At Behavehealth, we are often asked about certifications and accreditations for addiction treatment clients from The Joint Commission, CARF, and ASAM Level of Care certification programs. This is especially common during the startup phase of a behavioral health business, when it’s important to gain the certifications that are often needed to officially open your doors. But when it comes to behavioral health marketing - and digital marketing, in particular - there’s one certification that stands out: yes, that’s a Legitscript certification.
What is a Legitscript certification? Why are they so important to behavioral health business planning and marketing?
It should come as no surprise that the addiction treatment community has long been blighted by bad actors who prey on the insurance plans of critically ill behavioral health patients. In response, Google, Facebook, and other major advertisers sought to limit access to their platforms and reserve ad space for addiction treatment providers whose business practices have been reliably vetted. The company charged with this vetting is Legitscript. Originally only able to serve pharmacies, Legitscript expanded its capabilities dramatically to meet the challenge.
Does my behavioral health business need a Legitscript certification? Are we eligible to apply?
In general, if you’re operating any kind of healthcare business - including a behavioral health business - you probably need to seek Legitscript certification if you intend on leveraging any online advertising at any point in your operations.
Most behavioral health businesses, including most levels of care utilized in treating Substance Use Disorder, are eligible to apply.
There are a few, however, that are not currently eligible for Legitscript certification. They are:
Sober living homes
Any business built to generate leads for addiction treatment
Any treatment center outside the United States
Any treatment center that does not have an on-site medical provider or a medical provider that is “functionally” on-site (in an adjacent building, etc)
You can read the full Legitscript Certification for addiction treatment providers FAQ here. There is also a Fact Sheet that covers Legitscript Certification basics for the behavioral health community.
What are some of the most common behavioral health businesses that seek certification with Legitscripts?
Legitscript certifications are popular with:
Pharmacies that serve behavioral health patients
Telemedicine services that serve behavioral health, mental health, and dual diagnosis patients
Addiction treatment centers of all types, including inpatient, outpatient, IHOP, IOP, and detox facilities
Mutual support groups, forums, and online communities that serve behavioral health patients
Drug and alcohol crisis hotlines, mental health crisis lines, advice hotlines, call centers, chat features, and telephone numbers that supply advice, crisis care, and referrals to behavioral health patients
Websites that sell CBD products and medicines
Healthcare merchants that serve the behavioral health industry, such as service providers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors.
What are the steps to Legitscript certification for behavioral health businesses? How long does it take to get certified?
Legitscript certification is a 5-step process, regardless of your behavioral health business model.
Step #1: Open a Legitscript account on their website.
Step #2: Pay the application fee
Step #3: Complete the documentation requested by Legitscript
Step #4: Undergo a review process
Step #5: Accept your certification and pay the first of your yearly fees
Let’s expand a bit on step #4. During this phase, a Legitscript certifier will likely contact you with questions or any additional information or documentation they may need to issue the certification. Any lag time you allow here in responding to the certifier’s requests will add additional time to your total certification process. Respond quickly.
Let’s take a look at step #5 in the next question and discover how much Legitscript certification costs to maintain.
How much does Legitscript certification for addiction treatment cost?
Here’s the pricing structure for addiction treatment and behavioral healthcare Legitscript certification:
As you can see, the more facilities you are certifying, the less expensive the annual fee becomes. For those operators with 9 or fewer facilities to certify, the annual fee is over $3k - $3,095, to be exact. For behavioral health providers with small practices, involving no more than three practitioners sharing a single website, the annual fee drops to $1070.
You can see the breakdown for solo and small-time facilities here:
Legitscript certification is a worthwhile investment for your addiction treatment center
Getting Legitscript certified is a lengthy and involved process, but it’s ultimately well worth the trouble.
Need help collecting information for the application?
Need help getting organized ahead of the review process?
Our Behave360 Professional Services can help with licensing, accreditation, compliance, and much more. Legitscript certification is just one of the many certification and accreditation programs we can assist with.
If you’re still in the preparation phase for applying for certification, you may be interested in upgrading your EMR system to a more functional, easier-to-manage option. Let Behave Health’s all-in-one software tame the chaos at your organization. Start your free trial today and see why so many addiction treatment centers trust Behave Health to handle admissions, electronic health records, billing, and property management concerns.