Admin software for private-pay psychiatrists

Many psychiatrists in private practice don't take insurance. Patients pay the full fee and file for out-of-network reimbursement with a superbill. Admin then means the evaluation booked and paid for, the late-cancellation policy signed, invoices for medication management, and for some, forensic or consulting work billed by the hour to law firms and companies. Everything clinical is a separate system: controlled-substance prescriptions go through an e-prescribing application that meets DEA's EPCS rules, and notes, rating scales and superbills with diagnosis codes belong in your EHR. SoloWOS stays on the business side of that line.

From the first inquiry to a paid evaluation

1. A prospective patient reaches your Link in Bio page from your directory profile or website: your fee for the initial evaluation and for follow-ups, the states you're licensed in, that you don't bill insurance, and the booking link.
2. They book a 90-minute "Initial evaluation" meeting type with a deposit charged by card, for example $150 of a $450 fee (example numbers). A 48-hour minimum notice keeps anyone from booking tomorrow morning at 11 p.m.
3. Booking questions stay administrative: the state they live in (for licensure), whether they want a superbill, preferred times. No symptoms, diagnoses or medications. Clinical screening happens in your HIPAA-capable intake.
4. Before the first visit, the patient signs your fee, cancellation and no-show policy through E-Signatures. Clinical consent forms stay in your EHR.
5. The 24-hour and 1-hour email reminders carry the video link from the meeting type's location, from whatever HIPAA-capable telehealth platform you use. If the patient misses the visit, mark the no-show, and the late-cancel fee goes out as an invoice.
6. Follow-ups book on a single-use link you send after each visit. If you charge a flat monthly fee for medication management, that's an invoice that repeats every month.
7. The superbill for out-of-network reimbursement comes from your EHR, because it carries diagnosis and procedure codes.

Forensic and consulting work

Independent medical exams, expert witness work and consulting are the part of a psychiatrist's week that fits SoloWOS best, because the client is a law firm or a business billed by the hour. Send the engagement letter with your rates for record review, testimony and travel as a proposal, get it signed, take the retainer as the deposit invoice, run the Time Tracking timer on each task and add the unbilled hours to the next invoice. Keep the evaluee's records and your report in your secure records system, not in SoloWOS.

A typical week

• Monday: two new evaluations booked over the weekend with deposits. One patient lives in a state where you aren't licensed, so you cancel, which refunds the deposit automatically, and send a referral.
• Tuesday: eight video follow-ups. The reminders went out the day before with the link.
• Wednesday: a plaintiff's firm accepts your engagement letter for a records review, and the $3,000 retainer invoice goes out from the proposal.
• Thursday: four hours on the records, timed against the case. A patient no-shows and the late-cancel invoice goes out.
• Friday: you invoice the firm for hours past the retainer and log a CME course and your malpractice premium in Expenses.

All 13 tools, one by one

How a private-pay psychiatrist can use each tool. Several matter only for forensic and consulting work, and none of them touch prescribing or clinical records.

• Link in Bio: fees for the evaluation and follow-ups, the states you're licensed in, a note that you're private-pay, and the booking link, for your directory profiles and website.
• Short Links: a short link in each directory profile that you can repoint when your booking page changes, with click counts to see which profile sends inquiries.
• Forms: a pre-booking screen for administrative fit only: state of residence, self-pay or out-of-network, preferred times. Never symptoms or medication history.
• Scheduling: initial evaluations with a deposit and 48-hour minimum notice, follow-ups on single-use links, your telehealth link in the reminders, and no-show marking.
• Proposals: engagement letters for record reviews, IMEs and expert testimony, with hourly rates as line items and the retainer as a deposit percentage.
• E-Signatures: the fee, cancellation and no-show policy for patients, and the engagement agreement with a law firm, each signed with an audit trail.
• Document Tracking: your CV and forensic fee schedule for attorneys as a tracked PDF, so you see the firm opened it before you follow up.
• Screen Recording: almost nothing on the clinical side. A short video for attorneys explaining your retainer and how hours are billed is the one real use.
• Notes & Boards: a board of forensic cases by stage (records requested, reviewing, report due, deposition), labeled by case number rather than the evaluee's name.
• Time Tracking: the timer for forensic and consulting hours per case, then the unbilled hours added to the firm's invoice in one step.
• Invoicing: late-cancel fees, a flat monthly management fee that repeats, and retainer and hourly invoices to law firms, each with a pay link.
• Expenses: malpractice coverage, DEA registration and state license fees, CME and your EHR subscription, with receipts for your accountant.
• Automations: a task to request records, due 3 days after a firm accepts your engagement letter, and an email with a rebooking link after a no-show.

Prescribing, telehealth and billing rules

• Controlled substances: if you prescribe them electronically, DEA rules require an application that meets 21 CFR part 1311, and completing two-factor authentication is what signs the prescription. SoloWOS has no prescribing at all; that stays in your e-prescribing system or EHR.
• Telehealth: DEA and HHS extended the telemedicine flexibilities for prescribing controlled medications through December 31, 2026. Check the DEA site for what applies after that date before you take on new telehealth-only patients.
• Medicare: physicians who opt out sign a private contract with each Medicare patient. The opt-out affidavit runs two years and, for affidavits signed on or after June 16, 2015, renews automatically.
• Good Faith Estimates: under the No Surprises Act, providers must give uninsured or self-pay patients a written Good Faith Estimate when they schedule care at least 3 business days ahead or ask what it will cost, on paper or electronically as the patient prefers. If the bill comes in at least $400 above the estimate, the patient can use the federal dispute process.

A SoloWOS proposal is a price quote, not a Good Faith Estimate: CMS sets what the estimate must contain and publishes a model notice. Use your EHR or the CMS model, and count the 3 business days with the business days calculator.

HIPAA: who can use SoloWOS and for what

HIPAA applies to health care providers who send health information electronically in standard transactions, such as billing insurance. A cloud service that stores protected health information for a covered provider is a business associate and needs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). SoloWOS doesn't sign BAAs and isn't HIPAA compliant.

• If you bill insurance electronically, you're a covered entity: don't put your patients' health information in SoloWOS. Keep using your EHR or practice-management system for anything clinical.
• If your practice is cash-pay only and never bills insurance electronically, HIPAA may not cover you, but state health-privacy laws can still apply. Ask your lawyer before you rely on that.
• Either way, keep intake forms and booking questions administrative (name, email, preferred time, reason for the visit in general terms) and leave clinical questions for the visit and your records system.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; check yours with a lawyer or your licensing board.

SoloWOS or SimplePractice: which fits

SimplePractice and Osmind are EHRs built for the clinical work: notes, prescriptions and HIPAA. SoloWOS doesn't compete there. The table shows where each one belongs.

• Choose SimplePractice or Osmind for anything that touches patient care: notes, prescriptions including controlled substances, rating scales, superbills and telehealth. If you see patients, you need an EHR like these either way.
• Choose SoloWOS for the work with no patient health information in it, mostly forensic and consulting cases for law firms and companies. If your lawyer agrees the practice is outside HIPAA, the evaluation deposit and the signed fee policy can live there too.

Prices and features checked on October 23, 2026 on each company's site.

Start with these three

Proposals and E-Signatures for engagement letters, and Time Tracking for hourly cases. If your lawyer confirms the practice is outside HIPAA, Scheduling with a deposit on the initial evaluation comes next.

Free tools that help

• Freelance rate calculator to set an hourly rate for record review and testimony.
• Retainer calculator to size a forensic retainer from expected hours.
• Invoice late fee calculator for firms that pay past terms.
• Time zone meeting planner for telehealth patients and attorneys in other states.

What SoloWOS won't do for a psychiatrist

• No e-prescribing of any kind, controlled substances included, and no PDMP checks.
• No clinical notes, rating scales, treatment plans or superbills with diagnosis codes.
• No telehealth video. Add the link from a HIPAA-capable video platform to the meeting type.
• No insurance claims and no Business Associate Agreement.
• Reminders by email only.
• SoloWOS doesn't file taxes, issue 1099s or collect sales tax for you. Invoicing sends the invoice with a pay link (card through your Stripe account) and your other payment details; your accountant or tax software handles the rest.