Sina Hartung
Co-founder & COO, Eureka Health
Sina Hartung is co-founder and chief operating officer of Eureka. She studied at Harvard Medical School and ran the day-to-day operations of a working medical practice on Eureka's own platform before the company had its first customer outside the founding team. The workflows she writes about are ones she has run from inside a real practice.
Guides
- CPT 2027 for Psychiatry: What Actually Changes in January
What's already public about the 2027 CPT codes, what the CY2027 Medicare proposed rule changes, and what a cash-pay psychiatry practice updates in January.
- Medicare's 2027 Fee Schedule Still Reaches Your Superbills
The proposed 2027 Medicare physician fee schedule cuts the conversion factor to $32.8409. Why that moves cash-pay patients' superbill reimbursement.
- After a Patient Suicide: Malpractice, HIPAA, and Recovery
What to do in the first 72 hours after a patient suicide: carrier notification, the chart freeze, HIPAA after death, family contact, and the odds of a lawsuit.
- Your Telehealth Patient Is in Crisis: The Solo Protocol
A before, during, and after protocol for suicidal crises in telehealth: location checks, 988 warm handoffs, 911 routing, and an emergency-info intake page.
- Tax Deductions for Psychiatrists: What Therapist Lists Miss
The prescriber deduction list (DEA, licenses, tail, collab fees) plus the 2026 QBI phase-out math that makes generic therapist tax advice wrong at $300K.
- Subpoena for Mental Health Records: A Prescriber Playbook
What to do in the first 24 hours after a subpoena for mental health records: the carrier call, order vs. subpoena, psychotherapy notes, and a letter.
- How Solo Psychiatrists Handle Vacation Coverage
Self-cover, swap with a colleague, or hire a service: the vacation coverage decision for solo prescribers, plus a refill runway and sign-out template.
- The Psychiatry Job Market in 2026: Saturated or Not?
Residency growth, PMHNP supply, telehealth hiring, and county-level shortage data: an honest read on whether cash-pay psychiatry is saturated in 2026.
- The HIPAA Phone Stack: Spruce vs Phone.com vs Google Voice
Consumer Google Voice carries no BAA. Compare Spruce, Workspace Voice, Phone.com, and iPlum prices verified August 2026, plus fax options and a texting policy.
- Can a Nurse Practitioner Open Their Own Practice?
Where a PMHNP can open an independent practice, where a collaborating physician is required, and the entity rules that decide whose name is on the clinic.
- PracticeQ (IntakeQ) for Psychiatry: An Honest 2026 Review
IntakeQ and PracticeQ untangled: what each product is, verified August 2026 pricing, the forms-first strengths, and the gaps psychiatrists report.
- Should You Write ESA Letters? A Policy You Can Defend
What an ESA letter legally does, the state laws now regulating who can write one, what malpractice carriers advise, and intake plus decline templates.
- The BAA Checklist: Which Vendors Must Sign, Which Won't
A vendor-by-vendor BAA table for private practice: email, video, fax, AI scribes, payments, and websites, with each vendor's verified signing posture.
- How to Build a Private Practice While You're Still Employed
The contract clauses to check, the malpractice gap moonlighting opens, clean NPI and EIN setup, and evening schedules that let a side practice grow.
- Can a Cash-Pay Practice See Medicaid Patients?
Whether Medicaid patients can pay cash for psychiatry: the enrolled vs. non-enrolled rule, state private-pay agreements, and the $42,425 Massachusetts case.
- Marketing a Private Practice: The Channel-by-Channel Plan
Every channel that fills a cash-pay psychiatry practice, ranked by cost, time, and lag, plus how many weekly hours it takes and how to track what works.
- Leaving Headway or Alma: The Cash-Pay Exit Playbook
What leaving Headway or Alma actually takes: the credentialing that stays behind, the charts to export first, the patient letter, and a 90-day exit timeline.
- How to Respond to a Bad Google Review Without a HIPAA Fine
What the $30,000 Manasa Health Center settlement means for review replies, three HIPAA-safe templates, and how to ask patients for reviews legally.
- A Good Faith Estimate Template for Cash-Pay Psychiatry
Every patient in a cash-pay psychiatry practice is owed a Good Faith Estimate. The deadlines, required elements, and a template covering a year of care.
- 1099 vs. W-2: What a 60/40 Split Really Pays a Prescriber
The take-home math on 1099 vs. W-2 at prescriber incomes: self-employment tax, the benefits you must replace, and worked 60/40 splits for MDs and PMHNPs.
- A Controlled-Substance Agreement Template for Psychiatry
A copyable controlled-substance agreement for private psychiatry: refill and lost-script rules, PDMP and drug-screen cadence, and termination triggers.
- What PMHNPs Actually Make in Cash-Pay Private Practice
What a cash-pay PMHNP practice grosses and nets at clinician-reported fees: three worked scenarios, overhead, collab fees, and the W-2 median to beat.
- Telehealth Across State Lines: When Your Patient Moves
The patient-location rule for telehealth across state lines: what to do when a patient moves, travels, or leaves for college, and which states offer shortcuts.
- What Address to Use for Your DEA Registration and Practice
Which address satisfies DEA registration, your NPI, and your superbills: home address, a UPS Store box, coworking, or a virtual office, scored plainly.
- How to Discharge a Patient From Your Private Practice
The abandonment-proof discharge protocol: 30 days notice, bridge prescriptions, three referral directions, and a copyable termination letter template.
- The Screening Mistakes That Fill Your Panel With Bad Fits
The five patient-screening mistakes that fill a cash-pay panel with bad fits, and the pre-booking form, PDMP check, and decline script that fix them.
- Can You Charge for Calls, Emails, and Paperwork?
Seven real questions on billing refill calls, prior auths, and paperwork in a cash-pay psychiatry practice, with the observed rates and scripts that hold up.
- Do You Need a DEA License in Every State You Prescribe?
DEA registration is issued per state. Current fees, the states that add their own controlled-substance registration, and when a second one pays for itself.
- How to Order Labs in a Cash-Pay Telepsychiatry Practice
Quest and LabCorp often decline telehealth-only practices. Every workaround psychiatrists use to order labs, plus the ICD-10 codes that keep tests covered.
- A Credit Card on File Policy That Actually Collects
A step-by-step card-on-file policy for private practice: when to charge, the script for a declined card, and the paperwork that wins a dispute.
- What Happened to Luminello? A Psychiatry EHR Post-Mortem
Luminello shut down in 2024, a year after SimplePractice bought it. What the forced migration broke, where users went, and the export checklist it teaches.
- How Much Savings Do You Need Before Going Private Practice?
How much to save before quitting for private practice: the delta method, break-even patient counts, and which bridge income options actually help.
- A No-Show Fee Policy Template for Private Practice
A copyable no-show and late-cancellation policy for cash-pay practices: the business-hours notice window, the card-on-file charge, and when to waive the fee.
- How Long Does It Take to Fill a Private Practice?
Survey-based timelines for filling a cash-pay psychiatric practice: first patient, a repeatable referral trickle, and a full panel, plus why the wait is normal.
- Is Psychology Today Worth It for Psychiatrists in 2026?
Psychology Today's verified 2026 pricing, why most profiles produce almost no patients, the fixes that work, and when deactivating is the right call.
- CPT Code 98000: What the 98000-98016 Telehealth Codes Cover
What CPT codes 98000-98016 cover, why Medicare still won't pay for most of them as of July 2026, and the safer default for a cash-pay telehealth superbill.
- How Much Do Private Practice Psychiatrists Actually Make?
Three real cash-pay psychiatry P&Ls, from a $180K first year to a $26K-a-month burnout point, plus normal overhead ranges and the arithmetic behind each number.
- How to Build a Complete Psychiatric Intake Form Packet
Every form a cash-pay psychiatric intake needs, section by section, plus the exact cancellation wording and the medication-consent clause most practices forget.
- Collaborating Physician Cost: What PMHNPs Actually Pay
Real monthly rates from broker platforms and direct-hire postings, what a collaboration agreement must cover, and what psychiatrists earn supervising NPs.
- How to Build a Private Practice Website in One Week
A one-week plan for a 3-page private practice website: what belongs on each page, whether to publish your fees, and Squarespace versus hiring a designer.
- Do You Need to Opt Out of Medicare to Go Cash-Pay?
Whether you must formally opt out of Medicare to charge cash: the affidavit and private contract steps, the W-2 job trap, and a decision table by situation.
- How to Hire a HIPAA-Compliant Virtual Assistant
A step-by-step guide to hiring a HIPAA-compliant virtual assistant: what to automate first, what to delegate, and how to set up an offshore hire safely.
- 99214 CPT Code: What It Covers and When It Applies
What CPT 99214 requires, the moderate-MDM and 30-39 minute thresholds that qualify a psychiatric follow-up, and how the 90833 add-on pairs with it correctly.
- Malpractice Tail Coverage: What It Costs Psychiatrists
What malpractice tail coverage costs, real quoted psychiatrist and PMHNP premiums, occurrence vs. claims-made, and the NSO, Berxi, and MedPli options compared.
- How Many Patients Does a Private Practice Psychiatrist Have?
Real cash-pay psychiatry panel sizes, from 35 to 150-plus patients, why cash panels run smaller than insurance ones, and the math to find your own number.
- Thrizer vs. Reimbursify: Which Fits Your Practice?
Verified July 2026 pricing for Thrizer and Reimbursify, what clinicians report breaking, and a framework for when to offer one, both, or neither.
- Which CPT Codes Go on a Cash-Pay Psychiatry Superbill?
The CPT codes for a cash-pay psychiatry superbill: 90792 vs 99205 for intakes, E/M plus psychotherapy add-ons for follow-ups, and what reimburses patients best.
- Osmind Review (2026): Pricing, Strengths, and Who It Fits
Osmind's current three-plan pricing, verified July 2026, the all-in monthly total for a solo prescriber, what users praise, and what they report breaking.
- How Superbills Work: Out-of-Network Reimbursement Explained
What a superbill must include, how patients file out-of-network claims, what insurers actually pay back, and the failure modes that stop reimbursement.
- Should You Offer Sliding Scale Fees in Private Practice?
When a sliding scale helps a cash-pay practice and when it sinks one: time limits, slot caps, discount floors, and scripts for offering, declining, and ending one.
- The Best EHR for a Cash-Pay Psychiatry Practice (2026)
EHR sticker prices are a third of the real cost. Dated pricing for SimplePractice, IntakeQ, Osmind, and Charm, the add-on math, and what running the practice actually costs.
- IMLC States and Multi-State Licensing for Telepsychiatry
Which states are in the IMLC as of 2026, what the compact really costs, and how telepsychiatrists decide which state licenses are worth holding.
- Headway vs Alma vs Grow Therapy: Which Should You Join?
Clinician-reported rates by CPT code, real referral volume, and exit mechanics for Headway, Alma, and Grow Therapy, from prescribers who used all three.
- What Aetna's Alma Rate Cut Means for Psychiatrists
Aetna withdrew its Alma rate consolidations on July 9 after clinician pushback, but rates still fall on August 15. What the reversal saved psychiatrists, in dollars.
- How Doctors Accidentally Leak Patient Data to Life Insurers
Life and disability insurers buy prescription histories, lab results, and clinical records through six channels. Here is the map, and how a cash-pay practice closes the leaks.
- DEA Telehealth Extension Tracker: Prescribing Into 2027
The DEA telehealth flexibilities now run through December 31, 2026. Track the extensions, the pending special-registration rule, and the pre-deadline checklist.
- What You Need to Start a Private Psychiatry Practice
The real minimum to see your first cash-pay patient, the setup that only feels required and can wait, and the order that keeps e-prescribing from blocking you.
- NPI Type 1 vs Type 2: Which One Do You Need?
Type 1 is you, Type 2 is your business. You only need a Type 2 if your individual NPI is credentialed with insurance, and each NPI goes on different paperwork.
- How to Transition Your Practice From Insurance to Cash Pay
The step-by-step transition off insurance: the NPI move that clears you to bill cash, the notice letter that keeps half your panel, and the order to drop payers.
- Should Your Psychiatry Practice Take Insurance or Cash-Pay?
Whether to take insurance or go cash-pay in private practice, decided with arithmetic: what each pays, how fast each fills a panel, and the admin tax insurance hides.
- What Does It Cost to Set Up a Solo Psychiatry Practice?
A line-item budget for a cash-pay telepsychiatry practice: the monthly software stack, the one-time costs to open, and the hidden integration tax nobody quotes you.
- How Much Should a Psychiatrist Charge in Private Practice?
Real cash-pay psychiatry fee schedules, from $250 follow-ups to $1,500 intakes, plus how to set your starting number and raise rates without losing patients.
- Do You Need a PLLC to Start a Private Practice?
No, and a PLLC won't shield you from malpractice either. When incorporating actually saves money, which entity your state requires, and what filing really costs.
- Building a Referral Network for a Psychiatry Practice
Referrals are the highest-converting source of cash-pay patients. Here is who to ask, what to say, and the volume it actually takes to fill a panel.
- What to Say on a Free 15-Minute Consultation Call
A six-step script for the free consult call: how to state your fee and stay silent, what you legally cannot say, and how to book the patient before you hang up.
- How to Get Your First Private Practice Patients Without Ads
The three channels that fill a new cash-pay psychiatry practice, ranked by what actually works, plus why paid ads should wait until you already have a pipeline.