SimplePractice · Foundational
SimplePractice AI Phone Answering
Katie answers every call to your SimplePractice practice while clinicians are in session, then hands staff a structured summary of each one.
The problem with a clinical hour
Therapy is booked in back-to-back clinical hours. A solo clinician cannot pick up mid-session, and in a group practice the person who answers phones is often also checking clients in, sending intake documents and posting payments. Across healthcare, practices miss about 30 to 50 percent of calls, and a behavioral health practice loses more than most from each one, because a caller who finally worked up the nerve to ask for help may simply try the next name on the list.
MedReception AI closes that gap without asking anyone to leave the room. Katie picks up immediately, at any hour, including when every line is already in use.
What a caller experiences
Katie greets the caller with your practice name and asks what they need. A prospective client looking for help with anxiety, an existing client who needs to move Thursday's session, a parent asking whether you see teenagers, a pharmacy with a question for your psychiatric nurse practitioner: each one gets a calm, unhurried conversation instead of a full mailbox.
She asks the questions your practice chose for that type of call, confirms the best number to reach them, and tells them what happens next in the words you approved. Callers are not pushed through a menu tree, and nobody is told to call back during business hours.
The record your team works from
Every conversation ends in a structured summary that says who called, why, what they need, and how urgent it is. Your intake coordinator or office manager reads it, acts on it in SimplePractice, and moves on, without replaying a recording or deciphering a hurried note. MedReception AI is live with practices on SimplePractice today, and when a caller wants a session, Katie books it straight into SimplePractice before the call ends.
- Caller name, callback number and whether they are a new or existing client
- The reason for the call, in plain language
- The specific request: a new appointment, a change, a form, a bill, a message for a clinician
- Urgency, marked according to the escalation rules you set
Lines Katie does not cross
Katie is a receptionist. She does not offer counseling, assess risk, give medical advice or make clinical decisions, and she never approves or changes a prescription. When a caller raises something clinical, it goes to clinical staff. When a caller describes a safety concern, Katie follows the escalation rules your clinicians wrote, and while the office is open she can transfer the call to the staff member you designate.
From signup to a live line
Typical setup runs about one week. The SimplePractice connection usually takes one to three days; registering your number for client text messages takes about five days and is what sets the overall timeline. HIPAA compliance is verified by Compliancy Group, and a Business Associate Agreement is included with every account.
Frequently asked questions
- I am a solo therapist with no front desk. Is this still a fit?
- Yes. For a solo clinician, Katie effectively becomes the front desk. You read summaries between sessions and decide which callers to return first, instead of checking voicemail on your personal phone at night.
- Does Katie replace our intake coordinator in a group practice?
- No. She handles the answering and the first round of questions so your coordinator spends time matching clients and following up, not taking down phone numbers. While the office is open, calls you mark for a person can still be transferred to them.
- What happens when a caller is in crisis?
- Katie follows the crisis protocol your clinicians define and marks the summary urgent. She does not counsel or assess the caller. You decide who receives transfers during office hours and what she tells callers after hours.
- Is MedReception AI HIPAA compliant?
- Its HIPAA compliance is verified by Compliancy Group, and a Business Associate Agreement comes with the service, which matters when nearly every therapy call involves protected health information.
Ready to implement this for your SimplePractice practice?
Book a demo and we'll run your own calls through Katie: new client inquiries, sessions booked straight into SimplePractice, billing questions and the crisis escalation rules your clinicians set. You'll see the booking and the summary your staff receive after each call.