Hiring & capacity
Can my group therapy practice afford another clinician?
A hire needs enough completed visits to cover their costs and enough cash to get through the months before those visits are paid. Check whether your current team can take the referrals first.
Independent Practice Advisors · 5 min read
Count usable openings first
Look at completed visits and available appointments for the last eight to twelve weeks. Sort open time by day, specialty and insurance panel. Ten open Tuesday slots won’t help if the unmet demand is for evening appointments or a service your team can’t offer.
Calculate the break-even number
Subtract per-visit pay and other costs that rise with each visit from expected collections per visit. Then divide the new monthly fixed costs by that amount. If you collect $125, spend $75 per visit, and add $2,000 in monthly fixed costs, you need 40 completed visits a month to break even. If the clinician is on a guaranteed salary, put that salary in fixed costs and avoid counting it twice.
Model the first six months in cash
List recruiting, credentialing, onboarding, supervision and payroll when they’re due. Put collections in the month you expect payment, allowing for cancellations and billing delays. Run a slower case where credentialing takes longer and the caseload fills more slowly. The lowest cash balance in that case tells you how much room you have above your cash floor.
Pick a threshold before posting
Decide what you need to see before you hire: for example, referral demand your current clinicians can’t serve and enough cash above your floor to cover the slow case. Recheck both before making an offer.
Nothing here is legal, tax, accounting or compliance advice. Keep your accountant and your attorney. We don’t provide HR advice.