SimplePractice · Revenue
SimplePractice Employer and EAP Calls
Katie identifies EAP and employer-sponsored callers, captures their authorization details, and keeps them apart from regular therapy scheduling.
Why EAP calls need their own lane
Employee assistance program referrals look like ordinary new client calls, but they work differently. The EAP usually authorizes a limited number of sessions in advance, issues an authorization or case number, and has its own forms and billing rules. Some EAPs refer to specific clinicians who are credentialed with them. When an EAP caller is booked as a regular insurance client, the result is a claim sent to the wrong place, sessions that were never authorized, or a client who receives an unexpected bill.
Identifying the EAP call on the first conversation prevents most of that.
EAP referrals can also be time-sensitive. An authorization may expire if the first session does not happen soon enough, and a client referred after a workplace crisis may need to be seen quickly. A referral that sits in voicemail for two days is a poor start on both counts.
What Katie records
When a caller mentions an EAP, an employer benefit, or a referral from their HR department, Katie switches to the questions your practice set for those calls:
- The EAP or benefit company name and the employer
- Authorization or case number, if the caller has one
- Number of sessions authorized and any expiry date, as the caller understands it
- Whether the EAP referred them to a specific clinician
- Best contact details and any privacy preference about how to reach them
Before the authorization exists
Some callers have not contacted their EAP yet; they have only heard that their employer offers counseling. Your practice decides what they should hear. Often it is a simple instruction to call the EAP first for an authorization, along with an offer to schedule once they have it. Katie records the call either way, so staff can follow up if the caller wants to proceed privately instead.
Privacy worries about the employer
EAP callers often ask, sometimes nervously, whether their boss will find out. Give Katie your approved privacy wording and she repeats it accurately. She does not improvise legal reassurances. More detailed questions go to your staff, who can explain your policies and the EAP's own rules.
When EAP sessions run out
Clients who want to continue after their EAP sessions end need to switch to insurance or private pay. Those calls come in near the end of the authorization and are easy to mishandle. Katie captures the request and the new payment details, and staff update the client's billing setup in SimplePractice. MedReception AI is live with practices on SimplePractice, so the transition is handled in the same place as the rest of the client's record.
Frequently asked questions
- Can Katie confirm an EAP authorization?
- No. She records the number the caller gives. Staff confirm it with the EAP before the first session.
- Can EAP clients see any of our clinicians?
- That depends on which clinicians are credentialed with each EAP. Give Katie that rule and she routes the request accordingly; staff make the final match.
- Will the caller's employer be told anything?
- Katie repeats the privacy wording you approve. She never contacts employers, and your staff handle any detailed questions.
- What about employer benefits that are not a traditional EAP?
- Some employers fund counseling through a benefits vendor or a direct arrangement with your practice. Tell Katie how to recognize each one and what to ask, and she captures those callers separately so they are not mistaken for regular insurance clients.
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.