As you finish your behavioral health education, you’ve mastered diagnostic techniques, therapeutic approaches, and other aspects of treatment. But do you know how to set up an efficient scheduling system? Do you know how to manage insurance claims to minimize denials and maintain your cash flow? Can you confidently use automation to help your business grow?

What They Don’t Teach You in School

Most academic programs don’t offer courses on the “business” side of behavioral health treatment, but you – a recent graduate and early-career provider—need this information. Practice management skills like scheduling, billing, documentation, and compliance can protect you from professional burnout and set you on a path to success.
“Joining or launching your own practice is a huge step—but it’s also an opportunity to build something meaningful,” says Ram Krishnan, CEO of Valant. This is why understanding practice management is such an important early step in your career.

Burnout Risk is High Without the Right Resources

Behavioral health providers have always faced high rates of burnout, and the problem only intensified in the years after the Covid-19 pandemic. The American Psychological Association found that 45 percent of mental health providers have experienced burnout in recent years.
The stress of managing a behavioral health practice without formal business training is a major contributing factor to practitioner burnout, and can affect the quality of care you deliver. Lower your burnout risk by learning practice management skills sooner rather than later.

Choose Your Path: To Join or Start a Practice?

At the start of your career, you’ll face an important decision: join an established practice or start your own. Each path offers advantages and challenges.

Joining an Established Practice

Advantages

• Access to an existing patient base
• Administrative support structure
• Mentorship opportunities from experienced providers
• Less financial risk

Disadvantages

• Less control over office policies and workflows
• Income is controlled by practice compensation models
• Little to no choice over technology systems
• Required adherence to standardized procedures

Starting Your Own Practice

Advantages

• Control over caseload, therapy methods, and fee structures
• Higher income potential without sharing revenue
• Freedom to build your personal brand
• Ability to choose modern, efficient technology from day one

Disadvantages

• Significant startup costs (rent, utilities, equipment, insurance, software subscriptions)
• Full responsibility for all business operations
• Building a patient base from scratch
• Managing all compliance and regulatory requirements

Business Essentials for Every Provider

Every behavioral health provider needs to understand the business essentials that make a practice run smoothly. Here’s a basic overview of important administrative tasks that need to be addressed to ensure smooth patient and provider operations:

1. Scheduling
   A smooth scheduling system helps you fill your calendar without confusion. It streamlines communication with patients and creates a professional impression. Systems with automated appointment reminders save you money by reducing no-shows.
2. Billing and Revenue Cycle
   Insurance claims are complex, which is why some practices employ dedicated billing staff. You or your staff must verify patient benefits, check coding and charges, submit claims, manage denials, and accept payments. Your rate of clean claims (claims paid on the first try) affects your cash flow, as do ERA/EFT integration (electronic remittance advice and electronic funds transfer).
3. Clinical Documentation and Compliance
   Clinical documentation serves several purposes: it supports quality care, meets insurance requirements, protects you legally, and sets you up to pass potential audits. However, it can demand a lot of time from providers. To make it faster, smoother, and compliant, you’ll need template-driven notes that adapt to your treatment approaches.
4. Outcomes Tracking and Reporting
   The behavioral health field is shifting toward value-based reimbursement models, so providers need systematic ways to track patient outcomes. Besides reimbursement, outcome measures improve treatment results—various studies from JAMA, the Journal of Clinical Psychology, and many others show that measurement-based care creates better patient outcomes and helps providers know when to adjust their treatment approach.
5. HIPAA Compliance and Data Security
   Every technology solution you use must meet strict standards for protecting patient data. You should put security measures and risk management processes in place.

Technology Shapes Your Practice’s Future

The software systems you choose now will profoundly influence your daily workflow, the amount of time you spend on admin tasks, and your ability to scale the practice. Many providers make the mistake of piecing together multiple disconnected tools—perhaps using one system for scheduling, another for documentation, another for billing, and so on.

But this fragmentation drags down the efficiency of your work, and increases the risk of errors. Instead, consider platforms specifically designed for behavioral health that integrate these functions into one system. That kind of comprehensive system can grow with your practice, whether you start as a solo provider or join a group.

Setting Your Practice Up for Success

As you transition from student to provider, treat technology and business tools just as seriously as clinical skills. The right technology solutions can:

• Cut down on administrative work so you can focus on patient care
• Use best billing practices to create consistent revenue
• Keep you compliant with regulatory requirements
• Track outcomes to improve your care
• Help your practice scale as your career evolves

Don’t wait to implement efficient systems; start strong by finding a good tech solution early on.

Find the Right Technology Partner

At Valant, we designed a behavioral health EHR for providers just like you.
“Valant is designed to set the foundation for real, lasting growth,” says Ram Krishnan. “From your first patient to a thriving practice, we help you put growth into practice.”
Valant’s EHR integrates a comprehensive set of practice management tools—like scheduling, documentation, billing, and outcomes tracking—into one platform.

• Built specifically for behavioral health – Valant isn’t just a general EHR retrofitted for therapists. It offers the kind of support that behavioral health practices need.
• All-in-one platform—scheduling, intake forms, billing, clinical notes, e-prescribing, and more are housed all in one place.
• Time-saving automation—Features like Claim Assist for automated charge checking, and our Prospective Patient Management system, save you time on administrative work.
• Support for solo and group practices—Valant is flexible enough to support both a new private practice or a provider joining a group.
• Reputation and experience—Thousands of practices nationwide can attest to Valant’s proven outcomes for practice management.

Valant: Let’s Put Growth Into Practice. Together.

Your education has prepared you to provide exceptional clinical care, but remember that tech and business tools are just as essential to success. Investing in the right software early helps you avoid burnout and maximize the impact you have on your patients.
Make Valant a partner in your professional future. Schedule a demo today.