Ten Technology Considerations for Virtual Care Providers
In 2019, my wife and I decided that it was time for me to leave the IT industry following a 40-year career. We decided to begin working for our church counseling center which had multiple office locations in our city. We chose to focus on the closest location to our home instead of traveling to the multiple offices.
Well, that was the plan until the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 changed everything. Suddenly we were forced to come home and begin counseling remotely. We were fortunate to have spare bedrooms in our home that we quickly reconfigured into our new offices.
We committed ourselves to making the best of working from home. And we loved it. The convenience and flexibility fit our rhythms. We quickly realized that we were committed to counseling virtually exclusively if we could. And with this “at home” virtual work in front of us, we were challenged to consider our technological systems and needs, with contingency plans, as well as some personal touches.
I researched and implemented technology that allows us to deliver discipleship care with continuity, both domestically and internationally. The following ten considerations help us provide seamless care:
Communicating well: We made sure we had adequate internal cameras, microphones, and laptops for video conferencing and administrative tasks. We bought external microphones, cameras, and earbuds to use when needed. We decided to not use Bluetooth technology, since that can add an extra layer of complexity. Also, I later upgraded my earbuds to a musician quality level to give a more professional appearance.
Setting: We reviewed and discussed with others the lighting and camera angles so that we could provide the best professional appearances. We adjusted the lighting both in front of us and behind us and added wall hangings. Through trial and error and a little help from others, we were able to create a cohesive look.
Software: We experimented with video conferencing software to find what was easiest to manage from our standpoint, easy for our clients to use, cost effective, and HIPPA compliant. We decided on Doxy.me (https://doxy.me), which has proven to be the best solution for us by far. We started with the free version initially, but then chose to buy the Professional Version since I find myself using the multiple location conference, whiteboard and share screen features regularly. These are features not included in the free version.
Back-up power: When an ice storm hit in 2022, I invested in uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units as well as external batteries for our cell phones. These cell phone bricks are extremely helpful and easy to support should we lose electricity for an extended period. I have placed UPSs on each workstation, the printer, and our internet devices. A UPS is a battery that is plugged into the wall socket and is charged when the electric is on. All necessary devices are then plugged into the UPS so that if power is lost, the devices run off the battery. This helps with brownouts (short power losses) as well as extended power loss. A UPS can not keep the devices running forever but it does allow for orderly planning and shut down while you check remaining usage. This is an important continuity feature since clients may be in a fair-weather area even while you are experiencing stormy weather. Since this is the case, it would be good to continue to care for this individual and remain safe and productive.
Equipment care: It is important to point out that when the workspace and laptop need to be connected to a UPS to continue working, it is vital that internet devices also be plugged into a UPS. Since our internet devices are in a cabinet with doors just behind my desk, I needed to buy small external fans to keep airflow circulating so that they do not overheat. Additionally, I installed a small battery-operated digital thermometer to check the temperature in the cabinet to ensure it keeps a safe level.
Additional technology: Another less expected technology feature came when we decided we would like a doorbell camera. Once it was installed, I quickly realized that I could watch my front door for deliveries and surprise visitors while in session. While this is not something you want to focus on 100% of your time in session, it did come in handy when a sofa was being delivered a day early and both my wife and I were in session. Fortunately, the person I was meeting with was understanding when I asked for a short break to open the front door for the delivery.
Updated technology: As our client base grew, we made sure we had up-to-date smartphones, tablets, back-up laptops and primary laptops. This may sound like over-planning, but it is vital to the continuity of care. The internet could go down and we might need to default to our smartphones. A software upgrade might fail, and we might need to resort to a different laptop. A client may only want to do FaceTime, so a tablet may work better than a phone. We have found that any and everything is possible, and we must consider not just our needs but the needs of the person receiving care. They may be limited in what they are comfortable with, and it is part of our role to provide them with helpful options.
Multiple Laptops: We have found three reasons that multiple laptops are helpful. First, if we want to sit in a different place around the house to do paperwork, we can leave our primary laptop in place and connected. Then we do not disrupt its configuration and we have peace of mind that it will work the next time we sit at our desks. Secondly, when we travel, there are times we may need to meet with someone online but from another location. Since we have a back-up or travel laptop, we have it available and we also ensure we have all the necessary cables, power cords, and dongles. Thinking through what is needed to connect from a different location is an important preparedness step. Finally, should we need to bring a primary laptop for maintenance, we can use a travel laptop in place of the primary laptop and continue working.
Internet back-ups: My most recent investment has been to add a wireless mobile hotspot to our office. We have our internet service hard-wired into our home. From there it goes into a mesh network in which we hard-wire our primary laptops using ethernet cables, to ensure maximum transmission speed. With the installation of the mesh network, we added hardware that allows fail-over from our primary internet provided to the wireless mobile hotspot should the primary internet provider drop connection. This redundancy allows for continuity of service and reduces the amount of complexity in cutting over to the wireless hotspot. In other words, if we lose our primary internet provider during a session, there is nothing we need to do except wait 30-60 seconds for the cut-over feature to activate and reconnect our video call. We have not had this occur yet, but we are prepared when it does.
Follow-up support: Since we are remote from those that we care for, we have invested in an efficient way to physically mail books, journals, and devotionals. We stock envelop mailers, blank shipping labels, and have a standard label printer that connects to shipping software. We send items via USPS Media mail, so the cost is reasonable. We love being able to share biblical resources and feel that these are simple reminders that we truly care.
One future project is to configure a gas-powered generator in the garage to our existing natural gas line. This would serve as a back-up power supply in the case of a long-term outage. Having the choice in place prior to an outage would reduce our downtime and allow us to better communicate our situation with those on our calendar.
A professional level of service continuity is priceless. While those in the field of Biblical Counseling may not know to consider this level of technology redundancy, the increased need for virtual counseling increases the importance. What we have implemented reduces the urgency when a failure takes place and delivers a reasonable resolution.
If you would like to know more about counseling continuity in a virtual setting, feel free to reach out to Burke Care for more information.
Reflection Questions:
All my attention is on counseling, why should I care of this? Should I just wait to see if these are even considerations that apply to me?
How many of these considerations can I fit into my existing budget this month? This quarter? This year?
Are there any existing branding, geographic, or counseling strategies that would be impacted by implementing or not implementing some of these considerations?
Do I have the capacity or competence to implement, or do I need to consider a gospel partner to help implement these considerations?
