Quick answer

In behavioral health, prioritize four things: HIPAA + BAA, psychiatry support with 90833 add-on, Smart Billing based on MDM (not minutes), and a 1-click EHR workflow that auto-fills your note fields. Everything else is secondary.

10-point checklist

1. HIPAA + BAA: signed BAA; clear data retention and access controls.

2. Clinical coverage: therapy + psychiatry (intakes, progress, follow-ups, treatment plans, after-visit summaries).

3. 90833 psychotherapy add-on: auto-generated justification inside psych notes.

4. Smart Billing (MDM): E/M suggestions driven by medical decision-making, not duration.

5. Continuity: pulls forward prior notes and treatment-plan goals; documents progression.

6. Audit-readiness: diagnosis alignment, medical necessity language, section-level traceability.

7. EHR workflow: browser extension that maps fields and auto-fills; edit-before-save.

8. Custom templates: BH-specific sections with org-level phrasing and required fields.

9. Security/Admin: redaction, role-based access, org analytics.

10. Time to value: a new user should produce a compliant draft in < 2 minutes.
    
    

How to evaluate in 15 minutes

1. Capture a 5–10 min session (therapy or psychiatry) and generate a draft.

2. Check: diagnosis linkage, medical-necessity statements, 90833 justification (for psych), and continuity from prior notes.

3. Open your EHR: use the vendor’s browser extension to map required fields → auto-fill → review → sign.

4. Billing: confirm the MDM-based code recommendation and rationale.

5. Compliance: locate the BAA, data location, retention, and redaction settings.
   
   

Common buying scenarios

• Solo therapist: HIPAA/BAA, time-to-first-note, simple EHR autofill.

• Psych group (MD/DO/PMHNP): MDM Smart Billing, 90833, meds sections, continuity, analytics.

• CCBHC / multi-site: org templates, role permissions, analytics, extension-based EHR autofill at scale.
  
  

FAQ

Is time-based coding supported?
Usually yes, but MDM-based coding often captures complexity better for psych follow-ups.

Will it work with my EHR?
Look for a Chrome-compatible extension that maps fields and auto-fills common EHRs; ask for a universal fallback if yours isn’t listed.

Can we lock templates for our org?
Choose a tool that supports org-level templates, phrasing, and required sections.