Practice Better offers two built-in ways to conduct virtual sessions with your clients: Practice Better Telehealth and a Zoom integration. This article breaks down the differences so you can choose the right fit for each session type.
In this article:
- Before You Begin
- Comparing Practice Better Telehealth and Zoom
- Using Practice Better for Telehealth
- Using Zoom for Telehealth
- Frequently Asked Questions
Before You Begin
- Plan Availability: Practice Better Telehealth is included on the Starter, Professional, Plus, and Team plans (not available on the free Sprout plan). The Zoom integration is available on the same paid plans, but group Zoom sessions require the Professional plan or higher.
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Group Sessions: Practice Better Telehealth doesn't support group sessions on any plan. If you need to meet with more than one client at a time, Zoom is your only option for telehealth within Practice Better. Recording with AI Charting Assistant and generating summaries are also one-on-one only. Group sessions in Zoom can still be recorded, but they won't generate a transcript or summary inside Practice Better.
- Zoom account: If you link a Zoom account, you'll need a paid Zoom account to remain HIPAA compliant. A free Zoom account isn't sufficient for handling client health information, and it also caps group meetings at 40 minutes.
Comparing Practice Better Telehealth and Zoom
| Practice Better Telehealth | Zoom Meeting |
| HIPAA-compliant | HIPAA-compliant with a paid Zoom account |
| Included on Starter, Professional, Plus, and Team plans | Available on the same paid plans; group sessions require the Professional plan or higher |
| One-on-one video sessions only, on every plan | Supports one-on-one and group sessions (group requires Professional plan or higher and a paid Zoom account) |
| Clients need Client Portal access to join | Clients don't need Client Portal access; they can join straight from their confirmation or reminder email |
| Includes Client Hub access and in-session chat during the call | No Client Hub or Practice Better in-session chat; screen sharing, recording, and chat all happen within Zoom itself |
| One-on-one session audio can be recorded with the AI Charting Assistant add-on for an automatic transcript and summary. See Getting Started With the AI Charting Assistant → |
One-on-one sessions can be recorded with Zoom's own Record button or Zoom's account-level auto-record setting. Group sessions can be recorded in Zoom, but won't generate a Practice Better transcript or summary. You can still use Practice Better's AI Charting Assistant add-on to get an AI transcript and summary for 1:1 sessions inside Practice Better, with specific Zoom account settings configured. See Recording Sessions With the AI Charting Assistant → |
Using Practice Better for Telehealth
Practice Better lets you conduct one-on-one telehealth sessions built directly into the platform, with no additional fee.
When you select Practice Better as your telehealth application, your client needs Client Portal access, and joins either from the link in their confirmation or reminder email or by logging into the Client Portal directly.
Practice Better telehealth sessions let you share your screen and use the Client Hub to view client information and take notes during the call. With the AI Charting Assistant add-on enabled, you can also record your session audio, generating a transcript and summary you can use to quickly create session notes.
For full setup and feature details, see Using Telehealth Video Chat on Practice Better →
Using Zoom for Telehealth
Linking an existing Zoom account gives you more flexibility for virtual sessions, including group meetings and meetings with prospects who don't yet have Client Portal access.
Because the meeting happens outside Practice Better, your client joins directly from their email without needing Portal access. Since the session happens outside of Practice Better, you won't see the Client Hub or in-session chat that Practice Better's built-in telehealth offers.
📍 Please note: linking your Zoom account doesn't turn on recording by itself. You'll still need to press Record during the session, or turn on Zoom's automatic cloud recording from your Zoom dashboard.
To get a transcript and AI summary inside Practice Better from that recording, you'll also need the AI Charting Assistant add-on and a few specific Zoom settings enabled.
For linking your account, setting Zoom as your default, and booking your first session, see Using Zoom for Telehealth →
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use a telehealth platform other than Practice Better or Zoom?
A: Yes. In Settings > Telehealth & Messaging, you can choose Other as your telehealth application to use any third-party platform you prefer. Since the session happens entirely outside Practice Better, you're responsible for sharing your own meeting link or joining instructions with clients directly.
Q: Can I use the AI Charting Assistant with a group session?
A: No. AI Charting Assistant recording and summaries only apply to one-on-one sessions, on either Practice Better Telehealth or Zoom. You can still record a Zoom group session using Zoom's own Record button, but it won't generate a transcript or summary inside Practice Better.
Q: Does Practice Better Telehealth use my linked Zoom account?
A: No. Practice Better Telehealth runs on Zoom's video technology under the hood, but this is entirely separate from the Zoom integration described in this article. Your linked Zoom account isn't associated with Practice Better Telehealth sessions, and unlinking it won't affect them either.
A few minor browser differences come to know for Practice Better telehealth:
- Picture-in-picture is only available in Chrome.
- Virtual backgrounds aren't supported in Firefox.
- Only one participant can share their screen at a time.