How it works
The whole move — on your terms.
PracticeElf takes you from employed to independent and runs the practice with you: exit planning, credentialing, marketing, billing, and growth. You decide how much you do and how much Elf and our team do for you.
Exit → Launch → Fill → Sustain → Grow
01 — Exit
Exit
Decode the exit before you give notice.
- Review your contract: non-compete, tail, and notice period
- Model your valley — the cash-flow gap between paychecks
- Set a go-date anchored to your notice period and payer timelines
02 — Launch
Launch
Build the legal and administrative foundation.
- Form your entity (PLLC/PC), get your EIN
- Complete CAQH ProView; submit to Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers
- Obtain malpractice, DEA, and general liability coverage
03 — Fill
Fill
Get found and fill the panel.
- Build your brand, website, and Google Business Profile
- List on Healthgrades, Zocdoc, and specialty directories
- Launch patient outreach (contract-reviewed before you send a word)
04 — Sustain
Sustain
Run the back office on autopilot.
- Billing, remittance, and bookkeeping running clean from day one
- DEA, license, malpractice, and CAQH renewals tracked and reminded
- Elf monitors payer issues and flags obligation deadlines before they bite
05 — Grow
Grow
Build the moat while you see patients.
- Earn Google reviews — 10 reviews lift local search ranking measurably
- Referral partner network built and actively maintained
- SEO and content working around the clock as your practice ages
From resignation letter to growing practice — one arc.
Stage 01
Exit
- Employment contract guidance
- Non-compete analysis
- Valley (cash-gap) modeling
- PLLC formation & EIN
- Resignation timing
Stage 02
Launch
- CAQH ProView built & attested
- Medicare & Medicaid enrollment
- Commercial payer applications
- DEA registration
- Website & Google Business Profile
Stage 03
Fill
- First claims & denial management
- Patient acquisition marketing
- Referral network outreach
- Review management
- Schedule optimization
Stage 04
Sustain
- Monthly bookkeeping
- Revenue cycle management
- CAQH & payer revalidation
- License & DEA renewals
- AR aging & denial follow-up
Stage 05
Grow
- Payer rate audit
- Local marketing & SEO
- Second location modeling
- Hiring & onboarding
- Online reputation & reviews
Five lanes. One team. One platform.
-
Exit
Decode the contract, model the valley, set a go-date you can defend.
-
Launch
Entity, credentialing, payer enrollment, and the tech stack — tracked payer-by-payer.
-
Fill
Brand, site, local search, reputation — fill the panel before the first claim clears.
-
Sustain
Billing, books, renewals, reminders — independence that holds at month six.
-
Grow
Reviews, referrals, SEO — one brain running the business side while you practice.
Five lanes. One complete move.
- 01 · Exit
Decode the contract. Model the runway.
Non-compete scope, tail obligations, patient-notification windows — surfaced and explained. Then we model your valley so you know exactly how much runway to fund before you hand in your badge.
- 02 · Launch
Entity, credentials, payer enrollment — tracked payer-by-payer.
PLLC formed, EIN obtained, CAQH built and attested. Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payer applications submitted and chased until the approvals are in — not left to sit in a queue.
- 03 · Fill
Practice website, Google Business Profile, and local SEO — live before the first patient.
Your online presence is built and indexed while you're still credentialing, so the schedule starts filling the moment you're enrolled.
- 04 · Sustain
Books, billing, renewals, and reminders — the back office Elf runs.
RCM, bookkeeping, malpractice renewal tracking, CME reminders, estimated tax notices. The recurring work that consumes physician time — handed off and logged.
- 05 · Grow
Referral programs, outreach, and the data to know what's next.
Once the practice is live and funded, Elf shifts to growth: referral tracking, targeted digital outreach, and reporting that tells you which services to add and when.
Elf runs the business. You own the practice.
- Exit planning — decode your contract, model the runway (general info + counsel referral, never legal advice).
- Credentialing & payer enrollment — tracked payer-by-payer.
- Brand, site, local SEO & content — get found and fill the schedule.
- Books, billing & the back office — RCM, bookkeeping, renewals, reminders.
- The medicine — clinical judgment and patient care are yours alone.
- The entity & your name — you own it outright; nothing moves without your sign-off.
- The patient relationships — we never sit between you and your patients.
- Every dollar of upside — flat fee, never a percentage of your practice.
Any clinician leaving employment for independence.
Hospital-employed MD or DO
Non-compete winding down. 1,200–2,000 active patients. Needs to credential with 5–8 commercial payers before the first private-practice claim is paid.
Elf preps & tracks: Non-compete clock, entity setup, simultaneous payer credentialing, bridge cash-flow model.
Nurse practitioner or PA
Full practice authority state (or moving to one). Primary care or behavioral health. The credentialing gap is the same 90–165-day window — proportional to their panel.
Elf preps & tracks: CAQH profile, payer applications, CLIA waiver if needed, billing setup for claim one.
LCSW, PT, OT, SLP, or psychologist
Leaving an agency or group for private practice — often skipping insurance entirely. The valley here isn't payer delay; it's building a full caseload from zero.
Elf preps & tracks: Practice brand and site, local SEO, directory listings, superbill templates, out-of-network billing guidance.
The things clinicians ask first.
Do you work with NPs, PAs, and therapists — or only physicians?
All independent clinicians. Physicians (MD/DO), nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and therapists (PT, OT, SLP, behavioral health) — anyone leaving employed practice to go out on their own.
Is this legal advice about my non-compete?
No. PracticeElf provides business and educational guidance, not legal advice — we are not attorneys. We help you understand the landscape and the right questions to ask, and we connect you with licensed healthcare-employment counsel for advice on your specific contract.
How fast until I'm actually getting paid?
Credentialing and payer enrollment typically take 90–165 days per payer. We start early, track it payer-by-payer, and model the cash-flow gap up front so it's planned — not a surprise that sends you back to a salary.
Do you take a cut of my practice revenue?
Never. PracticeElf is a flat fee. You keep 100% of what your practice earns.
How does pricing work?
A monthly subscription gives you the platform plus Elf, your AI guide. From there you set the dial: do it yourself with Elf guiding you, hand the whole thing to our team, or anywhere in between. Your price follows how much human help you want — never a percentage of your practice.
Do you disappear after launch?
No. The team that plans your exit runs your credentialing and your books on Done-with-you and Done-for-you plans — and Elf is on 24/7 at every tier. We're built to still be here at month six, when it matters most.
What you're actually comparing.
Most clinicians weigh four paths when leaving employment. Three miss part of the arc — and one takes a cut of your earnings indefinitely.
01
Going alone
- No exit planning or contract guidance
- Credentialing researched from scratch, payer by payer
- No billing infrastructure on day one
- You own 100% of practice revenue
The valley catches you off guard. Most clinicians who go solo take 2–3× longer to open — and some return to employment.
02
Credentialing service
- Handles credentialing & payer enrollment
- Exits your contract — then you're on your own
- No exit planning, marketing, or billing
- You own 100% of practice revenue
After credentialing, the patient pipeline, billing, and operations all fall on you — no system, no support, no playbook.
03
Management company
- Credentialing, billing, and operations covered
- Takes 7–15% of every dollar you earn — forever
- You may not fully own the patient list or entity
- Conflict of interest: their take grows when yours does
On $500k revenue at 10%, that's $50k/year — in perpetuity. And leaving may cost you your patient relationships.
04
PracticeElf
- Exit planning, credentialing, marketing, billing — one arc
- AI-guided playbook — 51 steps, payer by payer
- You own 100% of practice revenue, always
- Built by the team that credentialed 400+ providers
Flat fee aligns us with your independence. We don't take a cut of your earnings — we win when you keep more of them.
See your number — before you give notice.
Get your free Exit Readiness checkEstimate based on your inputs and typical timelines — not a promise.