Psychiatry Medical Billing Services
Behavioral health spans a wide range of different clinics - from normal mental health therapy to TMS to more specialized testing and therapy. Atlas has helped many clinics navigate the landscape and carve out their own, very profitable niche.
Get An Expert TakeHow Valetudo Doubled Monthly Collections With Atlas
We began working with Valetudo shortly after they fired their previous, overseas, biller. The previous company had worked in secret without providing updates, so company leadership was not aware of the depth of the situation. They had seen the money going into their bank account drop as they saw more and more patients.
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No Two Psychiatry Clinics Are The Same...
...but many deal with similar issues. We bring our experience from working with many other psychiatry groups to help you navigate the key questions for your practice.
Should I bill psychotherapy add-ons?
If you did psychotherapy, you should bill it. CMS created add-on codes (90833, 90836, 90838) specifically for psychiatrists who do therapy and med management in the same visit. Billing both can nearly double your reimbursement per visit compared to E/M alone. But the documentation requirements are strict to do this correctly and payers audit this often, so be careful to only do this where appropriate.
Should I use NPs or PAs?
Psychiatric NPs (PMHNPs) can prescribe, do med management, and practice independently in many states. They're a powerful way to scale your practice, especially given the psychiatrist shortage. But billing differs — Medicare reimburses NPs at 85% of the physician rate unless you use incident-to billing, which has its own supervision requirements and audit risks. NPs/PAs can command six-figure salaries: be sure to do the math before making a decision.
Do I need an office?
Telehealth has made it possible to run a psychiatry practice with almost no overhead — but there are tradeoffs. The DEA requires a physical address for prescribing, many patients do better with in-person visits, and practices with an office tend to see stronger patient retention and deeper therapeutic relationships. No practice we've worked with has regretted having a physical presence — it seems to help significantly with client retention.
What We Do For Your Practice
Claims & Coding
Accurate submissions with optimized coding to maximize reimbursement on every visit.
Denial Management
Aggressive follow-up and appeals on every denied claim — we don't write off revenue.
Payer Contract Negotiation
We negotiate directly with payers to improve your fee schedules and reimbursement rates.
Technology Transitions
Sourcing vendors, migrating data, negotiating fees — we help in each part of finding the best technology.
Accounting
Real-time visibility into the full business of your clinic — not just the revenue cycle.
Practice Growth Strategy
We help you identify and stand up new lines of medicine — from feasibility to launch.
We Work With Your EMR
Atlas integrates with every major electronic medical records system. No switching required — we meet you where you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Atlas handle psychotherapy add-on code billing? +
We review every psychiatric encounter for documented psychotherapy time and pair the correct add-on code (90833, 90836, or 90838) with the appropriate E/M level. When documentation indicates therapy was provided but the time isn't clearly stated, we query the provider before claim submission rather than leaving revenue on the table.
How long does the transition take? +
Most practices are fully transitioned within 30 days. We run in parallel with your current billing operation during the overlap period so there is zero disruption to your cash flow and no claims fall through the cracks.
Do you provide a dedicated billing manager? +
Yes. Every Atlas client gets a dedicated billing manager with a direct phone number you can call or text anytime. Your billing manager knows your payer mix, your fee schedules, and your practice inside and out.
Are there long-term contracts? +
No. We work on month-to-month agreements because we believe you should stay with us because of results, not because of a contract. Most of our clients have been with us for years.