Compliance That Doesn’t Wait Until It’s a Problem
A once-a-year review covering licensing, client documentation, insurance, HIPAA, and vendor agreements, so nothing lapses quietly.
Pick one month a year, often the one tied to your license renewal, and run through this in full. Licenses expire, Business Associate Agreements go stale, and HIPAA policies drift out of date quietly enough that nobody notices until an audit or a complaint forces the question. This covers five areas: licenses and professional standing, client documentation, insurance coverage, internal compliance review, and administrative operations.
1 Licenses & Professional Standing
2 Client Documentation
3 Insurance Coverage
4 Internal Compliance Review
5 Administrative & Operations
This applies whether you’re a therapist, psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, professional counselor, or marriage and family therapist — any self-employed or 1099-based mental health provider.
Questions we get a lot
At least once a year, ideally tied to your license renewal date so it’s a fixed point on the calendar rather than something you remember to do eventually. Some items, like a HIPAA security risk assessment, are worth reviewing annually even if nothing has obviously changed.
A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a contract required under HIPAA with any vendor that handles protected health information on your behalf, such as your EHR platform, billing service, or cloud storage provider. If a vendor touches client PHI and you don’t have a current BAA with them, that’s a compliance gap.
Retention periods are set by your state licensing board, not the IRS, and they vary by state and sometimes by client age (minors’ records are often held longer). Check your specific board’s requirements rather than assuming a single national rule applies.
A review of where client PHI is stored and transmitted, who has access to it, current password and two-factor authentication practices, encryption standards, backup and recovery testing, and whether Business Associate Agreements with vendors are current.
Compliance is easier with a system you actually follow.
If you want help building an annual compliance calendar, we can put one together with you.
Disclaimer: This checklist is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. While we make every effort to keep the content accurate and up to date, federal and state laws and regulations can change without notice. Decisions based on this information should be made in consultation with a licensed CPA or attorney familiar with your specific situation. Leichter Accounting Services is not liable for any errors or omissions, or for any actions taken based on the contents of this checklist.