Predictive Deal Diagnostic

The Deal Health Index™

A predictive diagnostic that scores your behavioral health practice across 10 dimensions on a 300-to-850 scale. Built from observed deal outcomes across hundreds of buyer and seller transactions. Forward-looking by design, built to predict where diligence will land.

Deal Health Index · Sample
Sample
300
/ 850
Strong · Transaction Qualified
300At RiskDevelopingStrongDeal-Ready850
Financial Performance
81
Owner Independence
52
Clinical Documentation
78
Revenue Diversification
68
Compliance & Licensure
44
Workforce Stability
72
⚠️Compliance & Licensure (44) is your primary risk. Buyers will discount or require extended escrow.
10

Dimensions scored across financial, clinical, operational, and strategic categories.

300–850

Predictive scale built from observed deal outcomes across hundreds of buyer and seller transactions.

72%

of BH deals scoring below 680 are re-traded or fail during diligence.

The 10 Dimensions

What determines your value.

Each dimension is weighted by its observed impact on deal outcomes in behavioral health transactions. The weighting methodology is proprietary. Flip any card to see what's at stake.

Financial Performance

Critical Weight

Revenue trends, margin stability, EBITDA normalization, and add-back defensibility. The foundation every buyer's model starts with.

See the impact
Observed Impact
-$2.4M
Average valuation reduction when financial add-backs fail to hold up during quality of earnings. Every undefended dollar is a re-trade lever.
Flip back

Revenue Quality

Critical Weight

Recurring vs. episodic revenue, billing accuracy, collections velocity, and denial rates. Buyers distinguish between revenue you earn and revenue you defend.

See the impact
Observed Impact
15–30%
Revenue haircut applied when denial rates exceed 8% or collections lag beyond 90 days. Clean revenue is valued differently than contested revenue.
Flip back

Payor Diversification

#1 BH-Specific Risk

Concentration across Medicaid, commercial, and self-pay. In behavioral health, payor mix is the single most common reason deals collapse or re-trade.

See the impact
Observed Impact
2x discount
Applied when a single payor represents more than 70% of revenue. Three PE buyers passed entirely on a SUD practice with 78% Medicaid concentration.
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Workforce Stability

BH-Specific

Clinician tenure, credentialing status, turnover rates, and recruitment pipeline. Licensed staff are the product in behavioral health.

See the impact
Observed Impact
40%+ turnover
Clinician turnover above 40% triggers extended earn-out structures and buyer-imposed retention escrows. Stability is a valuation multiplier.
Flip back

Clinical Operations

High Weight

Program structure, outcomes measurement, treatment protocols, and documentation standards. Buyers underwrite clinical quality as operating risk.

See the impact
Observed Impact
Premium vs. discount
Practices with documented outcomes and structured protocols command 1-2x higher multiples than clinically equivalent programs without documentation.
Flip back

Compliance & Licensure

Deal-Killer

State licenses, accreditations (CARF, Joint Commission), Stark/AKS exposure, and audit history. The single fastest way to kill a deal at the LOI stage.

See the impact
Observed Impact
Deal killed
Expired accreditations and unresolved audit findings have terminated more BH transactions post-LOI than any other single factor in our dataset.
Flip back

Transferability

High Weight

Owner dependence, management depth, key-person risk, and operational documentation. The less a practice depends on you, the more it's worth.

See the impact
Observed Impact
-1.5x EBITDA
Multiple discount when every referral relationship runs through the owner. Buyers require extended post-close transitions at reduced comp.
Flip back

Technology & Data

Growing Weight

EHR maturity, data infrastructure, reporting capabilities, and interoperability. Increasingly a differentiator as buyers seek data-driven platforms.

See the impact
Observed Impact
Platform premium
Practices with integrated data infrastructure and real-time reporting are increasingly valued as platforms, not just practices. Tech maturity drives strategic interest.
Flip back

Growth Trajectory

Moderate Weight

Census trends, pipeline visibility, geographic expansion potential, and service line development. Buyers pay for where you're going, not just where you are.

See the impact
Observed Impact
Forward value
Demonstrated growth trajectory with visible pipeline can shift a buyer's model from trailing multiples to forward-looking valuation, adding 1-2x to the multiple.
Flip back

Market Position

Moderate Weight

Competitive landscape, referral network density, brand recognition, and geographic coverage. Local market leadership drives sustainable valuation premiums.

See the impact
Observed Impact
Density premium
Multi-state density is preferable to thin but nationwide presence. Local market leadership offers sustainable benefits in brand recognition and referral networks.
Flip back
"Dimension weights, scoring algorithms, and calibration data are proprietary. The DHI is not a self-assessment checklist. It is a predictive diagnostic built from observed deal outcomes and administered by M&A practitioners."
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Scoring Bands

Where you fall determines what happens next.

Your composite score places you in one of five bands. Each band has a distinct implication for your timeline, your leverage, and your outcome at close.

At Risk
Developing
Pre-Qualified
Exit-Ready
Premium
300500650680750850
300–499
At Risk

Significant gaps that would result in deal failure or severe re-trade. Not market-ready. Advisory engagement recommended before any buyer conversations.

500–649
Developing

Identifiable gaps with a clear remediation path. 12 to 24 months of structured preparation to reach transaction-ready status.

650–679
Pre-Qualified

Approaching market readiness. Specific gaps remain but are addressable within a 90-day sprint. QofE coordination recommended.

680–749
Exit-Ready

Transaction qualified. Practice is defensible in diligence. Ready for a sell-side engagement with a curated BH-specialist bank.

750–850
Premium

Top-tier positioning. Practice commands premium multiples and competitive buyer interest. Strongest negotiating leverage at close.

Get Started

Two ways to start.

Begin with the free assessment. Go deeper with the full report when you're ready. Both are confidential.

Free Deal Health Assessment

Preliminary scoring across key risk dimensions. No financial data required. Results delivered with context and next-step guidance. Available online, takes approximately 10 minutes.

Preliminary Deal Health score
Top risk zones identified
Deeper insights delivered by email
Access to quarterly market benchmarks
Free · Online · 10 minutes
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Full Deal Health Report

Complete 10-dimension scoring with written report, strategic roadmap, and 60-minute advisor debrief focused on your highest-impact gaps. Fee is credited toward any program engagement.

Full 10-dimension scoring
Color-coded risk flags
Priority gap identification ranked by buyer impact
Written report with strategic roadmap
60-minute strategic debrief
Advisor-Guided · Credited toward any engagement
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Start Now Know where you stand before your buyer tells you.

The only behavioral health exit diagnostic built by M&A practitioners. 10 dimensions. 300-to-850 scale. Predictive, not retrospective.

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