virtru.com

For a **small healthcare practice**, I’d prioritize an all-in-one practice platform rather than buying a standalone “client portal.” You want the portal to connect securely to intake, scheduling, messaging, documents, payments, and ideally your clinical record. One important caveat: **“HIPAA compliant” is not a checkbox that makes your practice compliant.** The vendor should provide a **Business Associate Agreement (BAA)**, and your practice still needs appropriate policies, access controls, staff training, and procedures. ### My top picks for 2026 | Platform | Best for | Portal strengths | Approx. starting price* | |---|---|---|---:| | **Practice Better** | Wellness, nutrition, functional/integrative care | Messaging, forms, scheduling, programs, journals, payments | ~$35/mo | | **SimplePractice** | Therapy & behavioral health | Excellent client portal, forms, scheduling, telehealth, billing | ~$49/mo | | **Jane App** | PT, chiropractic, allied health | Excellent scheduling + portal + charting | ~$54/mo | | **Carepatron** | Budget-conscious solo practices | Portal, messaging, forms, scheduling, telehealth | Free/low-cost tiers | | **Healthie** | Nutrition, DPC & health/wellness | Portal, telehealth, food/activity tracking, programs | ~$149/mo+ | | **DrChrono** | Primary care & medical practices | Patient portal tightly integrated with EHR | Custom pricing | | **Tebra** | Growing independent medical practices | Portal + scheduling + billing + patient acquisition | Custom pricing | \*Pricing changes frequently, so treat these as approximate rather than quotes. Current comparison data puts Practice Better around $35/month, SimplePractice around $49/month, and Jane around $54/month. [www.capterra.com](https://www.capterra.com/patient-portal-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.getpracticehelp.com](https://www.getpracticehelp.com/ehr/best-ehr-small-practices/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 🥇 Best overall: Practice Better [Practice Better](https://practicebetter.io/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) This would be my **first choice for many small private practices**, particularly nutritionists, dietitians, health coaches, functional medicine, integrative providers, and practices that work with clients between appointments. Its portal includes secure messaging, online scheduling, intake forms, documents, billing, programs, and health/lifestyle tracking. [practicebetter.io](https://practicebetter.io/features/client-portal?utm_source=chatgpt.com) It also explicitly says HIPAA compliance is included across its plans and that a BAA is available. [practicebetter.io](https://practicebetter.io/teams?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Why I like it:** It treats the portal as the center of the patient relationship rather than simply a place to download forms. **Best if:** Your patients/clients need ongoing interaction between visits. --- ### 🥈 Best for therapists: SimplePractice [SimplePractice](https://www.simplepractice.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you're running a **mental-health or behavioral-health practice**, SimplePractice is probably the safer default. It combines: - Client portal - Secure messaging - Intake paperwork - Scheduling - Telehealth - Documentation - Billing - Insurance workflows It's also one of the most widely adopted small-practice platforms; Capterra currently lists it at 4.6/5 from more than 2,800 reviews. [www.capterra.com](https://www.capterra.com/patient-portal-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best if:** You're a therapist, counselor, psychologist, or behavioral-health group. --- ### 🥉 Best for allied health: Jane App [Jane App](https://jane.app/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Jane is particularly compelling for **physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, naturopathic and other allied-health practices**. Its strength is scheduling and multi-provider workflow, while still providing charting and a patient portal. Current comparisons put the starting price around $54/month. [www.capterra.com](https://www.capterra.com/patient-portal-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.getpracticehelp.com](https://www.getpracticehelp.com/ehr/best-ehr-small-practices/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Jane says it supports HIPAA compliance and provides BAAs, along with encrypted data transmission and access controls. [practicebetter.io](https://practicebetter.io/blog/practice-better-vs-jane-app?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best if:** Scheduling is a major part of your practice's workflow. --- ### 💰 Best budget option: Carepatron [Carepatron](https://www.carepatron.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Carepatron is worth investigating if you're a **solo practitioner watching costs closely**. It offers a client portal, secure messaging, scheduling, forms, telehealth and other practice-management functions. Capterra currently lists a free starting tier and strong HIPAA-compliance ratings. [www.capterra.com](https://www.capterra.com/patient-portal-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Its messaging system keeps conversations encrypted and associated with the client record. [www.carepatron.com](https://www.carepatron.com/features/message?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best if:** You want an inexpensive way to get off email/texting without immediately committing to a more expensive EHR. --- ### 🩺 Best for a conventional medical practice: DrChrono [DrChrono](https://www.drchrono.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you're operating a **primary-care or specialty medical practice**, I'd look beyond wellness-oriented portals and consider an EHR with the portal integrated into the clinical workflow. DrChrono combines EHR functionality with its patient-facing OnPatient portal, making it more appropriate when you need actual medical records, clinical documentation, billing and patient access rather than primarily client engagement. Tebra is another strong option in this category, particularly for independent practices that also care about marketing and patient acquisition. Current 2026 comparisons identify DrChrono as particularly suited to mobile-first small practices and Tebra to growing independent practices. [www.getpracticehelp.com](https://www.getpracticehelp.com/ehr/best-ehr-small-practices/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) --- ## What I'd choose by practice type **Solo therapist:** → **SimplePractice** **Dietitian/nutritionist:** → **Practice Better** or **Healthie** **Functional/integrative medicine:** → **Practice Better** or **Healthie** **Physical therapist/chiropractor:** → **Jane** **Solo physician:** → **DrChrono** or **Tebra** **Small multi-provider medical practice:** → **Tebra**, **DrChrono**, or a more full-featured EHR **Extremely price-sensitive solo provider:** → **Carepatron** ### One thing I would *not* do I wouldn't simply bolt a generic “HIPAA-compliant form” onto Google Forms, Squarespace, a normal CRM, or ordinary email and call that a patient portal. HIPAA compliance involves the **entire PHI workflow**, not just encryption on one form. A vendor should be willing to execute a BAA and clearly document how it protects PHI. Practice Better, for example, specifically recommends looking for a signed BAA, encryption, and clear security documentation rather than relying on a marketing badge. [practicebetter.io](https://practicebetter.io/blog/best-secure-client-portal-for-wellness-practitioners?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you tell me **your specialty, number of providers, approximate patient volume, and whether you already have an EHR**, I can narrow this to the **best 2–3 options and compare their actual costs/features side-by-side**. [Practice Better](https://practicebetter.io/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [SimplePractice](https://www.simplepractice.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Jane App](https://jane.app/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Carepatron](https://www.carepatron.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [DrChrono](https://www.drchrono.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Platform | Best for | Portal strengths | Approx. starting price* | |---|---|---|---:| | **Practice Better** | Wellness, nutrition, functional/integrative care | Messaging, forms, scheduling, programs, journals, payments | ~$35/mo | | **SimplePractice** | Therapy & behavioral health | Excellent client portal, forms, scheduling, telehealth, billing | ~$49/mo | | **Jane App** | PT, chiropractic, allied health | Excellent scheduling + portal + charting | ~$54/mo | | **Carepatron** | Budget-conscious solo practices | Portal, messaging, forms, scheduling, telehealth | Free/low-cost tiers | | **Healthie** | Nutrition, DPC & health/wellness | Portal, telehealth, food/activity tracking, programs | ~$149/mo+ | | **DrChrono** | Primary care & medical practices | Patient portal tightly integrated with EHR | Custom pricing | | **Tebra** | Growing independent medical practices | Portal + scheduling + billing + patient acquisition | Custom pricing | \*Pricing changes frequently, so treat these as approximate rather than quotes. Current comparison data puts Practice Better around $35/month, SimplePractice around $49/month, and Jane around $54/month. [www.capterra.com](https://www.capterra.com/patient-portal-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.getpracticehelp.com](https://www.getpracticehelp.com/ehr/best-ehr-small-practices/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### 🥇 Best overall: Practice Better [Practice Better](https://practicebetter.io/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) This would be my **first choice for many small private practices**, particularly nutritionists, dietitians, health coaches, functional medicine, integrative providers, and practices that work with clients between appointments. Its portal includes secure messaging, online scheduling, intake forms, documents, billing, programs, and health/lifestyle tracking. [practicebetter.io](https://practicebetter.io/features/client-portal?utm_source=chatgpt.com) It also explicitly says HIPAA compliance is included across its plans and that a BAA is available. [practicebetter.io](https://practicebetter.io/teams?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Why I like it:** It treats the portal as the center of the patient relationship rather than simply a place to download forms. **Best if:** Your patients/clients need ongoing interaction between visits. --- ### 🥈 Best for therapists: SimplePractice [SimplePractice](https://www.simplepractice.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you're running a **mental-health or behavioral-health practice**, SimplePractice is probably the safer default. It combines: - Client portal - Secure messaging - Intake paperwork - Scheduling - Telehealth - Documentation - Billing - Insurance workflows It's also one of the most widely adopted small-practice platforms; Capterra currently lists it at 4.6/5 from more than 2,800 reviews. [www.capterra.com](https://www.capterra.com/patient-portal-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best if:** You're a therapist, counselor, psychologist, or behavioral-health group. --- ### 🥉 Best for allied health: Jane App [Jane App](https://jane.app/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Jane is particularly compelling for **physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, naturopathic and other allied-health practices**. Its strength is scheduling and multi-provider workflow, while still providing charting and a patient portal. Current comparisons put the starting price around $54/month. [www.capterra.com](https://www.capterra.com/patient-portal-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.getpracticehelp.com](https://www.getpracticehelp.com/ehr/best-ehr-small-practices/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Jane says it supports HIPAA compliance and provides BAAs, along with encrypted data transmission and access controls. [practicebetter.io](https://practicebetter.io/blog/practice-better-vs-jane-app?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best if:** Scheduling is a major part of your practice's workflow. --- ### 💰 Best budget option: Carepatron [Carepatron](https://www.carepatron.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Carepatron is worth investigating if you're a **solo practitioner watching costs closely**. It offers a client portal, secure messaging, scheduling, forms, telehealth and other practice-management functions. Capterra currently lists a free starting tier and strong HIPAA-compliance ratings. [www.capterra.com](https://www.capterra.com/patient-portal-software/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Its messaging system keeps conversations encrypted and associated with the client record. [www.carepatron.com](https://www.carepatron.com/features/message?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best if:** You want an inexpensive way to get off email/texting without immediately committing to a more expensive EHR. --- ### 🩺 Best for a conventional medical practice: DrChrono [DrChrono](https://www.drchrono.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you're operating a **primary-care or specialty medical practice**, I'd look beyond wellness-oriented portals and consider an EHR with the portal integrated into the clinical workflow. DrChrono combines EHR functionality with its patient-facing OnPatient portal, making it more appropriate when you need actual medical records, clinical documentation, billing and patient access rather than primarily client engagement. Tebra is another strong option in this category, particularly for independent practices that also care about marketing and patient acquisition. Current 2026 comparisons identify DrChrono as particularly suited to mobile-first small practices and Tebra to growing independent practices. [www.getpracticehelp.com](https://www.getpracticehelp.com/ehr/best-ehr-small-practices/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) --- ## What I'd choose by practice type **Solo therapist:** → **SimplePractice** **Dietitian/nutritionist:** → **Practice Better** or **Healthie** **Functional/integrative medicine:** → **Practice Better** or **Healthie** **Physical therapist/chiropractor:** → **Jane** **Solo physician:** → **DrChrono** or **Tebra** **Small multi-provider medical practice:** → **Tebra**, **DrChrono**, or a more full-featured EHR **Extremely price-sensitive solo provider:** → **Carepatron** ### One thing I would *not* do I wouldn't simply bolt a generic “HIPAA-compliant form” onto Google Forms, Squarespace, a normal CRM, or ordinary email and call that a patient portal. HIPAA compliance involves the **entire PHI workflow**, not just encryption on one form. A vendor should be willing to execute a BAA and clearly document how it protects PHI. Practice Better, for example, specifically recommends looking for a signed BAA, encryption, and clear security documentation rather than relying on a marketing badge. [practicebetter.io](https://practicebetter.io/blog/best-secure-client-portal-for-wellness-practitioners?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you tell me **your specialty, number of providers, approximate patient volume, and whether you already have an EHR**, I can narrow this to the **best 2–3 options and compare their actual costs/features side-by-side**.

Yes — **Airtable can be used for HIPAA-covered patient data, but only under specific conditions.** As of July 2026, Airtable says its HIPAA offering is available **only on the Enterprise Scale plan** and requires execution of its **Health Information Exhibit, which includes a Business Associate Addendum (BAA)**. [www.airtable.com](https://www.airtable.com/company/health-info-datasheet?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.hhs.gov](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/2075/may-a-hipaa-covered-entity-or-business-associate-use-cloud-service-to-store-or-process-ephi/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[support.airtable.com](https://support.airtable.com/understanding-hipaa-at-airtable?utm_source=chatgpt.com) Key points: - **Enterprise Scale is required.** You should not put ePHI/patient data into a non-Enterprise-Scale Airtable environment. [www.airtable.com](https://www.airtable.com/company/health-info-datasheet?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.hhs.gov](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/2075/may-a-hipaa-covered-entity-or-business-associate-use-cloud-service-to-store-or-process-ephi/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **A BAA is required.** Airtable's Health Information Exhibit includes its BAA, and you need to execute it before storing ePHI. This is consistent with HHS guidance requiring a BAA when a cloud provider handles ePHI for a covered entity/business associate. [www.airtable.com](https://www.airtable.com/company/health-info-datasheet?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.hhs.gov](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/2075/may-a-hipaa-covered-entity-or-business-associate-use-cloud-service-to-store-or-process-ephi/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Your configuration still matters.** HIPAA compliance isn't something Airtable can guarantee simply because the platform supports HIPAA. Your organization remains responsible for access controls, appropriate configuration, policies, user permissions, integrations, and other safeguards. [www.airtable.com](https://www.airtable.com/company/health-info-datasheet?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.hhs.gov](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/2075/may-a-hipaa-covered-entity-or-business-associate-use-cloud-service-to-store-or-process-ephi/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Third-party integrations deserve particular attention.** Airtable specifically advises HIPAA customers to ensure integrations are intentionally permitted or disabled based on their HIPAA assessment. [www.airtable.com](https://www.airtable.com/company/health-info-datasheet?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.hhs.gov](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/2075/may-a-hipaa-covered-entity-or-business-associate-use-cloud-service-to-store-or-process-ephi/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[support.airtable.com](https://support.airtable.com/understanding-hipaa-at-airtable?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **There is an important limitation:** Airtable currently says **not to use Airtable as a patient portal**. [www.airtable.com](https://www.airtable.com/company/health-info-datasheet?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[www.hhs.gov](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/2075/may-a-hipaa-covered-entity-or-business-associate-use-cloud-service-to-store-or-process-ephi/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Airtable AI has additional requirements.** AI can be used in HIPAA-enabled environments under Airtable's supplemental health-information terms, but there are restrictions and additional responsibilities. [www.airtable.com](https://www.airtable.com/company/ai-terms-health-information?utm_source=chatgpt.com) So, if you're asking **"Can I put identifiable patient records into Airtable?"**, the answer is **yes, potentially—but only with the HIPAA-enabled Enterprise Scale setup and executed Health Information Exhibit/BAA, and with an appropriately designed workflow.** If you tell me **what patient data/workflow you want to build in Airtable** (e.g., intake forms, patient tracking, scheduling, clinical notes, referral management), I can tell you which parts are likely appropriate for Airtable and where the HIPAA risks are.