enter the name of your clinic here. If your clinic is called My Clinic, for example, your portal address could be https://myclinic.sessionshealth.com/

How do I remove or delete a client portal access?

You may revoke access to a client's portal by going to Clients > [Client Name] > Portal. Click the '...' menu to revoke access.

Disable access

How do clients reset their password on the client portal?

1. Direct them to your client portal. You will find the link to your portal under Account Settings > Portal.

  1. They will click the link and arrive at your portal.
Landing page to the client portal
  1. They then need to click the Forgot Password link.
Forgot password

Are clients emailed when I send them a secure message?

If unread after 2 minutes, and a client has allowed emails to be sent in Communication Preferences, then an email will be sent notifying them that they have a secure message in the client portal.

Do you offer personal branding and logos in the client portal?

Your client portal will include your name, address, and ability to schedule appointments online if you choose to make that available. We currently do not have the option to include more customizations such as your logo, however, we intend to build in more flexibility for you to customize the portal later this year.

Why don't my clients nor I see a Billing tab in the client portal?

Please make sure you have View Shared Invoices and Manage Billing turned on under Account Settings > Portal and on the individual client's portal settings for your client.

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