How to Use Group Telehealth
Group telehealth lets you see several patients in the same session, in the clinic or on video. It works well for support groups, health coaching programs, and classes that you run on a regular schedule.
A group telehealth session is a calendar event with a list of patients instead of a single patient. Each patient gets their own invitation, answers it, and joins the same call.
What is group telehealth?
You book group telehealth sessions from a group appointment type. To create one, go to Practice Settings > Scheduling > Appointment types, click Appointment type, and select Group visit.
- Held In-clinic or by Video
- Booked by your team only, never through self-scheduling
- Can repeat, like any other calendar event
Once the type is saved, it's ready to use on the calendar.
Scheduling a group telehealth session
On the calendar, click + New and select Group visit. Choose the group appointment type, visit type, location, and practice calendars, then add patients in Add patients.
- Max participants limits patients and guests in the call (1–25)
- Your practice team joins as hosts and doesn't count toward it
- Use Repeat to book a series, such as every Tuesday
Click Create, and each patient is emailed an invitation to the session.
What happens after you create it?
Patients answer I'll be there or I can't make it, fill in any forms, and join from their browser with no app or account needed. On the event, you can:
- Follow each patient's status: Invited, Confirmed, or Declined, and Attended or No-show after the session
- Use Resend invite when a patient hasn't confirmed yet
- Click Join call, or Copy visit link to share it
The call opens 30 minutes before the start time. A confirmed session also appears in each patient's appointments in their chart.
During the call
As a host, you manage the room from the call window:
- Participants shows who joined, raised hands, and Mute all
- Guests who join by link wait until you click Admit
- Invite a colleague adds another clinician as a host
- Session notes stay with the event and aren't added to any chart
- Patient notes save a draft note to each patient's chart
Patients who stay in the call for 5 minutes are marked Attended. You can change it with Mark as attended or Mark as no-show.
Important considerations
- Scribe isn't available in group telehealth
- Everyone in the call can see the other participants' names
- A group telehealth session can't be changed into a regular appointment
- Patients with no email on file show as Missing email and don't receive an invitation
For patients without an email, share the visit link with them directly. They join as a guest, so click Admit to let them in and use Mark as attended after the session.
Best practices
- Set Max participants to a size you can manage
- Remind the group that what's shared stays private
- Write individual findings in patient notes, not session notes
Group telehealth helps you reach more patients in less time, while each patient keeps their own record of the visit.