Can you start doing full-time telepsych fresh out of residency?

[PS2summerdays]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Is there a requirement of needing to work X number of years as an in-person psychiatrist (after residency) before doing telepsychiatry? Is it possible to start working full-time telepsychiatry right after graduating from residency? Thanks all. Just curious, poking around here.

 

[wolfvgang22]

No. Heck, I did like 20 hours of telepsych per week in fellowship.
Yes, you can.

 

[liquidshadow22]

20 hours? That's alot we're you taking insurance?

 

[dl2dp2]

Yes. $130 per hour. *Many agencies*, some (Insight, Genoa, etc) actually want people to make a minimum hour commitment (~20 per week), but once you get over 20 hours a week they give you benefits/401k match, etc. Facilities are paying $200+/hour so you might get more if ask directly and/or have connections.

The agency jobs are ****ty in all ways conceivable. It's possible to do 100% telepsych now in PP due to covid and let's just say make many multiples of that rate per hour and see at least 2-3x fewer patients.

 

[reca]

Nothing stopping you from doing it. I did some moonlighting as a PGY-3 last year but quit before this year. (was supposed to be $150/hr but came down to $95/hr due to crazy high no-shows they wouldn't compensate me for). Rates for telepsychiatry seem pretty low though. I get paid $135/hour to moonlight at our VA's PEC where I might see one patient an hour on a busy day and 1-2 patients total per shift on a slow day. I was grinding through 2 patients an hour (albeit very simple ones) at the telepsychiatry job so per patient pay was abysmal.

Really seems like, if anything, telepsychiatry rates have gone down since then. I'm guessing due to midlevels who're doing it. Five out of six new psych nurses from my institution who got their NP degree are doing telepsych now. I have friends who couldn't negotiate a $110/hour rate any higher (the companies literally just said adios when they tried to negotiate, didn't even bother making a counter offer).

 

[PS2summerdays]

Nothing stopping you from doing it. I did some moonlighting as a PGY-3 last year but quit before this year. (was supposed to be $150/hr but came down to $95/hr due to crazy high no-shows they wouldn't compensate me for). Rates for telepsychiatry seem pretty low though. I get paid $135/hour to moonlight at our VA's PEC where I might see one patient an hour on a busy day and 1-2 patients total per shift on a slow day. I was grinding through 2 patients an hour (albeit very simple ones) at the telepsychiatry job so per patient pay was abysmal.

Really seems like, if anything, telepsychiatry rates have gone down since then. I'm guessing due to midlevels who're doing it. Five out of six new psych nurses from my institution who got their NP degree are doing telepsych now. I have friends who couldn't negotiate a $110/hour rate any higher (the companies literally just said adios when they tried to negotiate, didn't even bother making a counter offer).

Damn $110 only? That’s kind of depressing. I was hoping telepsych would flourish.

 

[michaelrack]

Damn $110 only? That’s kind of depressing. I was hoping telepsych would flourish.

Telepsych is flourishing, that is why the salary is so low.

 

[reca]

Damn $110 only? That’s kind of depressing. I was hoping telepsych would flourish.

Yeah, for outpatient telepsychiatry, all the offers my peers are getting are between $110 and $130. ER telepsych, $130 to $170.

not great numbers

 

[Shufflin]

for these low-paying $110 to $130 tely jobs, are doctors flooded with back-to-back cases or do they have significant downtime?

 

[reca]

for these low-paying $110 to $130 tely jobs, are doctors flooded with back-to-back cases or do they have significant downtime?

Oh, it's packed, zero downtime. For the one I enquired more in detail about, it was 3 patients an hour for follow up. You either chart while talking or you chart on your own time.

 

[wolfvgang22]

Oh, it's packed, zero downtime. For the one I enquired more in detail about, it was 3 patients an hour for follow up. You either chart while talking or you chart on your own time.

Lol. F that

 

[reca]

Lol. F that

Yup, that's why I have no intention of doing telepsych for a company. This company tried to make it sound really nice when they first proposed it. 300k per year, work from home. But then it's actually 250k + 50k bonus that you may or may not get depending on some amorphous metrics. Then your workweek is 40 hours a week. But that's 40 hours of patient care time, no admin time at all. Calculate it out and it comes to 130/hour (they purposefully don't tell you the hourly rate, just a yearly salary).

 

[Shufflin]

that's fubar

 

[Sushirolls]

Yup, that's why I have no intention of doing telepsych for a company. This company tried to make it sound really nice when they first proposed it. 300k per year, work from home. But then it's actually 250k + 50k bonus that you may or may not get depending on some amorphous metrics. Then your workweek is 40 hours a week. But that's 40 hours of patient care time, no admin time at all. Calculate it out and it comes to 130/hour (they purposefully don't tell you the hourly rate, just a yearly salary).

That's kind of how majority of jobs are with Big Box shops and large medical groups. And when you sit down and calculate out your *real hourly rate*. It is much lower.

 

[rjs2131]

Anyone hear of successfully negotiating with these bigger box companies? If the expectation is 3 pts/hr and they're offering $110-130/hr, I'd guess the company/organization is netting double that (like $2-300/hr). Even with 2 pts/hr, I'd think less than $150/hr is low.

 

[bobby pen]

Currently working for one of those big box Companies. Would not budge at all with negotiations. 45 min intakes, 15 min f/us. Paid per patient. If you fill it’s 188-191 an hr. If you don’t it takes you down pretty quick to 130-140. No admin time, no breaks. It’s not very satisfying as full time and I feel extremely underpaid. Would be ok as a moonlighting gig maybe. Currently looking to join a private practice with full time telehealth. Sending out resumes etc.

 

[dl2dp2]

Currently working for one of those big box Companies. Would not budge at all with negotiations. 45 min intakes, 15 min f/us. Paid per patient. If you fill it’s 188-191 an hr. If you don’t it takes you down pretty quick to 130-140. No admin time, no breaks. It’s not very satisfying as full time and I feel extremely underpaid. Would be ok as a moonlighting gig maybe. Currently looking to join a private practice with full time telehealth. Sending out resumes etc.

Well, I find it reassuring though that this will exist as the lowest common denominator job.

 

[Psychresy]

Well, I find it reassuring though that this will exist as the lowest common denominator job.

190/hr at a big box shop, albeit quite busy, isn't that bad. That's close to 400k a year with (I'll assume) pretty good benefits.

 

[bobby pen]

Benefits are ok. No paid time off but full health, dental, 401 K etc. I took the job due to closure of my previous outpatient job as the department I worked for did not have telehealth options and shut down Due to COVID. I could not take an in person job as my SO is at high risk so needed something quick for bills etc. All that to say there are better, more rewarding jobs out there if you have the time to look and negotiate. I would not necessarily look at big box companies unless you absolutely have to.