We take a look at psychiatrist, Dr. Kari Groff, and her experiences running her own practice. Not to mention, she's a pretty big fan of Klara too. Check out our interview below.
Thanks for letting me share my story.
What lead you to start your own psychiatry practice?
After graduating from residency, I knew that I wanted to start a family. Living in NYC is complex and commuting to work cuts into your time with your children. I thought that by opening an office close to my home and being able to control the hours that I work, I could have more flexibility to be with my daughter and enjoy a lot of time together.
How do you build new relationships and maintain relationships with clients?
I usually start out with email or a phone call but move quickly to an in-person visit. I also have an assistant who is very kind, professional, and intelligent who often reaches out to new patients for me to make that personal connection.
Can you describe how you were communicating before using Klara?
I was using mostly email through google work. Sometimes patients would text me but I found that to be difficult to manage the flow of those messages. Email was okay but it didn't help organize things very well and sometimes important emails would get lost in the mix of things.
Can you describe how your experiences with Klara have changed your work flow?
I love how organized and simple Klara is. Even people with minimal confidence in their technology skills are able to use it easily. It shows one long extended conversation happening with patients instead of just scattered emails here and there. It is like texting but with the confidence of HIPAA compliance and feeling very professional.
The best thing about Klara is that I can choose how I want Klara to notify me of messages. If I want to get every message as it comes in, I can select that. But if I only want to check messages a few times a day and manage my work flow that way, I can choose that method. Currently, my Klara is set up that I only retrieve messages when I open the app and I do not receive email notifications.
This has helped me balance my work and personal life so nicely. Managing a private practice is a 24 hour job so it is important to have this elements of organization and limits built into your day. I can honestly say that it has remarkably reduced the stress level I have in managing my practice because it streamlines all of my communication and organizes it in a way that really works for me.
Have your patients given any feedback on Klara?
My patients love Klara because they know their messages will not get lost and that it is a very fast way to access me. They appreciate it's simplicity and elegant platform.
What do you think is the most rewarding part of your career?
I really love seeing people feel better about themselves and their lives. It is amazing to see someone who is feeling so depressed, anxious, and isolated return to themselves. I have so many stories of people changing their lives for the better. My patients are so inspiring to me.
What do you think other psychiatrists and mental health professionals should know about using Klara in their practice?
In this day in age, patients expect to be able to communicate with their providers outside of the office especially because treatment can bring up a lot of questions. To avoid having to answer a lot of phone calls or emails, I highly recommend using Klara to streamline and organize your conversations. Your work/home life will be more balanced for it and your patients will really appreciate it.
Anything else you'd like to share with us?
That the kind folks at Klara did not ask me to promote their business ever. I just became a huge fan of Klara and wanted to share my positive experiences with my colleagues. One of my favorite things about Klara is the highly professional team of people working for them. It is definitely worth a try to see if Klara works for your practice. It is certainly a great addition to mine! Thanks!
