Electronic Spring 2026 | Issue 66

Behind the Scenes of Private Practice: Private Practice Panel at Virtual Series

By: Michael Raida, M.D.
Chairman of the Private Practice Committee

On February 19th, as part of the virtual series on navigating your career path, we were fortunate to have a great panel of speakers on the topic of life in private practice. We were joined by Drs. Flavio Arana, Lisa Korman, Naomi Levy, Amber May, and Georgina Rao. In addition to this, we had Dr. Robert Channon speak to us about closing a practice. Charles Cash, JD and Denita Neal, JD, from Professional Risk Management Services (PRMS) joined us to discuss legal issues that can arise in private practice. Topics ranged from finding office space, marketing your business, taking insurance, and considerations in closing a practice.

Highlighted takeaway messages include the importance of finding colleagues to discuss cases and receive support and coverage from. Charles Cash pointed out that this is especially helpful when thinking about what a reasonable colleague would do in a case and how this can help protect you. Having a fifteen-minute screening call with a potential new patient can save you from a lot of difficulties in the future if it is not a good fit. Be mindful of not inadvertently creating a patient-physician relationship with initial phone calls, online communications, or social media. One important way of marketing your new practice is communication with others on the treatment team. If it is a referral from a primary care provider or therapist, it goes a long way to leave a message saying, “thank you” and that you saw their patient.

Before your start your practice, you should have in place all your forms and office practice policies. Some on the panel created their intake forms based on the work of other colleagues or practices (e.g., billing policies, cancellation policies, privacy practices policies, release of information forms, intake forms, etc.). A helpful tip from the child-adolescent psychiatrists is the importance of the consent process when dealing with divorced or separated parents of your minor patient. Who will be able to give consent?

Regarding closing a practice, PRMS and Dr. Channon pointed out the importance of planning well in advance. Suggestions include contacting the state licensing board, your malpractice insurance carrier, and speaking to your electronic medical record provider about record retention for at least ten years. Letting your patients know your plans should happen months in advance. This would include discussions on obtaining records, possible referrals, and what they should be looking for in a new psychiatrist. If you are a solo practice, consider advance directives and who may need to take over your practice should you suddenly need to close it. This would include information on patient schedules, keys, passwords, etc.

A common sentiment shared by the group is that the biggest joy of private practice work is the continuity of care and forming the relationships over many years. Another sentiment is that rest assured, with appropriate discussions and boundary setting, you will not need to do much after-hours patient care.

Regarding the IPS private practice committee. We meet approximately four times per year on Wednesday evenings at 8:00 PM. We like to think of it as a support group for those in private practice and for those thinking about private practice work. Please reach out to Kristen Malloy if you are interested in joining the next Zoom meeting.