Spruce allows you to meet your patients where they are with virtual telehealth options. You can either connect with your patients live via HIPAA-compliant video calls or send them asynchronous (store-and-forward) clinical questionnaires, known as Spruce Visits. Before engaging in either type of telemedicine, your patients must be invited to create a Spruce account with your practice. Please see our article, Inviting Patients, to learn how to invite your patients to create Spruce accounts.
If you are interested in using Spruce for payments, read the article, Stripe Billing and Payments.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Video Calling
Only you and your team can initiate a video call to patients, they cannot start the call. Patients can accept your incoming video call when they are logged into their Spruce patient account (on the mobile app, iPad app, or the web). To ensure patients are prepared at the time of your video call, we recommend scheduling the visit with your patient in advance, then sending a message a few minutes prior to the appointment asking the patient to open the Spruce app or login on their computer.
Patients cannot initiate a video call. Additionally, we do not have a "waiting room" feature or and support group video calls at this time.
How to start a video call
You can begin a video call from a patient's secure conversation, or from the patient's contact card.
Placing a video call from Spruce on your computer
When you are in a patient's secure conversation (noted by a blue icon with their initials), click on their name to open their contact card, and select the video icon below their name. You can also find or search for the patient within the Contacts area of Spruce and pull up their contact card and select the video call icon. If the video call icon is grey that means they have not yet created their Spruce account.
Placing a video call from your Spruce mobile app
While in the mobile app you can search for any patient and select the conversation with the blue icon with the patient's initials, then select the video call icon in the upper right corner. You can also head to your Contacts tab and find your patient, open up their contact and select the video call icon. Additionally, you can video call a patient while on the Inbox tab and select the action button (blue + button) and select Video Call and enter the patient's name into the "To" field.
If the video call icon is grey instead of blue, that signifies the patient has yet to created their Spruce patient account. Your invite maybe pending, meaning they have been invited but have not created their account and in this case you will see the button "Resend Spruce Invite". If you are in a standard conversation such as SMS texting or calling, you may just need to search again to find the secure conversation with the blue icon, or you can select the button, "Invite to Spruce" and that will send them a new invitation. Please see our article, Inviting Patients.
Mac and iOS users - virtual backgrounds
When using Spruce on an Apple desktop computer, you can use Apple’s video settings to blur your background or apply a virtual background. In the Spruce web or desktop app, navigate to Settings > Audio & Video. You'll see a window with your live camera feed to test your audio and picture. When the video feed is live, you'll notice a green camera icon in the menu bar at the top of your desktop:
Click the green camera icon to open a menu where you can adjust the blur via Portrait and/or select a custom Background. The blur or background will remain in effect when you initiate the video call.
On the Spruce mobile app for iOS, swipe down from the top of your screen to open the Control Center, then tap 'Spruce Controls' in the top center of the screen:
Tap Portrait on the next screen:
Increasing the depth will adjust the blur. This can be accomplished while a call is already in progress.
Spruce Visits
Spruce Visits are adaptive clinical questionnaires developed by the Spruce Health medical team that can be used for health assessments such as the PHQ-9, remote management of routine conditions, and follow-up. Your patients complete the questionnaires in the Spruce mobile app (not available on patient web). Questions branch based on previous answers, so patients are only asked relevant questions. Their responses are sent back to you in Spruce, where you can review and respond to the patient. These visits are not customizable at this this time.
To send a Spruce Visit, you can send a visit through web or mobile but you must be in a secure patient conversation (noted by the blue icon with their initials in it). Here is how to send a visit to a patient:
On Web:
- Open the patient conversation, or if in their Contact Card select the lock icon below their name to open their patient secure conversations.
- Once in the secure conversation, at the bottom of your screen you will see the compose area.
- Select Secure Messaging, next to Internal Note.
- Select the band-aid icon at the bottom of the compose bar (if you do not see it confirm you are in a secure patient conversation with a blue icon next to their name.)
- Select your Spruce Visit to add to the compose area.
- Add your personalized message and select send.
On Mobile Spruce app:
- Find the patient you want to message by searching or while in Inbox tab, select the blue + icon in the bottom right of your screen and select Secure Message and search for patient. If in their Contact select the lock icon below their name to open their patient secure conversations.
- Once in the secure conversation, select Secure Messaging, next to Internal Note.
- Select the "+" icon below the compose area and select Spruce Visit (if you do not see it confirm you are in a secure patient conversation with a blue icon next to their name.)
- Select your Spruce Visit to add to the compose area.
- Add your personalized message and select send (plane icon).
Below is a list of Spruce Visits available today. We do not offer custom questionnaires but if you see an assessment test that should be listed please email us at support@sprucehealth.com and we will submit for review.
Video of Spuce Visit Library
Video of a patient completing a Spruce Visit:
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a Spruce Visit reach the patient?
Select the 'Spruce Visit' attachment button from inside a secure messaging conversation, select the desired visit, and send it to the patient via secure message.
Can patients initiate video calls?
No, only healthcare professionals and their teams can initiate video calls on Spruce.