The decision to open a solo psychiatry practice often comes with a mix of excitement and anxiety. While you've spent years mastering clinical skills, the business side of practice ownership presents an entirely different challenge. The good news? With proper planning, the path from employed psychiatrist to independent practitioner is more straightforward than most realize.
Here's what a realistic 90-day launch timeline actually looks like—and how to avoid the most common pitfalls that delay or derail new practices.
Days 1-30: Legal Foundation and Financial Setup
Your first month focuses on business structure and financial infrastructure. This is when most psychiatrists get overwhelmed by acronyms and paperwork they never encountered in medical training.
Week 1-2: Choose your business entity (Professional Corporation with S-Corp election is common for psychiatrists) and register with your state. Set up a dedicated business bank account and apply for your EIN. These foundational steps take longer than expected—start them immediately.
Week 3-4: Apply for malpractice insurance, secure a business address (even if you're practicing from home, you'll need a professional address for credentialing), and begin compiling documents for insurance credentialing applications. The credentialing packet alone can require 50+ pieces of documentation.
Critical mistake to avoid: Waiting to start insurance credentialing. This process takes 90-180 days minimum, so applications should be submitted during your first month even though you won't see insured patients immediately.
Days 31-60: Technology, Compliance, and Initial Operations
Month two shifts to operational setup and compliance requirements.
Week 5-6: Select and implement your EHR system, practice management software, and telehealth platform. Ensure all technology is HIPAA-compliant and interconnected to minimize duplicate data entry. Many psychiatrists underestimate how much time they'll spend troubleshooting disconnected systems.
Week 7-8: Develop your intake processes, informed consent forms, financial policies, and emergency protocols. Create your initial appointment scheduling system and patient communication workflows. Document everything—your future self will thank you when hiring staff or expanding services.
Pro tip: Build your practice around cash-pay patients during this initial phase while awaiting insurance credentialing. This generates early revenue and validates your market before insurance panels activate.
Days 61-90: Marketing, Soft Launch, and Patient Acquisition
Your final month transitions from setup to actually seeing patients.
Week 9-10: Create your professional online presence: a simple website with clear service descriptions, a Google Business Profile, and basic listings on Psychology Today and similar directories. Focus on local SEO so nearby patients can find you.
Week 11-12: Begin your soft launch with 5-10 patients weekly. This manageable volume lets you refine workflows, identify bottlenecks in your processes, and adjust before scaling up. Use this time to perfect your scheduling, documentation efficiency, and billing procedures.
The Reality About Month Four and Beyond
By day 91, most solo psychiatrists aren't yet profitable—and that's normal. Insurance credentialing may still be pending, and your patient panel is growing but not full. The trajectory from launch to sustainable income typically takes 6-9 months with steady patient acquisition.
Keys to faster profitability:
- Maintain 20-30% cash-pay patients for immediate revenue
- Track your key metrics weekly (new patient inquiries, conversion rate, no-show percentage)
- Automate administrative tasks wherever possible
- Focus obsessively on collection rates from day one
Launching Smarter, Not Harder
The 90-day timeline above is achievable—if you're not trying to manage every detail manually. The most successful solo psychiatry launches share a common thread: they leverage purpose-built tools that handle the business complexity so the psychiatrist can focus on patient care.
Modern practice management platforms now automate the traditionally time-consuming aspects of launch: business formation, credentialing applications, HIPAA-compliant EHR and billing, automated scheduling, and revenue cycle management. With the right infrastructure, psychiatrists move from employed to independent without sacrificing clinical time or hiring expensive administrative staff.
The path to solo practice independence is clearer than ever. The question isn't whether you can launch successfully—it's whether you'll work smarter by using tools designed specifically for psychiatry's unique needs.
Ready to launch your practice with confidence? Explore how comprehensive, AI-powered practice management platforms handle the business complexity while you focus on what matters most: exceptional patient care.