Setup
Credential types
Manage the licenses, certifications and registrations providers hold, with their provider level, who may supervise their holders, whether they are held per state and which states require them.
A credential type is a kind of license, certification or registration, such as an SLP license or an RBT certification. Providers record the ones they hold on the Credentials tab of their profile (providers). Open Setup > Credential Types to see the list.
New clinics start with the types for each discipline they offer. Types of a discipline module your clinic does not have stay out of the list and the pickers.
What a credential type sets#
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Code and Name | How the credential shows on the provider's profile and in code rules. |
| Discipline | The discipline it belongs to, or Every discipline. |
| Category | Ties the credential to the payer's rules for services rendered under supervision. |
| Provider level | The education level behind it (doctoral, master's, bachelor's, below bachelor's). Payers that ask for provider level modifiers read it. |
| Supervised by | The credential types a supervisor of a holder must hold. Empty means any provider may supervise. |
| Required for services delivered in | The states that require this credential. See state-required credentials. |
| State license | Held per state with a number and an expiration date. An expired one blocks booking and signing in that state. |
| Co-sign by default | New supervision of a holder starts with co-sign required. |
Add or change a credential type#
- Click New Credential Type, or choose Edit from a type's row menu.
- Enter the Code and Name, and pick the Discipline, Category and Provider level.
- In Supervised by, pick the types allowed to supervise holders, for example BCBA and BCaBA for an RBT.
- In Required for services delivered in, pick the states that require this credential, if any.
- Turn on State license for a credential issued by a state, then click Create Credential Type or Save Changes.
A credential type is never deleted, because credentials and code rules point at it. Turn off Active to retire one; providers who hold it keep it on their profile.
Speech and OT credential types#
New clinics get the speech types SLP, CF-SLP, SLPA and SLP-S, and the occupational therapy types OT, COTA and OT-S. Clinical fellows, assistants and students are supervised by an SLP (speech) or an OT (occupational therapy), and each of them has a monthly supervision log.
ABA credential types#
Clinics with the ABA module also get these types:
| Code | Provider level | Supervised by | State license |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCBA-D | Doctoral | Any provider | No |
| BCBA | Master's | Any provider | No |
| BCaBA | Bachelor's | BCBA-D, BCBA, LBA | No |
| RBT | Below bachelor's | BCBA-D, BCBA, LBA, BCaBA, LABA | No |
| BCBA-T, BCaBA-T (trainees) | Bachelor's, below bachelor's | BCBA-D, BCBA, LBA | No |
| LBA | Master's | Any provider | Yes |
| LABA | Bachelor's | BCBA-D, BCBA, LBA | Yes |
| RBT-REG (state registration) | Below bachelor's | BCBA-D, BCBA, LBA, BCaBA, LABA | Yes |
Board certifications are national, so they need no state. Add a state license (LBA, LABA) for each state where a provider practices; the expiration alerts and the booking and signing blocks then apply in that state.
RBT-REG starts out required for services delivered in Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Edit the list to match the states your clinic works in. A technician who works in one of them adds an RBT-REG credential for that state. When a state registers technicians under their supervising analyst (Louisiana does), pick the Supervising analyst on the credential so NeatPractice can tell you when that supervision ends (providers).
State-required credentials#
Some credentials are needed only where the service happens. A technician registration, for example, is required in a few states and means nothing in the others. List those states in Required for services delivered in; the list shows them in the Required in column.
In a listed state, a provider who holds another credential of the same category and discipline (an RBT, for the technician registration) must also hold this one, entered with that state and an expiration date that covers the date of service. A registration for one state never counts for another.
The service state is where the patient is seen: the patient's service address for a home, school or community visit, the patient's home address for a telehealth visit, and otherwise the location's state.
When the credential is missing or does not cover the date:
- Booking the provider needs an admin override with a reason (booking checks).
- Signing and co-signing need a reason from someone who can override documentation gates (signing).
- The claim scrubber shows a warning. Billing a visit that was delivered and signed is never blocked for it.
A license override for that state and date clears the check. States not on the list are not checked at all.
Renewal hours and training#
Turn on Renewal hours and training on a credential type to track:
- Development hours per cycle: the hours of continuing education a holder logs between the credential's issue date and its expiry date. The ABA module sets 12 hours for registered behavior technicians.
- Training hours before service: the hours of training, with a trainer, a holder completes before seeing patients. The ABA module sets 40 hours for registered behavior technicians.
- Without the training: what happens while the training is short. Warn shows a warning when booking the provider and when they sign visit notes; Block stops booking unless someone who manages providers books past it, and stops note signing.
Providers log both on their Compliance tab.
Who can change credential types#
Anyone with access to Setup can see the list. People whose role can manage providers can add and edit types.