Blog for Mental & Behavioral Health Providers

Blog Managing Your Practice

How Fee Agreements Help You and Your Patients

Fee agreements for your behavioral health care practice are critical because they help manage client expectations, offer protection for providers, and free up time in the long run. Patient's Expectation Patients need to make informed decisions about their clinical treatment…

Heidi AmrineDecember 30, 2012

Blog

Creating a Strong Password for HIPAA

HIPAA Password Security Though it might be enticing to use your pet’s name or your street name, you may be making your accounts more susceptible to a potential security breech. In order to maintain the privacy of patient data particularly…

Heidi AmrineOctober 20, 2012

Blog Industry News

Impact of Supreme Court Ruling to Uphold Federal Health Reform Law and Its Effect on Behavioral Health

On Thursday 6/28, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the Affordable Care Act. The major impact on behavioral health care providers can be divided in to 3 categories: 1. Increased access to care Care access will increase because of…

Heidi AmrineJuly 2, 2012

Blog Industry News

Meaningful Use Deadline Delayed for Mental Health Providers

In July, we wrote about the speculation that Stage 2 of the Medicare incentive program was to be delayed until 2014. On November 30th, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius confirmed that this would indeed be the case. The original regulation would…

Heidi AmrineDecember 2, 2011

Blog Industry News

HIPAA 5010 Deadline Extended: What Does This Mean for Your Practice?

Last week it was announced that CMS, the governing body for the new HIPAA version 5010 transaction standards, has extended the compliance deadline to March 31, 2012. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Office of E-Health Standards and Services…

Heidi AmrineNovember 12, 2011

Blog Managing Your Practice Practice Administration Practice Owner

Practice Finances & Quickbooks

Practice Finances and Quickbooks Customers will often ask me, "Why can't I just use Quickbooks for tracking patient balances?" Well, the answer to that question highlights the key distinction any practice should understand between Quickbooks and a Practice Management Solution…

Heidi AmrineSeptember 23, 2011

Billing Blog Managing Your Practice Practice Owner

Keeping Accounts Receivable in Check

There are some obvious thoughts about what it means to stay on top of your practice’s accounts receivable. At a very high level, this means having an understanding of revenue cycle management. The question is, how can you apply that…

Heidi AmrineAugust 7, 2011

Blog EHR Technology Growing Your Practice Managing Your Practice

Choosing an EHR for the Large Behavioral Health Care Group Practice

Large behavioral health group practices are caught between two worlds: that of the relatively mature market for EHR’s for general medical practices and the relatively immature world of EHR’s for behavioral health care practices. The products pitched to them from…

Heidi AmrineAugust 6, 2011

Billing Billing for Behavioral Health Blog EHR Technology Growing Your Practice Non-Prescribing Clinician Practice Owner Prescribing Clinician

Psychiatric Business Plan Template

Psychiatric Business Plan Template Hundreds of new psychiatric private practices are started each year, yet I repeatedly hear from graduating psychiatry residents and psychiatric private practice colleagues that they have not had adequate preparation in the business of running a…

Heidi AmrineJuly 8, 2011

Blog EHR Technology

Medicaid EHR incentives

The Medicaid EHR incentive program has a few outstanding features that readily distinguish it from the Medicare EHR incentive program – an incentive maximum for eligible providers of $63,750.00, a deadline for adoption in 2016, and no payment penalties for…

Heidi AmrineJune 6, 2011

Therapy Notes vs. Progress Notes

Treatment Plan Template

ICD-10 Codes for Depression 2024 – F32.0–F33.3