Internal FAQ

When we aren't booking a patient directly onto your calendar, Help Therapy offers the referral to you by email. This article explains what that email looks like, how to answer it, and what happens next, including the few differences for VA Community Care (CCN) referrals.

1. You'll receive a referral offer email

Offers come from referrals@helptherapy.com, sent by your Help Therapy Referral Coordinator. The subject line is:

• New referral offer from Help Therapy (HT-2026-00123) for most referrals
• Veteran Appointment Offer - Help Therapy (HT-2026-00123) for VA Community Care referrals

The email includes:

• the referral details: type of care, patient name, age and date of birth, contact information, location, coverage and the reason for the referral
• a note from your Referral Coordinator, when they've added one
• the referral summary as a PDF attachment
• three buttons: Accept, Decline and Ask a question

Example offer email, with sample information only.

2. Please respond within 1 business day

We ask providers to answer within 1 business day. The email shows the exact date and time we need your answer by. A quick answer, even a "no", helps us get the patient seen sooner.

3. Choose Accept, Decline or Ask a question

Each button opens a short Help Therapy page. Nothing is recorded until you confirm:

• Accept: confirm you can take the referral. There's an optional box for availability or anything we should know, for example "I have an opening Tuesday at 2 PM."
• Decline: confirm you can't take it. You can add a reason if you like (schedule, location, insurance, fit).
• Ask a question: send the referral team a question before you decide, for example "Can this be telehealth?" We reply by email. You can also simply reply to the offer email.

The confirmation page after pressing Accept. It never shows patient information; the details stay in your email and its attachment.

4. What happens next

• If you accept: your Referral Coordinator follows up with the next steps for scheduling.
• If you decline: we offer the referral to another provider. Nothing else is needed from you.
• If the referral is placed with someone else before you answer, the page will tell you. No action is needed.
• If you answered by mistake, use Ask a question on the same page, or reply to the email, and let us know.

VA Community Care (CCN) referrals

Veteran referrals work the same way with a few differences, because the VA needs a specific appointment:

• The email is titled Veteran Appointment Offer. It also includes the VA authorization number, assigned VA medical center, appointment type, place of service, diagnosis, the veteran's preferences, and the dates the authorization is valid.
• Instead of Accept, the button is Offer an appointment. On that page you enter the appointment date and time you can offer, any other dates or times you have, the place of service (video, in person, phone, or any of these) and, for telehealth, your platform. You can add a telehealth link if you'd like us to send it to the veteran.
• Your Referral Coordinator then confirms the appointment with the veteran and the VA.
• Once the veteran has accepted, we send you the VA paperwork (authorization letter and consult).

Example Veteran Appointment Offer email, with sample information only.

The Offer an appointment page.

Good to know

• The links are personal to you and work for 7 days.
• Please don't forward the offer email. It contains confidential patient information.
• Booked directly on your calendar? If we schedule straight into your calendar, you won't receive an offer email for that patient.
• Need help? If a link has expired or something doesn't work, email referrals@helptherapy.com or call (858) 481-8827.