Templates: Group Sessions

Create Group Sessions for each of the different sessions your organization offers, in person or virtual.  Group Sessions can also be collected into Schedules which can be used to create treatment programs. 

Group Sessions may be tagged as billable for organizations integrated with a billing solution like Avea. Additionally, any billable group session can be reported on using the Billable Financial Report template.

Group sessions can be found under Templates > Group Sessions.

The Group Sessions tab appears as follows:

1. New Group Session: Click on this button to create a new group session. Check out the section below for detailed instructions.
2. Export Billables: Click this button to download an Excel file with all billable group session items.
3. Combine Group Sessions: Click on this button to combine group session templates. 
4. Show Disabled: Check this box to show disabled templates.
5. Edit: Click this icon to edit the group session template.
6. Delete: Click this icon to delete the group session template.
7. Copy: Click this icon to copy the group session template. Check out the section below for detailed instructions.

Creating Group Sessions

Use the following instructions to create Group Sessions.

1. Click New Group Session.
2. Name the session.
3. Select the Session Type:
   • Standard Group: Groups that may or may not be led by a therapist. Users with Super Admin, Records Admin, Case Manager, Therapist, or Other Therapist roles or users with the Manage Group Sessions role can start this type of Group Session.
   • Caseload Group: Groups led by Primary Therapists (if the functionality is in use). Only users with the Super Admin or Therapist role can start this type of Group Session.
   • Schedule Placeholder: Not a functional session, simply takes space in the schedule, for example, Lunch, Movie Night, etc.
   • Gender Group - Male: Male-only group. This respects gender identity.
   • Gender Group - Female: Female-only group. This respects gender identity.
   • Transportation/Housing: These sessions have no functionality in the system and can be ignored. 
4. Choose a Location. For master instances, this means the session will only be available in the selected location and accessible only by users with access to that location. For users in a single instance, the location selected is not enforced. Any user with the appropriate permission can start the session and any patient within the instance can be added. 
5. Click Create Session.
6. Complete the following Group Session fields.
   1. Enable: Check this box to make this session available for use.
   2. Billable: Check this box to allow reporting on this group session for non-integrated environments. This box is crucial for organizations integrated with a billing solution, click here to learn more.
   3. Topics: Select a topic (or topics) for this Group Session template. You must select at least one. In Master Instances, topics will only be visible here if they have been enabled for the location you are choosing for the group template. (See this section for information on creating Topic Templates.)
   4. Select a Day of the week, Start time, and End time. Click Add Occurance to save. 
   5. Add Group Leader: You can restrict who can start the session by designating the group leader(s) here but it is not required. Any user with the roles of Therapist, Other Therapist, Case Manager, or Manage Group Sessions feature may be Group Leader. This functionality is only for Standard and Gender-specific groups.
7. Click Save.

Repeat as many times as needed to create all the Group Sessions offered by your organization.

Combine Group Sessions

If needed, you can also combine multiple existing group session templates.

1. To begin, click on the Combine Group Sessions button.
2. Then use the checkboxes to indicate which templates you want to combine then click the Combine button.
3. The system will combine the templates and prompt you to check the title of the new, combined template.
4. Enter the new name, make any additional updates, and click Save.
5. The new, combined template will appear in the list.

Copy Group Sessions

Use the Duplicate icon to automatically copy any Group Session. This is helpful when you run the same sessions out of multiple locations. 

1. To begin, click on the copy icon on the right.
2. From the Copy Group Session pop-up, you can adjust the title of the session and select the Locations where the session should exist.
3. Group Sessions copy as inactive. Edit the group session to access the Enabled checkbox.
4. Be sure to save your changes.

Create Topics

Each Group Session requires one or more topics to be added to the session before it can be signed. You can create a list of commonly used topics and add these topics to the Group Session template. This makes it easier for the provider to complete documentation and provides some standardization to topics. 

1. Open the Topics tab and choose New Topic.
2. Enter a title and description.
3. Choose the desired location or locations where you would like this topic template to be available.
4. Click Create.
    
5. The topic can now be used in Group Session templates. 

Group Sessions and the Scheduler

If your organization uses the Scheduler functionality, you'll notice a few differences when adding and editing Group Sessions. 

• The is no auto-save on the page. Please save any changes made by clicking Save.
• When editing a Group Session, you must use the Edit icon to update an occurrence.
• When an occurrence has at least one patient assigned, the delete button will no longer be available. The occurrence cannot be deleted until there are no patients assigned.
• A Telehealth checkbox has been added. Check this box to make the session a telehealth zoom session. The Telehealth session can be started directly from the Scheduled Group Sessions page.
• Once a Group Session is assigned to an active patient, you cannot delete the Group Session template or disable it. The delete option has been removed and the Enabled checkbox has been disabled. Once all patients assigned to that Group Session have been discharged or removed from the session, the Delete button or Disable option will become available.
• If you need to disable a Group Session, please end the occurrences for the patients currently assigned to each Group Session prior to disabling. See the Drop Group Session section for full instructions.
• Disabling a Group Session does not automatically remove that session from any Schedules the session was included on. If you disable a Group Session, make sure to remove the session from all Schedules that it appears in, or you won't be able to assign the schedule to the patient and will receive an "Error - The selected group session instance not found" on the Add Group Schedule window. 
• Group Sessions can now be assigned to the patient directly from the Scheduler.