Author Topic: Software Questions for New Medical Billing Business  (Read 3586 times)

Marie_w01

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Software Questions for New Medical Billing Business
« on: October 22, 2019, 07:20:39 PM »
I will be starting a Medical Billing business in the coming weeks! I have two questions
regarding software:
 
1)Would you recommend purchasing a software system or should I use the Physician’s current system?

2) Which software system do you recommend? Office Ally or Kareo?


Thanks for your help :) :)

Michele

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Re: Software Questions for New Medical Billing Business
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2019, 09:47:32 AM »
I will be starting a Medical Billing business in the coming weeks! I have two questions
regarding software:
 
1)Would you recommend purchasing a software system or should I use the Physician’s current system?

You will find recommendations for both ways on this forum.  Linda is very pro using the physician's current system for many reasons.  Most billing services purchase/lease their own system.  We actually do both.  If we meet with a provider who has a system and it's working well for them, except they need a biller, we use their system.  But we also have MANY providers who do not have a system, do not have staff, or even an office.  For example, we bill for several drs who go to nursing homes or hospitals and only see patients in facilities.  One of them is several doctors who do this full time, but they don't have an office, or any staff.  So they don't have software.  We also have several mental health providers who have an office to see patients, but don't have a receptionist, or any staff, or even a computer (yes we have one sweet lady who won't use a computer or fax :) ).  So we offer to use our system when the situation calls for it, but we are always willing to use the providers system.


2) Which software system do you recommend? Office Ally or Kareo?

I am not familiar with Kareo, but I strongly dislike using Practice Mate (Office Ally's PM system) for billing.  I personally have used this system (very recently - earlier this month) and I find it very inconsistent, unreliable, difficult to work in, etc etc.  I truly can't think of enough words to describe how I feel about this software, and I'm an optimistic person.  But there is nothing I can say positive about Practice Mate other than it's available at no cost.  Oh, and the scheduler may be good, but I don't use that section.  There are simple things that a PM system should do automatically that Practice Mate does not do, which can cause claims to not be sent, or rejected altogether.  Things that the system should do without being prompted.  Such as the diagnosis pointer.  If a DX is entered up above (in that software) then the pointer should be automatically populated, but it's not.  Without that the claim will not be created.  The reports that you are able to run are EXTREMELY limited.  I've personally seen providers lose a lot of income using Practice Mate.

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Eyore

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Re: Software Questions for New Medical Billing Business
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2019, 11:07:09 PM »
I am familiar with Kareo.

Their software is IBM based, not MAC compatible.
Their Billing and payments are in one package and their EMR is a different package (MAC compatible).HORRIBLE

Kareo is easy to use. Scheduling is not required to do billing.
Patient Statements can be created in Kareo and saved as PDF, printed, or sent to either your own printer or theirs.
ERA Posting is generally simple.
Kareo has a Success Team that is quite effective, as is their training (on-line) and one-on-one.

I can be reached at haynesc5663@gmail.com for further questions.

PMRNC

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Re: Software Questions for New Medical Billing Business
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2019, 01:14:47 PM »
If you are just starting out and have not worked in a PM system at all or have very limited use of one I would not go with kareo. Yes it is easy to use for those of us who have been doing this a while and have worked in other systems. They are not good with helping those new and their tutorials are geared mostly to experienced billers. Also the price tag is high if you are just starting out.

My suggestion if you have experience with working different programs is to wait. Market and see what comes. I don't find many offices who have no system anymore, occasionally I'll get a new practice starting up contact me but still I help them choose their system. I find that using the providers system cuts down on costs and problems/conflicts such as contract end issues, conversion issues, etc. It allows me to be more competitive with pricing too. I started back in 1997 and from 1997-2014 I went through 8 systems and three times as many conversions and NO conversion was simple and never perfect by far, in fact conversions brought more headaches than anything. Once I ditched my last software I never looked back. If I encounter a provider who wants another system I give them my list of contacts and encourage them to contact the vendor, no bias, no conflict. I've only had one client do that and the others all had systems in place to which I work in with no headache or problems.  Diversity with this business model is also a marketing plus. The last group I started for told me they called me because of my marketing that they didn't need to switch software. They didn't want to go through a conversion which costs both time and money. They liked their system, paid good money for it, and had great support. (AdvancedMD) Provider's shouldn't need to go through a conversion just to change biller or billing company.

Linda Walker
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One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

ladee1017

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Re: Software Questions for New Medical Billing Business
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2021, 03:28:17 PM »
I highly recommend Kareo.  It's simple to use and has a lot of features that are beneficial to both the billier and the front office staff.  They most awesome feature is their ongoing training and they assign an account manager to you if you're a billing company.  Some of the other software companies offer similar services, but they charge extra.  For example, I believe Simple Practice refers you to training videos and if you want live training it costs extra. 

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Re: Software Questions for New Medical Billing Business
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2021, 03:28:17 PM »