What this comparison covers
SimplePractice and PHIGuard solve different problems. This page clarifies what each tool does, where the coverage gaps are, and why most SimplePractice users need a compliance program layer that their EHR doesn’t provide.
This is not a head-to-head competition. It is an explanation of how the two tools fit together.
What SimplePractice covers
SimplePractice is built for mental and behavioral health clinicians. It covers the clinical and operational workflows that run inside the practice:
- Clinical documentation and progress notes
- Telehealth video sessions
- Client scheduling and appointment reminders
- Insurance billing and claims
- Client portal for forms and messaging
- Payment processing
SimplePractice is HIPAA-compliant and provides a BAA with its service. Security documentation is available at simplepractice.com/security. The platform logs clinical activity inside the application. That log covers what happens inside SimplePractice, not the broader compliance program that surrounds it.
What PHIGuard covers
PHIGuard is not an EHR. It does not touch clinical notes, telehealth, scheduling, or billing.
PHIGuard covers the compliance program layer that HHS expects every covered entity to maintain:
- Compliance task management with an assigned owner for every action item
- BAA tracking across all your business associates — not just SimplePractice, but your billing company, answering service, cloud storage vendor, and every other BA relationship
- Workforce training records with documented completion dates
- Incident response workflow that creates a timestamped record from discovery through resolution
- Policy review and acknowledgment cycles with staff sign-off tracking
- Immutable audit trail for operational compliance activity — separate from SimplePractice’s clinical log
The audit trail PHIGuard creates covers the compliance work that happens outside the EHR: who reviewed the risk analysis, who completed HIPAA training, who handled a reported incident. That record does not exist in SimplePractice.
Feature comparison
| Feature | SimplePractice | PHIGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical notes and documentation | Yes | No |
| Telehealth | Yes | No |
| Scheduling and reminders | Yes | No |
| Insurance billing | Yes | No |
| Client portal | Yes | No |
| BAA with vendor | Yes | Yes |
| Compliance program management | No | Yes |
| BAA tracking for all vendors | No | Yes |
| Workforce training logs | No | Yes |
| Incident response workflow | No | Yes |
| Policy acknowledgment tracking | No | Yes |
| Immutable operational audit trail | No | Yes |
| Pricing details are published on the pricing page (pricing details published on the pricing page) | No | Yes |
Pricing
SimplePractice uses per-practitioner pricing with multiple tiers. Pricing is available on their website. It scales with the number of clinicians on the account.
PHIGuard uses pricing details published on the pricing page. One price covers the entire clinic regardless of staff count:
A BAA is included at every PHIGuard tier.
Where SimplePractice falls short on compliance
SimplePractice is HIPAA-compliant as a platform. That means it has the right technical safeguards for the data it stores and transmits. What it does not do is manage your compliance program.
HHS expects covered entities to maintain a documented risk analysis, keep training records, manage BA agreements, and have an incident response process. Those requirements exist whether you use SimplePractice or any other EHR. SimplePractice doesn’t help you track which staff completed training, manage your BAA with your billing vendor, or document how you responded to a security incident.
That gap is not a criticism of SimplePractice — it’s simply outside their product scope. PHIGuard fills that gap.
Most behavioral health practices running SimplePractice benefit from both tools. SimplePractice handles the clinical record. PHIGuard handles the compliance program that the practice is required to maintain around it.
See the PHIGuard pricing page for tier details.
Bottom line
For a clinic administrator who has to answer what happened, who owned it, and where the proof lives, PHIGuard is the sharper choice. It turns HIPAA obligations into work the clinic can track instead of leaving the program scattered across tools.
SimplePractice still makes sense as the EHR and practice management hub for behavioral health. That is a valid reason to choose something else. It just is not the same as choosing the best operating layer for small-clinic HIPAA work, where PHIGuard has the edge.