If you’re a behavioral health care provider who has chosen to go solo, then you know the challenges of running an independent business. You have to deal with tons of things your corporate-employed counterparts don’t, like billing and invoicing, tracking your clients’ progress and payments, and taking care of all the scheduling and reminders yourself.
It takes a lot of time and effort to build your own practice. If all of this sounds like way too much work for you, you’re not alone! But luckily, there are tons of resources that can help.
One of the most impactful—and perhaps even life-changing—of these resources is a behavioral health software system.
Choosing A Suitable Behavioral Health System 101
A behavioral health system is a platform that helps you take care of the administrative side of your practice so you can focus on providing the best possible care. There is a range of features that behavioral health software may include, but typically they help you take care of the scheduling, paperwork, and regular or automatic functions.
These include sending out reminders, or creating and issuing essential therapy documents such as informed consent or intake forms, as shown.
As behavioral health software is specially designed for use by mental health professionals, it should be HIPAA-compliant to secure private patient health information.
There are many behavioral health software options out there, and more are being developed all the time. How do you choose one that’s right for you?
First, think about what parts you need help with. Is sending digital intake forms getting too burdensome? Do you have trouble keeping up with scheduling and reminders? Is tracking client progress your biggest challenge? Note the areas in which you need the most support.
Next, check out your available options. Do some research into the behavioral health software solutions that might work for you, and see what kinds of features they offer.
Features To Look For
There’s a growing list of potential features that such solutions may offer, but they include:
- Appointment scheduling and reminders
- Billing and invoicing
- Charting
- Claims management
- Compliance tracking
- Customer relationship management
- E-prescribing
- Electronic medical records (EMR)/Electronic health records (EHR)
- Employee management
- HIPAA-compliant communication and data storage
- Initial assessments
- Medical billing
- Multi-provider practice functionality
- Online forms
- Self-service portal
- Video conferencing
Determine how well each solution aligns with your needs, then see which one suits you best.
A behavioral health system is a platform that helps you take care of the administrative side of your practice so you can focus on providing the best possible care.
Of course, on top of the features offered, you’ll need to determine how each solution aligns with your needs on some other very important aspects, too, like:
- Price: even the best solution in the world doesn’t meet all of your needs if it’s way above your price range.
- User-friendliness: you need to be able to use the solution, and so do your clients if there is a client-facing portal!
- Training: even the most user-friendly solution may require some training to pick it up; you’ll want at least some training or learning resources to guide you in using the solution you choose.
- Support from the vendor: issues may arise with the solution or with your practice, and when they do, you want a vendor that’s willing and able to provide you with support.
There are many things to consider when picking the best option for you, and only you can make that call. However, the list below is a good place to start.
Top 11 Software & Program Options Available
This is not an exhaustive list of the options available, but it can be a good start.
These 11 platforms are some of the most popular behavioral health programs out there, and they offer an impressive number of valued features.
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | Simple Practice tools include:
|
| Name | Simple Practice |
| Price | $39+ monthly |
| Good For | Online Psychotherapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Coaching |
| More info | Simple Practice |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | TheraNest gives you:
|
| Name | TheraNest |
| Price | $39+ monthly |
| Good For | Online Psychotherapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Coaching, Telepsychiatry |
| Website | TheraNest |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | Full Slate offers:
|
| Name | Full Slate |
| Price | $29.95+ monthly |
| Good For | Teletherapy, Practice Management, Coaching |
| More info | Full Slate |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | Therapy Notes provides:
|
| Name | Therapy Notes |
| Price | $49+ monthly |
| Good For | Online Psychotherapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Coaching, Therapy Notes |
| Website | Therapy Notes |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | Owl Practice’s tools include:
|
| Name | Owl Practice |
| Price | $69+ monthly |
| Good For | Online Psychotherapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Telepsychiatry, Digital Health |
| More info | Owl Practice |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | Kareo offers:
|
| Name | Kareo Billing |
| Price | $80+monthly |
| Good For | Online Psychotherapy, Telehealth, Practice Management, Customer Engagement |
| More info | Kareo |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | Therabill provides support for:
|
| Name | Therabill |
| Price | $149+monthly |
| Good For | Online Psychotherapy, Practice Management, Teletherapy |
| More info | Therabill |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | With Quenza, practitioners can access:
|
| Name | Quenza |
| Price | $1+ monthly |
| Good For | Online Psychotherapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Coaching, Client Engagement |
| Website | Quenza |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | Power Diary offers:
|
| Name | Power Diary |
| Price | $5+ weekly |
| Good For | Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Coaching, Practice Management |
| More info | Power Diary |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | ICANotes gives you:
|
| Name | ICANotes |
| Price | $6+ monthly |
| Good For | Online Psychotherapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Telepsychiatry |
| More info | ICANotes |
Software | Details |
|---|---|
 | TherapyZen’s features include:
|
| Name | TherapyZen |
| Price | $42+ monthly |
| Good For | Practice Management, Telehealth |
| More info | TherapyZen |
Billing Solutions: Our 5 Favorite Systems
If you don’t feel the need for a solution with all the features, but still need something to help you with billing, invoicing, and payment processing, there are several billing solutions available.
They may not be able to “do it all” but their price point is more budget-friendly.
Billing Solution | Details |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name | QuickBooks |
| Price | $12.5+ monthly |
| Good For | Insurance Claims, Payment Processing, Billing and Invoicing, Reporting |
| More info | Quickbooks |
Billing Solution | Details |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name | FreshBooks |
| Price | $4.5+ monthly |
| Good For | Insurance Claims, Payment Processing, Billing and Invoicing, Reporting |
| More info | FreshBooks |
Billing Solution | Details |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name | BigTime |
| Price | $10+ monthly |
| Good For | Payment Processing, Billing and Invoicing, Reporting |
| More info | Big Time |
Billing Solution | Details |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name | Wave |
| Price | Free (fees for accepting payments) |
| Good For | Insurance Claims, Payment Processing, Billing and Invoicing, Reporting, Customer Relationship Management |
| More info | Wave |
Final Thoughts
When you’re choosing a blended therapy solution, you want one that works for you. While we can’t tell you which one is the best to help you with your practice, this list should serve as a good starting point for your research.
Remember that the best solution for you may not be the most popular or the most highly reviewed—it’s the one that meets all your unique needs.
We hope you enjoyed this review. Don’t forget to start your 30-day Quenza trial to turn what you’ve learned into better patient health outcomes!
Quenza is a specialized behavioral health system for blended care professionals that will give you all the tools you need to streamline your practice and share unique, professional mental health solutions with your clients – ultimately, helping you can maximize your positive impact on the lives of those you help.
