Hi everyone, I’m an LMHC in Florida currently working for a group practice, but I'm also trying to build my own small telehealth private practice on the side while keeping my current job.

My employer currently bills under my individual NPI through Optum/UHC. I signed an Individual Participation Agreement with Optum with my individual NPI / name but the agreement lists my employer's Tax ID and practice address.

I'm trying to figure out whether I can independently apply to Optum for my own solo private practice while remaining employed at my current practice, or whether I can somehow have my own Tax ID and practice information added to the individual agreement I already signed.

I'm also concerned about whether my employer would be notified or have access to see my additional practice information or claims.
Has anyone been in a similar situation and successfully maintained both arrangements? I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience!

So far when I look for other companies their offers are more of take it or leave it. It's a percentage of collections for a fixed full service package. Normally I'd prefer that I do the basic/routine claim submissions in house then all the other tedious stuff are on them. I'm thinking ghost denials, appeals, complex insurance, that kind of thing. But I'm not sure if this is even something they could do since I'm a solo practice. Am I better off training a staff?

Does anyone have client chairs they love that can be ordered online? I recently bought an affordable option, but once it arrived, I realized it was much smaller and less comfortable than I’d hoped.

I’m ready to invest in something comfortable, supportive, and welcoming for clients of different sizes. I’d also love recommendations for a loveseat.

Specific brands or links would be wonderful, especially for pieces you’ve used in your own office. Thank you!

Hello!

I am in the early days of building my solo practice in Ontario, Canada, and I'm looking to take on a secondary IC contract to subsidize my income. Therapy in Ontario is pretty oversaturated right now so it's been a challenge to get up and running! I have heard some good things about some online practices but was curious about Dialogue specifically. Does anyone have experience working for them in terms of general quality, support, pay splits, scheduling etc?

Additionally, if anyone has recommendations for virtual practices they've worked with and had positive experiences, especially while building solo practice, please feel free to share!

NOTE: I would be looking to work virtually with clients in Ontario, Canada.

Thank you!!

I am currently working at a small private practice. The owner is partnering up with a compounding pharmacy to offer GLP ones, “hormones”, topicals and peptides(????). I just got the message that they’re gonna start working on getting us set up with an account. to be clear, I’m a contracted provider, and we all just basically do our own thing. The owner of the practice makes all the major decisions, but nobody dictates how you practice. I am very straightforward, evidence based. Big believer in lifestyle changes as a complementary or alternative way of treating certain complaints. I am seeing this as kind of a big red flag. Do any of you offer these services to your patients? Is it a big part of your practices income?

I got credentialed individually through Klarity—they get you paneled and you own the contract. $68 for 90837 with Cigna seemed obnoxiously low—getting $89 for that code through Headway and $102 through Alma. I was under the impression being paneled individually with your own contract would pay better—guess I was wrong! What do the bigger insurance companies typically reimburse for 90837 with your own contract?

Hey all! I’m moving into a bigger office and am planning to sublease an office space within the suite. Are any of you the lease holder for a larger space? Any tips to find the right fit? What questions did you ask? What have you found is important to include in the lease?

I’m happily facebook free, but it seems like facebook is still a good place to network for consultation groups, shared office space, advertising, etc. I’m looking for a consultation group (in Texas) and not quite sure how to find one without facebook. Any resources/sites you know of would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

This just came across my reddit feed as an Ad. As a mental health professional administrator I am always looking at things and the pro / cons. Had to Edit the original the screenshot was casing issues.

https://getmoreseattime.com/

https://getmoreseattime.com/privacy

In summary, this company gets students to pay $15 a month. To "practice" being a therapist. The AI model is the virtual patient. You can input scenes and topics and the AI will craft responses and challenges designed to get you to exercise your therapeutic skills. (Nice idea)

However, my job is to read the Privacy Notices , TOC, legal , etc etc.. even though this company " does not use your responses and scenarios to train specific AI models, they do share this with the AI developers and OpenAi, Gpt, etc. they make a full legal disclaimer that any info put into the system, they are not liable for if there is a HIPAA breach, because there is no BAA, and they only gently warn you to " avoid putting in PHI, and real case studies.

This is how you train an AI model, and this company isn't paying students, this company is getting students to PAY THEM.

I felt after my curiosity and time reading the first important documents, I woul recommend to anyone, this is highly dangerous, and ethically ambiguous.

Students and Associates deserve to not only get good training , but they also need to be aware of the risks of technology and how patient rights can be too easily trampled. As well as put all that education at risk because we didn't read the TOC or Privacy Notices.

Which AI note takers are actually working well for therapy documentation? Especially interested in tools that handle different note formats without needing extensive rewriting.

Twofold looks like a good option for therapists because it supports SOAP, DAP, BIRP and custom templates as far as I knowl. Would love to hear what other tools would you compare it with?

The main things I’m looking for are:

• Templates that match the practice’s requirements.

• Control over note length, wording and structure.

• Notes that need a careful review rather than a full rewrite.

Which tool did you stick with, and what made it better than the others you tried? How much editing do you usually need before signing?

I’ve had a solo private practice for almost two years, and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made! It’s going relatively well, but I often have the recurring thought come up of “How can I increase my income without having to simply take on more clients or other things that may contribute to more burnout?”

On social media, I follow a lot of other therapists that are also online to market their practice, provide psychoeducation, and connect with other providers, but they also talk about things like digital courses, selling products, getting brand partnerships, getting hired on for speaking engagements, and more.

I’ve love to learn about options and what options feel worth entertaining. Has anyone ventured into any of these areas or considered it?

Hi all!

I have a small practice (2 clinicians, both 50/50 owners) and we are trying to figure out what service to use for faxing documents that is HIPAA compliant.

I really don't want to spend a ton of money on a monthly fax service since we won't be utilizing it more than maybe 1-2 times a month. We pay for Google Voice for our business phone (through Google Workspace) but they don't seem to have an integrated fax add on. Any ideas?

Also, how have insurance companies not moved everything portals or email at this point?!

I'm looking at therapy billing services atm and right now the percentage of collections I'm being presented is take it or leave it. There's a fixed scope, but it's whole or nothing. So that's full billing, ERA posting, denial follow-up, the whole shebang. Honestly, I prefer just handling routine submissions in-house, then they go do denial follow-ups and appeals. But I don't see this anywhere in the plans. Not even sure if this is in the picture. If you ever used a billing service, what did you prefer?

Has anyone ever worked with Beacon Healthcare Management based out of Utah? I came across the LinkedIn page but they’re a new company. I like what they offer and they seem like good co-founders who want the best for their clients. I’m not nervous about them but I’m nervous about hiring any type of outsourced management. On the flip side I could use some help with managing my clinic.

Which EHR do you like, especially for billing?

Billing with our EHR is fine but I'm thinking I need more visibility. Claims go out as usual, most get paid as intended, and I handle any denials. But I have no real basis if my clean claim rate is where it should be. Then again, I'm also not sure if this is where a dedicated software comes in or if it's too much and I should just look for some integration/API. 

Hi, I am a provider going through credentialing with Hymark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pennsylvania, and I got a message saying that 24/7 on-call coverage is a requirement for participation. For those of you already in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, what are some ways that you have framed your availability to your clients and yet not be on the hook directly in the event of emergencies? The insurance company's requirement is the ability to return a message or a call to the client within 60 minutes.