What Growing Private Practices Are Doing Differently in 2026 with Dr. Mansoor Zuberi
- 24 hours ago
- 4 min read
The landscape of private practice growth has shifted significantly, and 2026 demands a new approach.
For Dr. Mansoor Zuberi, the co-founder and CEO of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services, expansion was never the primary objective. The goal was to establish a standard - a practice model capable of supporting both uncompromising patient care and long-term sustainability.
Today, his vision has materialized into 22 locations throughout California, supported by a team of over 130 physicians. Yet, Dr. Zuberi is clear: scaling a practice requires far more than clinical excellence.
It requires the right systems.
The right people.
The right operational structure.
And, increasingly, the ability to define a clear position within a highly competitive healthcare market.
Many owners are navigating this same tension. While exceptional care remains the foundation, sustainable growth is no longer a given. It requires consistent visibility, robust infrastructure, and a deliberate strategy behind how a practice operates and attracts patients.
Dr. Zuberi’s insights provide a real-world perspective on what growing practices are doing differently, and why the traditional roadmap for sustainable growth is being completely rewritten.
The Shift Most Practices Miss
Dr. Zuberi did not start with a growth strategy.
He started with a standard.
Patients should not be treated like a number.
Early in his career, he saw how many systems operated. Fixed time slots. High volume. Limited flexibility. The focus was efficiency.
But psychiatry requires something different.
“Every patient is very unique. Even if the diagnosis is the same, the care cannot be.”
That decision to prioritize individualized care led him toward private practice.
Not just for independence, but for control over how care is delivered.
That standard became the foundation of how the practice grew.
Growth Was Not About More Patients
A lot of practice owners assume growth comes from increasing patient volume.
But that is rarely the real constraint.
“There is no shortage of patients. The challenge is finding the right doctors.”
Instead of focusing only on patient acquisition, the focus shifted to building the right environment.
Attracting like-minded psychiatrists
Giving clinicians full autonomy in how they practice
Building a strong team behind the scenes
That combination is what allowed the practice to expand across California.
Growth followed alignment.
The Reality Most Practice Owners Are Navigating
There is a tension that exists in every private practice.
Clinical care and business operations do not always move in the same direction.
“Clinical decisions and business decisions can be opposite to each other.”
This is even more evident today.
Many practices are now influenced by large systems or private equity. These environments are built for efficiency and scale.
But patient care does not always fit into that structure.
“Only doctors can decide what is best for the patient.”
At the same time, the business side cannot be ignored.
Billing, hiring, operations, and marketing all impact growth.
And this is where many practices stall.
Not because they are not good clinically, but because the structure around them is not built to support growth.
Why Growth Feels Harder Today
Private practice today requires more than clinical expertise.
“To work with large insurance companies, you need a whole system behind you.”
That system includes:
Billing infrastructure
Operational support
Consistent patient acquisition
Clear positioning in the market
Without these, growth becomes unpredictable.
This is why more practices are moving toward group models or building stronger operational foundations.
Not to lose control, but to make growth sustainable.
What Actually Drives Sustainable Growth
From the outside, the growth of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services may look organic.
But the patterns are clear.
A strong clinical philosophy
Alignment across the team
Willingness to take action
The ability to learn and adjust quickly
“You need to take risks. No pain, no gain.”
Growth comes from making decisions, refining them, and continuing to move forward with clarity.
The Advice Most Practice Owners Need to Hear
When asked what he would tell his younger self, the answer was simple.
“Never run after money. Do the right thing, and success will follow.”
That mindset shapes how a practice is built.
It also determines how it grows.
Practices that focus only on revenue often struggle to sustain it.
Practices that focus on delivering the right care and building the right structure tend to scale more naturally.
What This Means for You
If you are a private practice owner, this is the shift.
Growth is no longer about doing more.
It is about building better.
Better systems. Better positioning. Better alignment between how you operate and how you want to grow.
Because most practices do not have a demand problem.
They have a structure problem.
Where Most Practices Get Stuck
At some point, every growing practice hits a ceiling.
Not because they are not capable of growing, but because what worked early on no longer works at scale.
This is usually where things start to feel inconsistent.
Patient flow fluctuates. Marketing feels reactive. Growth becomes harder to predict.
And without clear systems in place, it becomes difficult to fix.
What This Really Comes Down To
The practices that are growing today are not guessing.
They are operating with clarity.
They understand how they are positioned, how patients find them, and how their growth is supported behind the scenes.
If you are trying to grow your practice and it feels harder than it should, it is worth looking at what is happening beyond patient care.
Because that is usually where the real bottleneck is.
A More Direct Conversation
Dr. Zuberi’s perspective carries weight because it mirrors the exact tension private practice owners are navigating in real time.
In 2026, sustainable growth has moved beyond clinical excellence.
It requires a model designed to support every operational facet of the business.
Robust systems.
Aligned teams.
Uncompromising patient care.
And, critically, a clear digital presence that allows a practice to be discovered and trusted.
Even the most exceptional practices stall when they lack a defined position. If patients cannot distinguish your care from the high-volume systems surrounding you, growth remains unpredictable.
The practices successfully scaling today are not simply working harder.
They are building better—operating with deliberate clarity and stronger infrastructure behind the scenes.
For many, this shift begins with a hard look at the foundation. It means evaluating whether your current structure is actually built to sustain the growth you are chasing.
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