Growing Your Practice
There are several ways you can grow your practice with Alma. Alma’s online directory allows clients who are seeking care to filter their search by a number of preferences to find a great fit. These preferences include:
- Service type (Individual therapy, couples therapy, medication management, etc.),
- Location - so they are only seeing providers licensed in their state,
- Preferred insurance or payment method, and
- Other preferences like provider identity, specialties, language, and therapeutic style
Providers are also able to set and display their consultation availability on their Alma profile and in the directory for potential clients to self-schedule. Prospective clients are 33% more likely to book their first appointment with providers who offer consultation availability, as this allows the prospective client to book a consultation at a specific time and date, directly from the provider's profile. We have also found that clients who self-schedule consultations are about 10% more likely to be accepted into a provider's practice post-consultation.
Your Alma profile is a great way to grow your practice through the platform, and by keeping your profile filters up to date, you can ensure that:
- You are showcasing the most accurate information about you and your practice to prospective clients and
- Clients who are a fit for your practice are able to find you through the directory based on their preferences.
Receiving Client Referrals
While you may receive emails from our Client Matching Team, any emails you receive from the team are specifically for clients who've been referred to Alma through various partnerships. As such, we recommend that clients use the Alma directory to prioritize their preferences to find a great fit.
Additionally, if you have a client that you’d like to refer out to the Alma community, you are welcome to complete this form on behalf of your client. Just select the option: “I would like to refer someone else to a provider,” when completing the form, and our team will be in touch with additional provider recommendations.
When a client is matched with a provider at Alma, they follow the process outlined below:
- The client contacts our Matching Team in search of care by submitting an intake form. The form collects information about the client’s presenting issues, as well as their preferences for scheduling, payment, specific modalities, etc.
Please note that the intake is not considered a safety screening. The client’s full history and risk assessment should still be taken if you decide to schedule a session with them.
- If the Client Matching Team thinks this client is a good fit for your practice, a member of the team will contact you with some basic, de-identified information about the client (including the presenting issue/preferred payment method/availability).
You will receive the following email with the subject “Matching Opportunity from Alma”:
A client using Alma’s Matching Service could be a great fit for your practice! Review the information below and reply ‘yes’ to this email if you would like to be recommended to this client.
If the client wants to speak with you, we’ll share their contact information through a consultation request via your Alma profile.
Not interested? No further action required!
Summary: This client is a 36 year-old white female from NY seeking a provider for Talk Therapy who specializes in anxiety, depression, and harm reduction. This client’s pronouns are she/her. She will be using United Healthcare to cover the cost of sessions and is available on weekday afternoons.
- If you are interested in being suggested as a potential match for this client, please confirm your interest right away. We typically share a list of recommendations with the client within 24 hours.
- Confirm your interest by responding to the email with the subject line "Matching Opportunity from Alma."
If you are not interested in the opportunity, you do not need to respond.
NOTE: You will not receive confirmation of receipt if you respond.
- The team will include your practice in a list of recommendations to the client, along with up to 4 other providers. The client will be able to review your Alma profile and ask questions about the reasoning behind our recommendations.
- If the client wants to speak with you, they will submit a consultation request. You will receive a notification via email when this happens.
If you do not hear further information about the client following this initial outreach, the client has either not chosen a provider yet or has chosen another provider. - When viewing the request in your Alma portal, make sure to select “Yes, I will reach out” and choose whether or not you want to notify the client. This will automatically update their status in your Alma inbox from “New” to "In progress."
After the consultation, you can choose to add the client to your practice or decline them altogether. The client will receive an email notification if you decline their request. You can find more information about the client experience here.
A few reminders:
Please only respond “yes” to a matching opportunity email if you have openings in your caseload and upcoming availability to schedule a consultation call with the client.
If a client is not a fit for your practice, do not refer the client outside of the Alma network. We want to protect the client’s experience, as they specifically came to Alma for care. Please refer the client to care@helloalma.com, and we will help match them with a provider in the Alma community.
For more information on managing consultation requests in general, visit our Consultation Requests section.