> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.pravatherapy.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.pravatherapy.com/readme.md).
# Onboarding Guide
This guide is meant for Prava Therapy providers to help instruct on how to setup/manage their account and perform day-to-day operations in our EHR system.
Welcome to Prava Therapy! This guide will give you an overview on the platform and have you ready to start seeing your first patients.
## Part 1: Credentialing & in network billing
### What is Credentialing?
Credentialing is the process through which insurance payers verify your licensure, training, education, work history, malpractice coverage, and other professional qualifications before allowing you to participate in their provider network and bill under in-network benefits.
Becoming in-network with a payer consists of **two separate steps**:
1. **Individual Credentialing** – The insurance payer reviews and approves your professional credentials.
2. **Network Enrollment (Contract Linking)** – Your approved provider record is linked to Prava's group contract with that payer.
**Both steps must be complete before you can begin treating patients using that payer's in-network benefits.** Being credentialed by a payer does **not** necessarily mean you are in-network under Prava's contract.
For example, you may be credentialed with a payer as an individual provider, but:
* You may not yet be linked to Prava's group contract.
* Prava may not have an active contract for your discipline (e.g., OT or SLP) with that payer.
* The payer may still be completing the enrollment process.
In each of these situations, you are **not yet approved to treat Prava patients under that payer's in-network benefits.**
### Getting Started
If you have not already done so, please complete the [**Prava Credentialing Form**](https://form.jotform.com/242684779131162) to initiate the credentialing process. This allows our team to gather the information required to submit your applications to insurance payers and track your credentialing progress.
The average credentialing turnaround time is approximately **30 days**, although timelines vary by payer and depend on submission completeness and the payer's verification process.
### CAQH
As part of the credentialing process, we require access to your **CAQH** profile.
CAQH (Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare) is a centralized credentialing database that allows providers to maintain their licenses, education, work history, malpractice coverage, and other required documentation in one place. Insurance companies access your CAQH profile during credentialing, reducing duplicate paperwork and helping accelerate the approval process.
Please ensure your CAQH profile is complete, up to date, and that Prava has been granted access.
### Prava Approval
**Once you have been approved to treat patients in-network for a payer, Prava will send you a confirmation email.** You should only begin seeing patients under that payer's in-network benefits after receiving this confirmation.You can also see your current status with each payer network at any time under the Billing/Insurance tab of your profile (see [Managing Your Profile](/managing-your-profile.md)).
**Do not assume you are in-network until you receive confirmation from Prava.** Receiving a credentialing approval letter directly from an insurance company does not necessarily mean you are approved to treat Prava patients. Before you can bill in-network, you must also be successfully enrolled holdunder Prava's group contract with that payer.
### Patient Assignment
Patients should only be assigned to a **Lead Provider** who has been confirmed by Prava as in-network for the patient's insurance plan. The Lead Provider is the credentialed provider responsible for the patient's plan of care from a billing perspective and is the provider whose credentials support the in-network claim.
Patients may receive treatment from multiple members of their care team. Providers who are not yet approved to bill under a patient's insurance may still deliver care, provided this is clinically appropriate. In these cases, the treating provider should complete and electronically sign the documentation for the services they personally provided. The **Lead Provider** will then review the documentation and provide a second signature as the **Supervising Provider**, after which the note can be locked for billing.
If no provider on the care team has been approved to bill under the patient's insurance, **care should not begin** until the Prava Operations team has confirmed the appropriate path forward.
If you are unsure whether you are approved for a patient's insurance, or believe a patient has been assigned to the wrong provider, please contact the Prava Operations team immediately before beginning treatment.
## Part 2: Cash pay & out of network billing
You do not have to wait until you’re fully credentialed with every payer to begin seeing patients. Under the cash-pay or out-of-network route, you can start delivering care almost immediately and either bill the patient directly (cash pay) or use a patient’s out of network benefits.
For out-of-network billing: this option typically involves higher per-visit costs (but not always) for the patient, fewer restrictions from the payer (e.g. no prior authorization restrictions), and often more flexible terms for you as provider. Many providers favor this route especially for plans like UnitedHealthcare, Cigna because their in-network reimbursement rates tend to be lower—you can check the fee schedule in your contract for specifics. You can send us a patient’s benefits information and we will help you compare in-network vs out-of-network options so you can decide how to proceed.
For cash-pay patients: you set your own rates and may vary them by patient if desired. Your standard rates are set under Billing/Insurance on your profile (see [Managing Your Profile](/managing-your-profile.md)); let us know if you want a different rate for a specific patient. Cash payments can be collected either by Prava or directly by you. When setting up a patient as cash pay, please let us know which collection method you prefer. If Prava collects payment, we charge a flat 5% fee to cover credit card processing and administrative costs. If you prefer to collect payment yourself, we can disable payment collection for that patient and no fee will apply.
Please note that when an existing patient transitions from insurance to cash pay, or from cash pay to insurance, we will create a new case with the updated payment arrangement and close the previous case. This helps ensure accurate billing and prevents issues during the transition.
## Part 3: Getting familiar with the Prava system
We have both a [web application](http://app.pravatherapy.com) and a [mobile application](/account-creation.md#mobile-app) that you can use to interact with the Prava Platform. You will use these applications to add clients, schedule appointments, submit chart notes and perform all the day-to-day tasks involved in providing therapy services. We also send frequent communications via email and you are free to send emails to with any questions or requests you may have.
📽️ If you prefer doing a video walkthrough of the platform, here is a quick summary of the critical videos to get you started seeing your visit patients:
* [Prava Web Walkthrough](https://www.loom.com/share/37dd2c529f9e416aa2269a524ebedfeb)
* [Prava Provider Mobile App Walkthrough](https://www.loom.com/share/db8b56e087d04ed08ed63b8733a3f5aa)
* [Starting care for a new client](https://www.loom.com/share/d3b5c34dc7ad4a24b6641907b2eaefd3)
* [Charting in the Prava Web Platform](https://www.loom.com/share/f0d08e6b12a8440f9cdc7ab0e00e4774)
* [Charting in Prava Mobile App](https://www.loom.com/share/2a4d91723f9f4e2ab171e262b983ee02)
* [AI Treatment Notes](https://www.loom.com/share/ecea623d6c30432abb93eba2907b08a8)
* [AI Progress Notes](https://www.loom.com/share/178930d172784ae9bea04319f5894b05)
Prava aims to eliminate all of the administrative burden of running a practice and takes care of a lot of things on your behalf. Here is a quick breakdown of the various tasks involved in providing care and what you are responsible for vs. what Prava does on your behalf:
* Patient Intake: Prava can optionally take care of this. Some providers choose to collect insurance information from patients directly and then forward it to us whereas others will send us contact information and have us collect on their behalf. See [Client Intake Process](/client-intake-process.md) for more information.
* Scheduling: Prava can optionally take care of this. We provide many different ways to book appointments: a personal [booking link](/adding-clients.md#share-a-direct-booking-link-with-clients) for new patient bookings, you can self schedule on the app or web, clients have their own portal to schedule and clients can [call our main line](/adding-clients.md#share-our-phone-number-with-clients) directly to make scheduling modifications.
* Benefits Verification: Prava fully takes care of this. We will ensure that a patient’s insurance plan is still active, verify there is no active home health plan, confirm prior auth requirements and verify the patient’s expected costs. See [Client Benefit Summaries](/client-intake-process.md#clients-benefit-summaries) for more information.
* Charting: Providers responsibility. Prava provides pre-built templates for PT, OT, SLP across evals, treatment notes, progress notes, recerts and discharges. See [Charting](/charting.md) in our user’s guide for a deep dive into charting on the platform and be sure to check out our [AI Treatment](/charting.md#ai-treatment-notes) and [AI Progress Notes](/charting.md#ai-progress-recert-discharge-notes) guides on how we’re reducing the documentation overhead for providers.
* Prior Authorizations: Prava fully takes care of this. We will automatically submit a prior auth if required and notify you if we ever need to pause or stop care because of a prior auth denial or delay.
* Care Plan Signatures: Prava fully takes care of this. For Medicare plans, we are required to make sure we get the care plan (i.e. initial evaluation) signed off by a referring physician within 30 days of the start of care in order for Medicare to cover the costs. We will automatically fax over the care plan when you submit your eval and follow up with the doctor to ensure we get a signature back within 30 days.
* Insurance Billing: Prava fully takes care of this. Right after you submit your chart notes we will submit the claims, follow up on any denials, post payments and submit secondary claims as necessary.
* Patient Responsibility Collection: Prava fully takes care of this. We collect a credit card during the intake process that we use to [automatically charge](/client-billing.md) the patients once we’ve confirmed how much they owe.
* Getting Paid: Prava pays out on a weekly basis for any sessions on which we’ve collected from insurance. Please see [Payouts](/payouts.md) for more information.
## Part 4: Get started!
After reviewing the above you are officially ready to get started seeing patients on the platform! There’s a lot more content in the user’s guide that you can review and come back to any time you have questions on a specific part of the platform. Also remember to feel free to reach out to with any questions you may have.
## Part 5: Get your marketing materials
**Marketing Bio Cards and Booking Link**. Please complete the [Bio Card and Booking Link Input Form](https://form.jotform.com/252997015414157). For the bio cards, we will create 200 of these cards and get them shipped to you for marketing purposes – this is a free service that we provide. We will also use this information to create your unique booking link so that patients can book with you directly.
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