Busy mental health professionals are always looking for ways to get organized. With the sheer volume of notes and records that need to be written in a timely manner, practitioners can easily feel overwhelmed. Specialized business software like Note Designer can help psychologists, counselors, psychiatrists, and other psychotherapists compile, organize, and write their notes and other important documents related to patient care. Indeed, staying organized is an important part of clinician self-care in a field with such significant responsibilities and demands.
When professionals get organized, they have more time to spend on other important aspects of the job, like interfacing with a patient’s medical doctor, and other complementary health care providers, as well as spending more time on direct patient care. Here are some tips on organization from Note Designer.
1. Avoid Over-Scheduling
It may be tempting to pack as many patient hours into your day as possible, but it makes much more sense, and is better for your patients and yourself, to take a portion of your workday for getting organized. When you think through your daily schedule be sure to include such self-care techniques as taking your lunch break, walking and taking time to exercise between sessions. You will find that you are calmer and have a better handle on your caseload, patient care, and on your practice as a whole.
2. Help Patients Complete Forms Ahead of Time
For clinicians who use intake forms and/or screening questionnaires this can be onerous for both patient and clinician alike. It is helpful to mail or email your forms directly to your clients ahead of time, encouraging them to bring them to the initial appointment. If your office has the technical capability, have a method of filling out forms online through a secure website.
3. Go Over Forms in Person
The initial intake appointment can be a good time to review these forms and to use these questions as an integral part of your interview and to build rapport. You can make any necessary additions to these forms during the intake appointment. Sometimes patients are not forthcoming on paper about certain issues such as substance abuse and trauma. These verbal notes can be integrated into your patient’s record using note taking software like Note Designer.
4. Start Using Electronic Health Records
If your practice does not already use electronic health records, it is an excellent idea to begin doing so. Electronic health records can integrate notes, connections with primary care providers, medications, and other points of data. Being able to put notes directly in the health record makes it easier to stay organized and to ensure that your notes are stored securely.
5. Use a Tailor-Made Software Solution
Software solutions are tailor-made for the busy mental health care professional. With dedicated mental health software, clinicians can build notes using a system of keywords and phrases. This greatly speeds up the process of note transcription and saves more time for other important tasks. These notes can be stored on their own through the program or copied and pasted into word processing programs or electronic health records.
6. Stay on Top of Your Documentation
No matter what method you use to document your patient care – it is crucial to stay on top of this aspect of your work. A busy schedule makes It is all too easy to fall behind in record keeping. After even a few days, the work piles up quickly and turns this important aspect of the work into a stressful burden. One helpful technique is to set aside a dedicated time to do your notes – whether it’s directly after a session or at the end of the day – find a method that works for you and then stick to it.
Organization Helps Patients
Taking time to organize your practice is helpful not only to you but also to your patients. When not overwhelmed with patient hours and when notes are properly dealt with you will be less stressed. In turn, your patients will feel that you are more emotionally available and responsive to their needs. Being able to reflect on well documented sessions and the impact of your prior interventions will also help benefit the ongoing treatment and possibly avoid therapeutic impasses. In short, an organized and structured practice is an important backdrop of a therapist’s skill at containing and receiving the emotional needs of their patients. You owe it to your patients and to yourself.
