Local citations for therapy practices: what to list

For OT, PT and SLP practices serving children, adults or both, a local citation is a listing of the practice’s name, address and phone on another site. Keep a short set accurate rather than chasing a count: the map platforms, the NPI record, health plan directories, licensing records and the few directories patients and families actually use.

What is a local citation for a therapy practice?

A local citation is any mention of the practice’s name, address and phone number on a site other than its own: a map platform, a directory, a health plan’s provider search, or a federal or state record. Some are listings the practice claims and edits; many are compiled about it by others.

Google says the information in its business profiles comes from publicly available information such as crawled web content, from licensed third-party data, and from users who contribute facts such as addresses and phone numbers, including owners who claim their profiles.⁠¹ BBB’s terms say it may use business information a user submits to create a BBB Business Profile.⁠¹¹ DrSensory builds its basic listings from public records as well, so a clinic can be on the directory before anyone at the clinic has claimed it (DrSensory for therapists).

Some citations carry more than marketing. A parent who calls an old number from a directory reaches no one, and an adult checking a health plan’s directory may pick a clinic because it shows as in network. That second case has a price attached: when an enrollee relies on a plan directory showing a provider as participating and it was not, the plan may charge no more than in-network cost-sharing, and a provider who collected more must refund the excess with interest.⁠^6,7

The name, address and phone audit covers the master record, formatting differences and moves; this guide covers which citations to keep correct and how.

Do local citations help a therapy practice rank on Google?

Not in the terms citation vendors use: Google’s own page on local ranking names no citation count, and what it says is narrower. Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity; prominence means how well-known a business is, based also on information such as how many websites link to it and how many reviews it has; businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up; and there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.⁠²

What Google does describe is how other sources reach a profile. Profile information comes from crawled web content, licensed third-party data and user contributions as well as the owner,⁠¹ and Google determines how best to display a business address based on the business’s information and information from other sources.⁠¹² Bing says it verifies the details owners submit by comparing them with information across search engines, websites and social media platforms.⁠¹³

So the plain case for citations is accuracy: every wrong copy of the practice’s details is something a platform may set against the owner’s version, and something a patient can act on. Judge each listing by whether patients, families, referral sources or payers use it, and treat a promised ranking effect from a citation count with skepticism.

Which local citations matter most for an OT, PT or SLP practice?

The listings that patients, families, referral sources and payers actually consult, and the records the law requires to be accurate. Six kinds cover most pediatric and adult therapy practices:

When time is short, fix whatever could send a patient to the wrong place or misstate network status first, then the records with legal deadlines, then the directories.

Which search and map platforms should every practice claim?

Google, Apple and Bing, each of which lets an owner take over an existing listing rather than create a new one.⁠^1,13,14 Google says Business Profile is a tool that can be used at no charge;⁠⁹ the setup guide covers claiming and verification and the categories guide the categories.

Apple’s tool has a new name: Apple’s support pages say Apple Business Connect is now Apple Business.⁠¹⁵ There an owner can add an existing location instead of a new one; if another organization manages it, Apple says to add the location and then request a transfer; and a first location needs the organization verified and sent to Apple for review.⁠¹⁴

Bing Places for Business is free. It accepts a physical address open to customers or a service area where staff travel to customers, and while every business must give a valid address for verification, service providers can hide theirs from search results. An owner can link a Google Business Profile account to import listings, and matched Bing listings are then overwritten with Google’s data, so correct Google first.⁠¹³

Why does the NPI Registry matter to a therapy practice’s listings?

Because it is the public federal record of the practice and each clinician, and anyone can download it. CMS describes the NPI Registry as a free directory of all active NPI records that publishes each record’s name, specialty (taxonomy) and practice address, and supplies the directory as a download file and through an API.⁠³ The API retrieves data from NPPES daily, and the Registry notes that an NPI does not ensure or validate that a provider is licensed or credentialed.⁠¹⁶

Every record must list a business mailing address and at least one practice location address, both are public through the Registry, and the NPI Enumerator says it cannot advise which address to list.⁠⁴ A home-based or mobile practice should decide deliberately what it enters, because that address does not stay private. A covered health care provider must report changes to its required data within 30 days; a provider that is not a covered entity may still obtain an NPI.⁠⁵

What do health plan provider directories require of a practice?

Accurate information from the practice, on a schedule federal law sets for commercial plans. Under the No Surprises Act, each group health plan and health insurance issuer keeps a public directory database, verifies each provider’s name, address, specialty, telephone number and digital contact information at least once every 90 days, has a procedure to remove providers it cannot verify, and updates the database within 2 business days of receiving information from a provider.⁠⁶

The practice has its own duty: it must have business processes to give plans directory information on time, and submit it at minimum when a network agreement begins, when it ends, after material changes, and at other appropriate times, including when the plan asks.⁠⁷ CMS lists provider directory requirements among its No Surprises rules for providers, and its January 2022 training for providers notes that the statute exempts no category of provider and that the Departments anticipate future rulemaking; meanwhile providers may have to work with plans in good faith.⁠^17,18

Other payers have other rules. A Medicare Advantage plan’s public directory API must be updated no later than 30 calendar days after it receives new provider information.⁠¹⁹ A Medicaid managed care plan’s electronic directory has the same 30-day rule, but the federal list of provider types it must show names physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, mental health and substance use disorder providers and long-term services and supports providers, not therapists, so ask each plan how it lists the practice.⁠²⁰ For Original Medicare, keep the enrollment record current: a change, addition or deletion of a practice location within 30 days, other changes within 90.⁠²¹ The credentialing guide covers enrollment.

Should licensing board records match the practice’s listings?

Yes: each clinician’s name and credential on a listing should match the license, and the board’s record needs current details under that state’s rules. California’s license search, for example, shows whether a license is current, expired or has been subject to discipline,⁠²² its OT, PT and speech-language pathology boards all sit in the Department of Consumer Affairs,⁠²³ and state law requires their licensees to report a new mailing address within 30 days, unless the board sets a shorter period.⁠²⁴ Other states set their own deadlines, so read your board’s rules for each discipline you employ.

Which general and health directories are worth claiming?

The ones that already list the practice, because an unclaimed page still shows whatever it holds. Yelp says it is free to be on Yelp and to manage a page, which a business claims by searching for it at biz.yelp.com; claiming can use phone verification, and a claimed page may be shown as unclaimed after a period of owner inactivity.⁠^25,26

The Better Business Bureau rates businesses on complaints and on data drawn from businesses and public sources, and accredited businesses pay annual dues.⁠^27,28 Checking that a BBB profile shows the right details is citation work; accreditation is a separate marketing choice.

Healthgrades publishes directories of physical therapists and of occupational therapists,⁠^29,30 and its professionals’ site lets providers join for free and claim a profile, and says updates sync across its partner brands.⁠³¹ Psychology Today presents itself as a network of verified mental health professionals,⁠³² so read its eligibility rules before assuming it lists OT, PT or SLP.

Where do ASHA ProFind, Find a PT and DrSensory fit?

They are therapy directories with their own rules on who may list. ASHA ProFind lists ASHA-certified audiologists and speech-language pathologists who have indicated they are accepting referrals, asks them to keep profiles current, and does not verify what they provide.⁠³³ APTA’s Find a PT is free and exclusive to APTA member physical therapists, and APTA suggests searching it for your name to check your practice location and contact details.⁠³⁴ Both profile individual clinicians, so a departing clinician changes their own. For occupational therapy, check whether a state association or a specialty certification you hold runs a directory.

DrSensory is a free-to-families directory of occupational, physical and speech therapy clinics serving children and adults across all 50 states and Washington, DC. It lists clinics, not individual therapists; one listing covers a practice at one address; it does not list inpatient rehabilitation facilities or chiropractic practices. Each clinic gets a free basic listing, so include it in the audit. Claiming costs nothing: you find the listing, prove the email address with a code, and set a password; no charge is made at that point. The subscription, $29.99 a month or $349.99 a year for the first location and $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year for each additional location, priced per clinic with no contract, adds a description written by the clinic, a logo, photos (five at most), opening hours, specialties, the ages and conditions treated, a website link, reviews that the clinic can answer in public, and family inquiries sent to the clinic. DrSensory does not promise rankings, sell leads or verify clinical quality (pricing; how to claim and optimize your profile).

What should a practice decide before adding a new listing?

Five things: whether the directory fits, which identity the listing shows, who owns it, what it costs and how you would know it worked. The directory selection guide, the listing value guide and the directory profile guide go deeper; this is the short version for a citation decision.

A mobile or home-based practice settles identity first. Google tells a service-area business to hide its address,⁠¹² Bing lets service providers hide theirs,⁠¹³ and the NPI record’s addresses are public whatever the practice chooses.⁠⁴ Decline a directory that can only display a street address rather than publish a house as an office, and see the mobile and in-home guide for Google.

A clinic serving children and adults needs one set of listings per location, not one per age group: Google says not to create more than one page for each location,⁠¹² so both services go on one listing, with the detail on the website’s pediatric and adult service pages.

How do you find every existing citation for your practice?

Search for the practice’s details, not just its name: every phone number, name and address it has used, in quotes, then each platform’s own search. Google’s search help says quotes search for an exact match, site: in front of a domain limits results to that site, and a minus sign leaves a word out.⁠⁸

1. Phone numbers. Search every number the practice has published, current and former, including fax and tracking numbers, in common formats such as "(555) 555-0100" and "555-555-0100".
2. Names. Search the public name, the legal name, every former name and each founder’s name with the discipline.
3. Addresses. Search every current and former location, and any home address once used for mail or registration.
4. Platform searches. Search Google Maps, Apple Maps and Bing, the NPI Registry by organization name, which checks legal, doing-business-as, former and other names together, and the Yelp, Healthgrades and DrSensory claim pages.⁠¹⁶
5. Plan directories. Look up the practice and each clinician in the public directory of every plan you are in network with.⁠⁶
6. Record each one. Enter every listing in the worksheet below before changing anything.

On DrSensory, search the claim page by name, address or phone and try a shorter version of the name; a clinic that offers two or three of the therapies has a listing for each, held on one account, so finding the clinic twice is not a duplicate (claim guide).

Which wrong listings should a practice correct first?

The ones that could send someone to the wrong place or misstate network status:

1. A wrong phone, former address or closed location on a search or map platform.
2. A plan directory showing a clinic, clinician or location as in network when it is not, since the enrollee is protected and a provider who collected more must refund it.⁠^6,7
3. The NPI record and licensing records, which carry reporting deadlines.⁠^5,24
4. Directories patients in your area use for your discipline and age group.
5. Everything else, which can wait for the yearly pass.

“St.” versus “Street” is not on the list; the name, address and phone audit explains why.

What should a practice’s one canonical record contain?

One dated record for each location, reconciled first with the NPPES entry and the Google profile, that every other listing is copied from. An NPI record’s identifiers are used to match it to insurers’ records, and a covered practice uses its NPI on standard transactions,⁠^4,5 while the Google profile is what Google shows searchers; when the two disagree, the copies made from them disagree too. Some fields legitimately differ:

Use the public name wherever a patient reads it: Google says unnecessary information in a name could get a profile suspended, while an NPI organization record can hold a doing-business-as name beside the legal one.⁠^12,16

How do you fix a wrong listing on each platform?

Claim it and correct it through the platform’s own tools, never by creating a second listing:

Keep each correction marked as submitted until the listing shows it, since some platforms review edits first.⁠³⁵ A directory that does not correct a wrong listing, and that patients do not use, is one to leave alone and note in the worksheet.

What if a listing names a clinician who has left the practice?

Change the practice’s side of each listing and ask the clinician to update the records that are theirs. The Google profile, website, directory profiles and plan directories should stop naming them, and a departure changes the directory information each plan holds, which the No Surprises Act has providers submit after material changes.⁠⁷ The clinician’s own NPI record lists their practice location and, for a covered provider, is theirs to update within 30 days.⁠⁵ NPPES expects each person to use their own account, with surrogacy or employer connections for anyone managing another’s records, rather than logging in to someone else’s.⁠⁴

Should you pay for a citation service or a directory upsell?

Pay only for work you can name and check, never for a promised ranking. Google says Business Profile can be used at no charge, that third parties often charge a fee to manage a profile and might offer to keep it up to date, provide insights, answer questions and respond to reviews, and that a business should weigh the benefits and risks to evaluate its return on investment.⁠⁹

Google’s warning signs include a third party that promises placement, since third parties can’t promise or directly influence ranking on Search or Maps through any special means; one that claims to work for Google; one that threatens removal, since third parties can’t remove a business or access its profile without permission; and deceptive pricing, against which Google advises getting an official copy of the agreement.⁠⁹ And there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.⁠²

The FTC’s truth-in-advertising rules apply to a vendor’s advertising and to the practice’s own listings: advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive, advertisers must have evidence for their claims before the ad runs, and a “reasonable basis” means objective evidence.⁠¹⁰ Ask for the evidence behind any traffic, inquiry or ranking figure, and hold your own listing descriptions to the same standard. The FTC also warns of phony business directories that ask for contact details for a “free” listing or to “confirm” information, then send a big bill and use the call to pressure payment.⁠³⁶

What can a paid citation service do, and what can it not do?

It can do listing work on the owner’s behalf; it cannot buy ranking or take over the practice’s legal records.

What should you ask before signing a listing or citation contract?

Get these answers in writing before you pay:

• Which sites, by name, and which of them patients, families or referral sources in your area use.
• Who owns each account and listing, and what happens to them when the contract ends.
• The full price, renewal date and cancellation terms, in an official copy of the agreement.⁠⁹
• The evidence behind any number in the pitch, and the period it covers.⁠¹⁰
• Whether the work touches the NPI record or plan directories, which remain the practice’s obligations.⁠^5,7

For DrSensory, the offer to read is the pricing page: no contract, cancel any time, a canceled subscription returns the clinic to its basic, unclaimed entry, and featured city placement is shown as coming soon and priced separately.

How often should a therapy practice review its citations?

After every change, within the deadlines that apply, and on a schedule the practice can keep between changes. A move, new phone, name change, new location, closure or departing clinician starts the whole sequence. The dated rows come from a rule or a platform; the quarterly and yearly rows are routines to adjust.

Medicaid managed care and Medicare Advantage directories have their own 30-day update rules once the plan has the information,⁠^19,20 so send changes promptly and check the listing afterward. If a third party manages listings, Google suggests reviewing the profile’s performance and the third party’s results each month.⁠⁹

What goes in a local citation audit worksheet?

One row per listing, with enough detail that someone else could check it: who controls it, what it shows, what is wrong, how it is being fixed and when it was last seen correct.

Keep patients’ details out of the worksheet: it is a record about listings, not about care, and a blank field means a decision is still open.

What does a citation cleanup look like for a mobile practice?

A short list of corrections and two refusals, as this hypothetical example shows.

Sources

1. Google. Understand how Google sources & uses info in Business Profiles & local search results (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “Information in profiles is compiled from a variety of sources”; “Publicly-available information, such as crawled web content (e.g., information from a business’ official website)”; “Licensed data from third parties”; “Users who contribute factual information (such as addresses and phone numbers), and content (such as photos and reviews), including business owners who claim profiles through Google Business Profile”; “If you believe a profile is inaccurate or should be removed, you can suggest an edit or flag it for removal”.
2. Google. Tips to improve your local ranking on Google (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “Businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results”; “There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google”; “Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity”; “Relevance is how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for”; “Distance refers to how far each business is from the customer who’s searching”; “Prominence means how well-known a business is”; “This factor’s also based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have”.
3. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. NPPES NPI Registry (CMS). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “NPI Registry Public Search is a free directory of all active National Provider Identifier (NPI) records”; “After we supply an NPI, we publish the parts of the NPI record that have public relevance, including the provider’s name, specialty (taxonomy) and practice address”; “We also supply this directory in a full download file, or through an Application Programming Interface (API)”.
4. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. NPPES FAQs (National Plan and Provider Enumeration System). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “You must list both a Business Mailing Address and at least one Business Practice Location Address”; “Both addresses are public via the NPI Registry and can be updated at any time”; “The NPI Enumerator cannot advise which address to list. Contact your employer or health plan contractor for guidance”; “A taxonomy code describes a provider or organization’s classification and specialization”; “Other Identifiers are used to match your NPI record to insurers’ records so you can continue to be recognized by insurers”; “Log in using your I&A User ID and password”; “The following changes must be made via paper form”; “It is not recommended for any user to log into a provider’s I&A account”; “Users should setup surrogacy connections and/or employer relationships in I&A to gain access to manage the desired providers’ information”.
5. eCFR. 45 CFR 162.410, Implementation specifications: Health care providers (current text). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “A covered entity that is a covered health care provider must”; “Use the NPI it obtained from the NPS to identify itself on all standard transactions that it conducts where its health care provider identifier is required”; “Communicate to the NPS any changes in its required data elements in the NPS within 30 days of the change”; “A health care provider that is not a covered entity may obtain, by application if necessary, an NPI from the NPS”.
6. Legal Information Institute. 42 U.S. Code 300gg-115, Protecting patients and improving the accuracy of provider directory information (Public Health Service Act section 2799A-5, added by the No Surprises Act). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “not less frequently than once every 90 days, such plan or such issuer (as applicable) verifies and updates the provider directory information”; “establishes a procedure for the removal of such a provider or facility with respect to which such plan or issuer has been unable to verify such information during a period specified by the plan or issuer”; “provides for the update of such database within 2 business days of such plan or issuer receiving from such a provider or facility information pursuant to section 300gg–139 of this title”; “a database on the public website of such plan or issuer”; “the name, address, specialty, telephone number, and digital contact information of each health care provider or health care facility with which such plan or such issuer has a contractual relationship”; “shall not impose on such participant, beneficiary, or enrollee a cost-sharing amount for such item or service so furnished that is greater than the cost-sharing amount that would apply under such plan or coverage had such item or service been furnished by a participating provider”.
7. Legal Information Institute. 42 U.S. Code 300gg-139, Provider requirements to protect patients and improve the accuracy of provider directory information (Public Health Service Act section 2799B-9, added by the No Surprises Act). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “each health care provider and each health care facility shall have in place business processes to ensure the timely provision of provider directory information to a group health plan or a health insurance issuer”; “when the provider or facility begins a network agreement with a plan or with an issuer with respect to certain coverage”; “when the provider or facility terminates a network agreement with a plan or with an issuer with respect to certain coverage”; “when there are material changes to the content of provider directory information of the provider or facility”; “at any other time (including upon the request of such issuer or plan) determined appropriate by the provider, facility, or the Secretary”; “the provider shall reimburse the enrollee for the full amount paid by the enrollee in excess of the in-network cost-sharing amount for the treatment or services involved, plus interest”; “that the plan or issuer remove, at the time of termination of such contract, the provider from a directory of the plan or issuer”.
8. Google. Refine Google searches (Google Search Help). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “To search for an exact match of a word or phrase: Enter a word or a phrase inside quotes”; “To search for results from a specific site: Enter site: in front of a site or domain”; “To exclude words from your search: Enter - in front of a word that you want to leave out”.
9. Google. Tips for working with third parties to manage your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 23, 2026.
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   “Although Business Profile is a tool that can be used at no charge, third parties often charge a fee to manage your profile”; “They might offer services to keep your profile up-to-date, provide you with customer insights, answer your questions, and respond to reviews”; “It’s important to understand the potential benefits and risks when you work with a third party so that you can evaluate your return on investment”; “Spend time each month to review your profile’s performance and evaluate the results you get when you work with a third party”; “Lack of transparency: You have the right to know your profile’s performance”; “Guarantees placement on Google: Third parties can’t promise nor directly influence your business’s ranking on Google Search or Maps through any special means”; “Claims to work for Google”; “Makes threats: Third parties can’t remove your business from Google or access your profile without your permission”; “Before you agree to work with a third party, get an official copy of your agreement that clearly details the services and their costs”.
10. Federal Trade Commission. Advertising FAQ’s: A Guide for Small Business (FTC business guidance). “Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive”; “Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims”; “The law requires that advertisers have proof before the ad runs”; “A “reasonable basis” means objective evidence that supports the claim”. Checked October 23, 2026.
11. Better Business Bureau. Terms of Use (BBB). “BBB may use business information submitted by the User to create a BBB Business Profile”. Checked October 23, 2026.
12. Google. Guidelines for representing your business on Google (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “Your name should reflect your business’s real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers”; “Including unnecessary information in your business name isn’t permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile”; “Do not create more than one page for each location of your business, either in a single account or multiple accounts”; “Google determines how best to display your business address based on your business information and information from other sources”; “If you’re a service-area business, you should hide your business address from customers”; “The phone number must be under the direct control of the business”; “They operate in a public-facing role. Support staff should not create their own Business Profiles”; “They can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours”; “A practitioner shouldn’t have multiple Business Profiles to cover all of their specializations”.
13. Microsoft. Bing Places for Business help (Bing Places for Business). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “Bing Places for Business is a free Bing service that empowers businesses to claim existing listings, or add new ones, to control the information displayed about you to customers”; “Bing verifies the details submitted by business owners by comparing them with information available across search engines, websites, and social media platforms”; “While all businesses must provide a valid address for verification, service providers can hide their address from search results”; “Listings on Bing Places for Business must have a physical address open to customers OR provide an area of service where employees travel to visit the customer”; “You can also link your Google My Business account to your Bing Places for Business account to import your Google business listing”; “If listings are matched, Bing will use Google data to overwrite the Bing Places for Business listing information”.
14. Apple. Add a single location in Apple Business (Apple Business User Guide). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “If you already have an existing location, see Add an existing single location”; “If the location you entered is already claimed by another organization, you’ll see a note stating This location is already managed. Continue through the process, add the location, and request a transfer after you add it”; “If this is your first location and you haven’t verified your organization, you need to verify it and send it to Apple for review”.
15. Apple. Apple Business Connect User Guide (Apple Support). “Apple Business Connect is now Apple Business”; “Apple Business combines the capabilities previously found in Apple Business Manager, Apple Business Essentials and Apple Business Connect into a single, comprehensive offering”. Checked October 23, 2026.
16. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. NPPES API Help (NPPES NPI Registry). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “It allows systems to access NPPES public data in real-time, rather than through batched uploads. The API retrieves data from NPPES daily”; “Issuance of an NPI does not ensure or validate that the Health Care Provider is Licensed or Credentialed”; “All types of Organization Names (LBN, DBA, Former LBN, Other Name) associated with an NPI are examined for matching contents”; “The first address in the array will always be the Primary Practice Location and the second address in the array will always be the Mailing Address”.
17. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Provider requirements and resources (No Surprises). “These requirements are collectively referred to as “No Surprises” rules”; “establishing requirements related to provider directories”. Checked October 23, 2026.
18. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The No Surprises Act’s Continuity of Care, Provider Directory, and Public Disclosure Requirements (CCIIO provider training slides, January 2022, linked from CMS’s provider requirements page). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “The statute doesn’t exempt any categories of providers or facilities from this requirement”; “The Departments anticipate issuing future rulemaking implementing requirements for this No Surprises Act provision”; “In the meantime, providers may have to work with health plans or issuers to make good faith efforts when these circumstances are reported”.
19. eCFR. 42 CFR 422.120, Access to published provider directory information (Medicare Advantage) (current text). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “An MA organization must implement and maintain a publicly accessible, standards-based Application Programming Interface (API)”; “The MA plan’s network of contracted providers, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and specialties, updated no later than 30 calendar days after the MA organizations receives provider directory information or updates to provider directory information”.
20. eCFR. 42 CFR 438.10, Information requirements (Medicaid managed care) (current text, paragraph (h)). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “Whether the provider will accept new enrollees”; “The provider’s cultural and linguistic capabilities, including languages (including American Sign Language) offered by the provider or a skilled medical interpreter at the provider’s office”; “Whether the provider’s office/facility has accommodations for people with physical disabilities, including offices, exam room(s) and equipment”; “Physicians, including specialists”; “Mental health and substance use disorder providers”; “LTSS providers, as appropriate”; “An electronic provider directory must be updated no later than 30 calendar days after the MCO, PIHP, PAHP, or PCCM entity receives updated provider information”.
21. eCFR. 42 CFR 424.516, Additional provider and supplier requirements for enrolling and maintaining active enrollment status in the Medicare program (current text, paragraphs (d) and (e)). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “A change, addition, or deletion of a practice location”; “All other changes in enrollment must be reported within 90 days”; “Within 30 days for a change of ownership or control (including changes in authorized official(s) or delegated official(s)), an adverse legal action, or a change, addition, or deletion of a practice location”; “All other changes to enrollment must be reported within 90 days”.
22. California Department of Consumer Affairs. DCA License Search (DCA). “Use this online search tool to verify a license issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) for the professions listed under license type”; “Each license record will reflect if a license is current, expired, or has been subject to disciplinary action like suspension or revocation”. Checked October 23, 2026.
23. California Department of Consumer Affairs. Boards/Bureaus (DCA). “Links to DCA Boards and Bureaus”; “Occupational Therapy, California Board of”; “Physical Therapy Board of California”; “Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board”. Checked October 23, 2026.
24. California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code section 136 (as amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 351, effective January 1, 2020). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “Each person holding a license, certificate, registration, permit, or other authority to engage in a profession or occupation issued by a board within the department shall notify the issuing board at its principal office of any change in the person’s mailing address within 30 days after the change, unless the board has specified by regulations a shorter time period”; “failure of a licensee to comply with the requirement in subdivision (a) constitutes grounds for the issuance of a citation and administrative fine, if the board has the authority to issue citations and administrative fines”.
25. Yelp. Yelp for Business (Yelp for Business home page). “It’s free to be on Yelp”; “Get found by these motivated customers, connect with them, and manage your page all for free”; “Update your business info so people can find you”. Checked October 23, 2026.
26. Yelp. How do I claim a business page? (Yelp Business Help Center). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “The easiest way to claim your business page is to search for it at biz.yelp.com”; “It may have already been claimed by someone else”; “The business page may be recently submitted and pending approval”; “If you aren’t able to claim your business on Yelp using phone verification, you’ll receive a prompt to submit a report to our Support team”; “Please note that a claimed business page may be updated to show as being unclaimed after a period of inactivity by the business owner”.
27. Better Business Bureau. Overview of BBB ratings (BBB). “Ratings are based on information BBB obtains about a business, including complaints received from the public and data drawn directly from businesses and public sources”; “BBB Business Profiles generally explain the most significant factors that raise or lower a business’s rating”. Checked October 23, 2026.
28. Better Business Bureau. Get Accredited: Learn more about BBB Accreditation (BBB). “Accredited businesses pay an annual dues investment”. Checked October 23, 2026.
29. Healthgrades. Physical therapy directory (Healthgrades directory page). “20 Best Physical Therapists Near Me”. Checked October 23, 2026.
30. Healthgrades. Occupational therapy directory (Healthgrades directory page). “20 Best Occupational Therapists Near Me”. Checked October 23, 2026.
31. Healthgrades. Healthgrades for Professionals: Sign In to Update Your Profile (Healthgrades). “Don’t have an account with us yet? Join for free”; “Claim Your Profile”; “When you update your Healthgrades profile, your data syncs across all of our partner brands”. Checked October 23, 2026.
32. Psychology Today. Join Psychology Today (membership sign-up page). “Join the largest, most trusted network of verified mental health professionals”. Checked October 23, 2026.
33. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. ASHA ProFind: Find Certified Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists (ASHA). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “ASHA ProFind is your connection to over 20,000 ASHA-Certified audiologists and speech-language pathologists who have indicated they are accepting referrals”; “If you are looking to grow your private practice and are an ASHA-Certified member, we encourage you to join ASHA ProFind”; “be sure to update your profile so that potential clients and patients have the most up to date information”; “ASHA does not endorse of otherwise verify the accuracy, truthfulness or reliability of the information provided by the members listed in ASHA ProFind”.
34. American Physical Therapy Association. Find a PT for Physical Therapists (ChoosePT.com). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “A Find a PT profile is free advertising for member PTs (and their clinics)”; “Promote the practice(s) where you see patients”; “Create a free Find a PT profile (exclusive to APTA member PTs)”; “Search the Find a PT directory for your name, city/state/zipcode to ensure your profile turns up in search results and that your current practice location and contact details are accurate”.
35. Apple. Maintain location information accuracy with Apple Business (Apple Business User Guide, published April 14, 2026). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “If your place card states a location is open and your customer finds your location is closed, they can report this issue to Apple directly from your place card”; “Apple reviews these reports and edits your place card to help ensure Maps shows accurate information about your location”; “Your organization will receive an email from Apple Business when Apple edits any of the following”; “Contest a change made by Apple to a location’s status or hours”; “Apple will review your suggested changes. The review process can take up to five business days”.
36. Federal Trade Commission. Scams and Your Small Business: A Guide for Business (FTC business guidance). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “Make sure procedures are clear for approving purchases and invoices and ask your staff to check all invoices closely”; “Scammers try to fool you into paying for nonexistent advertising or a listing in a phony business directory”; “They may ask you to give your contact information for a “free” listing, or say the call is simply to “confirm” your information”; “Later, you’ll get a big bill, and the scammer may use details — or even a recording — of the earlier call to pressure you to pay”.
37. Apple. About locations in Apple Business (Apple Business User Guide, published October 8, 2026). “You can customize the information that appears on the place card”; “You can also use a third-party partner to manage your locations”; “After your locations are set up, you can edit the content for each location”; “Edit or remove a single location”. Checked October 23, 2026.
38. Google. Business eligibility and ownership guidelines (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 23, 2026.
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    “To qualify for a Business Profile, a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours”; “Brands, organizations, artists, and other online-only businesses”; “In some instances ownership may be revoked due to one of the following reasons”; “You haven’t signed in to your account recently”.

Medical disclaimer. This page is for general educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is general guidance on running a therapy practice, not legal, compliance, billing or financial advice. Platforms and health plans change their tools and rules, so check each one’s own pages, listed in the sources, before relying on a detail.