Do you own or operate a behavioral health group practice or outpatient program? 

Are you in the market for an EMR for your practice? 

Many clinicians in this position consider small practice management software, or EMRs, like Simple Practice, TherapyNotes and TheraNest. These programs often seem like a good fit because they are no-frills solutions for small clinical settings.

While these programs may be a good fit for your practice now, consider the future. If Do you want to expand your group practice someday? Do you have your sights set on opening an outpatient treatment clinic or IOP program? 

Each of these moves would be a lot easier if you didn’t have to re-think your software in the middle of the transition.   

Today, we’ll examine why Therapy Notes may not be the best choice for your group practice if you have an eye on expanding in the future. If that describes you, then a purpose-built EMR with more range and flexibility, like Behave Health, is likely a better choice. 

What is Therapy Notes and Why Do Some Addiction Treatment Providers Choose This EMR? 

Therapy Notes is an EMR specifically designed to meet the needs of small and medium-scale mental health and behavioral health providers. It was first designed in 1998 and officially launched in 2010. 

Many clinicians are drawn to Therapy Notes because it is a niche platform that offers better customer support than larger competitors. The free 30-day trial is also attractive to those who aren’t sure if the EMR will be a good fit for their needs. Nonprofit organizations also appreciate Therapy Notes’ discounted rates for 501c3’s.

Therapy Notes offer plans that start just under $50 a month for a single clinician-user. If you have a solo practice, that’s your rate. If you run a group practice, then you’ll pay $59 a month for the first user plus $30 a month for each additional user in your practice. Interns can be added for $20 a month per intern. Non-clinician users, aka admin users, are free to add and there is no cap on the number of admin users who can access Therapy Notes.

Therapy Notes also offers an “Enterprise” account for organizations consisting of more than 30 clinicians. These larger accounts are also assigned a dedicated account manager who is the face of customer support for your organization. 

Therapy Notes offers all of the features you’ve come to expect in a behavioral health EHR: telehealth support, clinical documentation, scheduling, electronic billing, payment processing, client portals, ePrescribing, HIPAA compliance, and more. 

Why is Therapy Notes Not a Good EMR Choice for Group Practices Looking to Expand Into Outpatient Addiction Treatment?

With so many reasons to choose Therapy Notes, why is this EMR not always the best fit for small and medium practices?

There are three reasons why Therapy Notes is not always a good choice for group practices that are likely to grow in the future. First, Therapy Notes can’t bill facility claims, also known as UB-04’s or UB-04 forms. Second, Therapy Notes also has no group note capabilities. Third, Therapy Notes treats each patient record as a silo, meaning that it is not designed for the collaboration-heavy workflows typical of IOP programs.

Let’s break these issues down so that you understand why each of these drawbacks is such a big deal when it comes to practice growth.

First, Therapy Notes can’t bill facility claims, also known as UB-04’s or UB-04 forms.

If you’re running a group practice, you’re likely already familiar with CMS-1500 professional claims forms. This health insurance claim form is used by physicians, laboratories and pharmacies to bill for supplies and services in a health care setting, including supplies and services rendered within an addiction treatment context. In fact, CMS-1500 is the most common claim form that addiction treatment clinicians and providers submit to payers when they’re delivering services in the one-to-one setting common to solo and group practice clinical environments.

Unfortunately, if and when your group practice begins offering an additional level of care, say, IOP treatment, CMS-1500 stops being your go-to form. Instead, you’re now running an “institutional facility” and in many cases you’ll need to start submitting UB04 claim forms instead. 

The problem is, Therapy Notes doesn’t offer UB-04 claim forms!
That’s right: you can’t physically complete the insurance forms you’ll need to run your IOP or outpatient program if you choose Therapy Notes. 

Second, Therapy Notes also has no group note capabilities. 

No group notes is another major drawback of Therapy Notes for group practices that are looking to expand in the future. 

IOP programs often hinge on some form of group therapy. If you choose Therapy Notes, you’ll need to find another way to submit claims for those services. 

Third, Therapy Notes treats each patient record as a silo, meaning that it is not designed for the collaboration-heavy workflows typical of outpatient programs.

When the design of an EMR or EHR is truly on-point, you don’t notice it at all. The structure and flow just works and fades into the background as you complete your work as efficiently and painlessly as possible. 

When the design of your software isn’t suited to the application at hand, you’ll feel it. And it won’t be pretty. 

Therapy Notes is an excellent EHR for behavioral health and mental health providers in solo practice. It is specifically designed to support all of the workflows that arise in a one-on-one setting. It is not, however, designed to support the coordination of care typically needed in a more involved level of care, such as intensive outpatient programs or IOPs. Therapy Notes structurally treats each patient record as a “silo” record, ultimately intended to be created and modified by a single clinician. This can make clinical collaboration in an IOP setting a challenge. 

Why is Behave Health Superior to Therapy Notes for Group Practices and Outpatient Addiction Treatment Programs?

Unlike Therapy Notes, Behave Health was designed to support practice growth. We want to enable clinicians with group practices to open outpatient and IOP programs in the future if they wish to do so without changing software first. Behave Health supports UB-04s, group notes and clinical collaboration between providers. Behave Health’s intuitive, simple design is frustration-free before and after your practices’ transition to IOP services. 

Want to Learn More About the Behave Health Universe? We’re Here to Help.

Behave Health is committed to making it easier - and more profitable - to operate evidence-based, results-focused addiction treatment centers.

Our all-in-one app puts clinical, administration, staff, admissions, alumni, residents, treatment plans, billing, insurance authorizations and more - all at your fingertips.

Get your free trial started today and see why more addiction treatment centers prefer Behave Health.

PS. Just getting started with behavioral health? Need help with certification, too? Behave Health can also help direct you to the right resources for help with Licensing or Accreditation by either The Joint Commission or CARF. Mention to your product specialist that you’re interested in this service after you start your free trial!