What every psychiatric practice website should contain
A checklist of the content, trust signals, and compliance items a psychiatric practice website should include, so patients can understand and reach the practice and the practice stays on the right side of the rules.
What it is
A checklist of the content, trust signals, and compliance items a psychiatric practice website should include, so patients can understand and reach the practice and the practice stays on the right side of the rules.
Who it's for
Practice owners planning or refreshing a website.
When to use it
When building a new practice website or auditing an existing one.
The checklist
The essentials patients need
- Who you are and your credentials, the conditions and ages you treat, and the services you offer.
- How to become a patient, how to book, and realistic expectations for wait times and refills.
- Location, telehealth, and the states where you're licensed to see patients.
Money, clearly
- Whether you take insurance or are cash-pay, your fees, and your cancellation policy.
- A clear path to a Good Faith Estimate for uninsured and self-pay patients, which the No Surprises Act requires providers to give.
- How superbills or out-of-network reimbursement work, if that applies.
Safety and trust
- A prominent emergency notice: in a crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 for immediate danger.
- A clear statement that the website is not for emergencies and doesn't provide care.
- Accurate, honest claims, and privacy practices the practice actually follows.
Compliance basics
- The legal pages from the legal-page checklist: privacy policy, terms, medical disclaimer, and accessibility statement.
- Your HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices if you're a covered entity.
- Care with intake forms, booking tools, and third-party tracking that could touch health information.
Important limitations
What's required, versus merely wise, depends on your state, your licenses, whether you're a HIPAA covered entity, and your payers. The Good Faith Estimate requirement for uninsured and self-pay patients has been in effect since 2022; confirm the current details. Treat this as a starting checklist and confirm specifics for your practice.
Sources
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, No Surprises Act, Good Faith Estimate. https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
Reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, a board-certified psychiatrist. Last reviewed July 29, 2026.
Link to this resource
You're welcome to link to this free resource from your site. It's educational, dated, and free to share. It's not legal advice or an endorsement.
Badge text: From the Shrinkiatry practice resource library