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I've been contemplating starting a small telehealth only private practice but have a few variables I'm trying to sort out and am curious as to others' feedback and experience with this. Obviously the pandemic has changed the landscape of our work and what was once a rarity is now quite common I'm hearing regarding telehealth services. I do commute for my main job (which is 2-3 days a week in health care related settings) but longer term would be nice to consider a small side practice from home. Scratch the itch to get back to some more traditional talk therapy while also making a few extra bucks a week without adding more to my main work.
Here's some variables I'm trying to weigh pros/cons of, get feedback on, and also see how to approach them:
- I currently do some side work for a small boutique private practice. At this time it's mostly doing some occasional testing and assessments. Recently the owner has asked if I want some telehealth therapy cases. They charge $250/hr no insurance, but says they pay out $100 at first to psychologists for each session and generally increases it upwards to $125-150. I told them I think it's a little on the low end so we shall see. They also charge higher for the initial session as "it's also a clinical intake and interview." There's no pressure to take therapy cases although they noted I'm the only male psychologist or therapist at the practice..and well there's been more increased demand for those from referral sources. That really got the wheels turning. I'm fine with their fee split for testing and assessment but hey, market demand and value on therapy case demand seems to be in my favor .
- Got me thinking maybe I should just start a small , generalist, private practice online only. Goal is one day a week maybe just 3-5 sessions. Market rate in my area for private pay no insurance psychologists is around $150-$275 although I do see plenty of master level therapists charging $120-$190 which seems a bit high for them. I don't want to undercut myself, is $200 fair? I'm not trying to go full time and most I'd consider scaling up , if demand would be like 2 days a week 2-5 sessions a day. I have no non-compete agreement or clause with the other psychologist and would prefer to continue occasional assessments/testing with them which probably means I would not take any therapy cases from them to keep things separate.
- For a very small private practice like this, do I need an LCC?
- Do I need a website and marketing or is just putting up a good Psychology Today website and get a HIPAA complaint email and phone number?
- Are PSYCPACT interstate fees and setup worth it for this small of a practice or should I just focus on within my state of licensure?
- From other threads insurance paneling seems like a waste of time if I'm not trying to be full time, yes?
- I have a few colleagues that I could refer to if I couldn't take on a patient and also a few colleagues who seem happy to refer a few patients if I finally decide to open up shop. I feel this offers a valuable customer service too, if someone takes the time to call me for my services and I can't accommodate them, seems like good business to be able to help them with a few possible practices they could go to.
- Worth it to niche down or keep more generalist (within scope of course)?
- Therapy Notes seems to be popular for small practices and seems to include everything you need, is this the case? Do these EHRs typically include ability to edit and send/receive documents like consent forms?
- Are those 15 minute free calls/consultations worth it? I hear mixed reasoning for them.
- I already have a 401k through my main gig and I pay for my own health insurance (by choice). I also already carry my own malpractice and liability insurance. Any tax or other considerations?
- Anything else I should consider?
So overall trying to figure out if worth it to branch out on my own for a few hours a week of a telehealth private pay only practice or just get some patients from the other private practice with no overhead or marketing needed. I wouldn't be too concerned if I set aside 5 slots and only filled 2-3 and only got a few calls or referrals every so often as I'd plan to be at home during that time anyways. Also the small private practice offering me therapy cases is 1099 so I imagine my own practice would be similar taxes. I'm not trying to make this a full time practice.
Ask me a few years ago and I was was not remotely thinking of setting aside time for weekly sessions after a few years in community mental health while pre-licensed (and in peak pandemic no less doing 8-10 hours a day of community mental health tele therapy). But it's been few years and I have much more autonomy and flexibility now.
Thanks all!
Here's some variables I'm trying to weigh pros/cons of, get feedback on, and also see how to approach them:
- I currently do some side work for a small boutique private practice. At this time it's mostly doing some occasional testing and assessments. Recently the owner has asked if I want some telehealth therapy cases. They charge $250/hr no insurance, but says they pay out $100 at first to psychologists for each session and generally increases it upwards to $125-150. I told them I think it's a little on the low end so we shall see. They also charge higher for the initial session as "it's also a clinical intake and interview." There's no pressure to take therapy cases although they noted I'm the only male psychologist or therapist at the practice..and well there's been more increased demand for those from referral sources. That really got the wheels turning. I'm fine with their fee split for testing and assessment but hey, market demand and value on therapy case demand seems to be in my favor .
- Got me thinking maybe I should just start a small , generalist, private practice online only. Goal is one day a week maybe just 3-5 sessions. Market rate in my area for private pay no insurance psychologists is around $150-$275 although I do see plenty of master level therapists charging $120-$190 which seems a bit high for them. I don't want to undercut myself, is $200 fair? I'm not trying to go full time and most I'd consider scaling up , if demand would be like 2 days a week 2-5 sessions a day. I have no non-compete agreement or clause with the other psychologist and would prefer to continue occasional assessments/testing with them which probably means I would not take any therapy cases from them to keep things separate.
- For a very small private practice like this, do I need an LCC?
- Do I need a website and marketing or is just putting up a good Psychology Today website and get a HIPAA complaint email and phone number?
- Are PSYCPACT interstate fees and setup worth it for this small of a practice or should I just focus on within my state of licensure?
- From other threads insurance paneling seems like a waste of time if I'm not trying to be full time, yes?
- I have a few colleagues that I could refer to if I couldn't take on a patient and also a few colleagues who seem happy to refer a few patients if I finally decide to open up shop. I feel this offers a valuable customer service too, if someone takes the time to call me for my services and I can't accommodate them, seems like good business to be able to help them with a few possible practices they could go to.
- Worth it to niche down or keep more generalist (within scope of course)?
- Therapy Notes seems to be popular for small practices and seems to include everything you need, is this the case? Do these EHRs typically include ability to edit and send/receive documents like consent forms?
- Are those 15 minute free calls/consultations worth it? I hear mixed reasoning for them.
- I already have a 401k through my main gig and I pay for my own health insurance (by choice). I also already carry my own malpractice and liability insurance. Any tax or other considerations?
- Anything else I should consider?
So overall trying to figure out if worth it to branch out on my own for a few hours a week of a telehealth private pay only practice or just get some patients from the other private practice with no overhead or marketing needed. I wouldn't be too concerned if I set aside 5 slots and only filled 2-3 and only got a few calls or referrals every so often as I'd plan to be at home during that time anyways. Also the small private practice offering me therapy cases is 1099 so I imagine my own practice would be similar taxes. I'm not trying to make this a full time practice.
Ask me a few years ago and I was was not remotely thinking of setting aside time for weekly sessions after a few years in community mental health while pre-licensed (and in peak pandemic no less doing 8-10 hours a day of community mental health tele therapy). But it's been few years and I have much more autonomy and flexibility now.
Thanks all!
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