Author Topic: Congrats to Kareo!  (Read 47461 times)

PMRNC

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Congrats to Kareo!
« on: August 29, 2012, 02:14:16 PM »
Kareo Recognized as the Fastest Growing Medical Office Software Company by Inc. Magazine

http://www.kareo.com/news/press-releases/2012-08-28-kareo-recognized-as-fastest-growing-medical-office-software-company
Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community
One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

James B

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2013, 09:09:26 PM »
I saw this post earlier today when I was doing some research and it definitely gives me a little more confidence in making the switch to Kareo.

gurumedbill

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2013, 01:23:24 PM »
I believe it; they seem to be growing like gangbusters.  That is awesome for them.  Hopefully they'll keep up the good work.

RGHS_2012

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2013, 01:23:39 PM »
I would NOT recommend Kareo to anyone.  They have great review on websites (most of which they have paid to be on ) and some forums.  But for those of us that use them, they tell a very different story.  Their support team is absolutely horrible.  I have to pay a support fee (between $100 and $200 monthly in addition to your monthly service fee) to talk to someone.  They offer chat support, but the hold time to chat with a rep is at least and hour.  Recently I waited 3 hours only to have the rep tell me I was taking to much time because she didn't know the answer to my question.  If you read the community forum it really tels the story.  But of course you can't access the forum unless you sign up for the service.  And to make matters worse, they are fully aware of the problems users are having but aren't interested in fixing any of them.  They are cheap compared to some other services and that's why they are growing.  I really wish I'd found more honest reviews before I signed up for them. So for those considering using Kareo, I would call them and start asking some hard questions about their clearinghouse problems, posting issues and the mess they have made of fee schedules and contract. Watch them dance around the questions.  If you sign up with them you will regret it...I sure do  >:(

RichardP

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2013, 02:40:49 PM »
If you search this forum, you will find posts that state bluntly that Kareo is not good for beginning users because they are not user-friendly - as you have stated.

Because of the Federal push toward electronic billing, you are going to find everywhere that the IT folks have a captured audience in small-practice doctors.  EMR and PM folks can raise their prices and cut their services and the doctors have to use them anyway if they don't want to be penalized by Medicare.  (Go free market, right???)  The larger practices and doctor-groups who have their own IT staff are a bit more immune to this.  But not much.

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2013, 02:40:49 PM »

PMRNC

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2013, 03:12:09 PM »
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I would NOT recommend Kareo to anyone.  They have great review on websites (most of which they have paid to be on ) and some forums.  But for those of us that use them, they tell a very different story.


Sorry, I have to disagree, as a user both myself and the clients that utilize Kareo are very happy.


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Their support team is absolutely horrible.  I have to pay a support fee (between $100 and $200 monthly in addition to your monthly service fee) to talk to someone.  They offer chat support, but the hold time to chat with a rep is at least and hour.  Recently I waited 3 hours only to have the rep tell me I was taking to much time because she didn't know the answer to my question.



The max plan is $299 per provider and I've received nothing but awesome support, Since my clients have their own accounts they absorb the costs. IF I maintained their accts, and since I charge flat monthly pricing, this amount could be included in the per client costs to which I add to the flat monthly fee. 


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If you read the community forum it really tels the story.  But of course you can't access the forum unless you sign up for the service.  And to make matters worse, they are fully aware of the problems users are having but aren't interested in fixing any of them.


If you are talking about bugs or glitches, I can't really say I've experienced any using them and I've been using for a while now, a few years ago it seemed like a lot of fixes and bugs were needed but done efficiently and pretty quick. They were fast as heck with the 5010 updates and they provide MORE resources on the industry than any other vendor I've ever encountered (and I've probably used and/or seen 97% or more of the others)  I've never seen them show lack of concern over a bug or a fix. Perhaps there are features some want/need that they can't accommodate immediately, but they wouldn't be any different from other vendors. Can't please all of the people, all of the time.

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They are cheap compared to some other services and that's why they are growing.


I don't think that's a fair adjective since you've eluded to the costs being high. Cheap in regards to servicing and support? No, absolutely not. I'd not switch even for any of the free services. I'd rather pay for quality than get free that does not suit mine or my clients needs.

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I really wish I'd found more honest reviews before I signed up for them. So for those considering using Kareo, I would call them and start asking some hard questions about their clearinghouse problems, posting issues and the mess they have made of fee schedules and contract. Watch them dance around the questions.  If you sign up with them you will regret it...I sure do

When I talked to their references I maintained a lot of contact with them and also My community (PMRNC) has a LOT of Kareo users who are genuinely happy. I'm sure no one is 100% happy all the time, but I've not heard any negative experiences that I can remember.  I have always told people that if you are NEW in the industry, Kareo might not be a good first choice in vendors. They are VERY upfront with their training/education info.. THEY do not train medical billers. If you HAVE never used any other PM system, you will indeed find Kareo to be a bit cumbersome and hard to maneuver and you will be disappointed in their lack of training newbies.   
Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community
One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

RGHS_2012

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2013, 01:18:24 AM »
It's good you have not had the horrible experience so many other users have.  It is very expensive and time consuming to move from on system to another.  And if Kareo could listen to their users, build better software then this would not be an issue.  But, I'm very confused on why it's necessary to break down my post almost line for line in order to discount my statement.  Obviously, your involvement with Kareo is more than an end user.  You may be a paid advertiser which is fine, but I think we are all here to offer information on our personal experiences.  Before deciding to go with Kareo, I wish I could have found information on the good, the bad and the ugly and made my decision from that.  That’s all I’m trying to offer.  I’ve been in the health insurance industry for over 15 years.  My bachelor’s degree is in health care management and I hold multiple licenses and certifications. My “day job” is with one of the largest MCO in my service area.  I manage a network of hundreds of providers resolving both front end and back end provider issues.  I think it’s safe to say I’m not “new” to this industry.  I feel any product built on a SaaS platform, such as Kareo, should deliver on the product they promote.  For me Kareo did not deliver. It’s just that simple.  But once again, that’s my experience and I’m glad your experience was more positive.  My purpose in reading posts on this website was to get information on other programs available and this forum offered me very valuable information.  Thank you to all those who take time from their busy day to share and give insight…including the young lady which scrutinized my post so harshly.  ;)

RichardP

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2013, 03:38:17 AM »
RGHS_2012:


  1.)  Will your budget allow you to purchase / lease the software that will do what you need it to do?

  2.) Could you humor me and list some of the features you need in your work that Kareo can not handle - maybe in their order of importance to you.  Folks here can maybe direct you to software that can do what you need it to do.  But maybe that software is beyond the reach of your budget.

  3.) The request in #2 is totally separate from this point:  if you have not received a satisfactory response from Kareo, is it possible that the software maybe can do what you need, you just don't know how to make it happen?

  4.)  The users and the software developers are both caught between a rock and a hard place.  Don't know how it is going to resolve itself, other than through forums like this one.  Bootleg copies of Kareo are bound to show up.  If they allow their user forums to be open to the general public, those who have pirated the software can figure out how to use it without needing to go through Kareo - and Kareo loses an income stream.  Companies can't survive if they don't have income streams.  But we can't learn how to use a product without instructions.  What to do?  If you can list some things here that you want Kareo to do, perhaps Kareo users here can help you out.

tallmanusa

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2013, 11:34:02 AM »
Kareo has a billing service which they just started.
They charge 5- 8% and outsource the billing to India at 1%; they have a sales staff here.
How do I know?
They would admit that they outsource the billing offshore. I know the going rate in India. They probably do even better.
They hit a goldmine, charge 6% and sub contract at 1%; that is called free enterprise system.
Every major billing company does the same, Kareo just got on the bandwagon.

RichardP

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2013, 03:42:40 PM »
I think this is really great.  Billing company outsources to India.  Insurance Carrier outsources to India.  Insurance Carrier denies payment.  Billing company call center calls the Insurance Carrier call center to resolve the issue.  And we end up with Indian talking to Indian - in their native language, no doubt - resolving a health payment issue for an American.  Great setup!

Not.

Medical Billing Forum

Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2013, 03:42:40 PM »

gurumedbill

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #10 on: February 01, 2013, 11:24:06 AM »
Richard,

It explains a lot doesn't it.  LOL.

tallmanusa

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2013, 02:34:45 PM »
I believe the billers in Mumbai (or is it Chennoi?) are dancing to the latest Bollywood tunes, courtesy of their American employers - Kareo.
While people at Kareo are dancing to the Gangam Style, for hitting a goldmine.
That is life.

PMRNC

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2013, 02:50:13 PM »
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It's good you have not had the horrible experience so many other users have.  It is very expensive and time consuming to move from on system to another.


Oh don't I know that one from experience.. 5 times over.   My lesson learned finally was not to rate a system by cost but by performance and quality. Lesson learned and received.

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And if Kareo could listen to their users, build better software then this would not be an issue.  But, I'm very confused on why it's necessary to break down my post almost line for line in order to discount my statement.  Obviously, your involvement with Kareo is more than an end user.


Nope, not at all, in fact my clients have the relationship, I'm just the happy end user, No affiliate payments, no income and no paid advertising.


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My purpose in reading posts on this website was to get information on other programs available and this forum offered me very valuable information.  Thank you to all those who take time from their busy day to share and give insight…including the young lady which scrutinized my post so harshly.  ;)

But did you not post in a public forum? the only reason I broke it out was so that there isn't confusion to what I was replying to. That's what the quote button and reply buttons are for.  I don't think it's unfair to respond with positive feedback to a negative opinion. I was giving my opinion from my experience. Likewise If  you had a positive experience you posted publicly about a company and I had a negative one I would post my experience as well.   
Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community
One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

RGHS_2012

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #13 on: February 01, 2013, 07:20:06 PM »
RichardP, thanks for the reply.  And it’s a very interesting question you ask.  Some of the features Kareo has would be great if they worked.  I’ll give you an example.  The clearinghouse reporting: I have a particular payer whose payer name and ERA are not functioning correctly.  For the purpose of this example, let’s say it’s “Aetna”.  When I receive the initial acknowledgement report the payer name will say “Aetna”.  But when I receive an acknowledgement report letting me know the claim has been acknowledged by the insurance company the name will be BETTER HOME HEALTH.  Then I receive a report letting me know the claim has been adjucated, the payer name is now ST JOHN SMART.    Next I receive a report saying a remittance has been received, the payer name is now UMWA.  But when I receive the remittance the payer is correctly listed as “Aetna”.  Keep in mind every time this happens I click on the member and claim information and they have “Aetna” as they payer.  I don’t bill to BETTER HOME HEALTH, ST JOHN SMART OR UMWA!  At first I thought it was a fluke, but it continued to happen.  I contacted the Kareo support team and was told it was a known issue.  They have been working on fixing the problem, but the rep did not have a date on when it would be corrected.  I’ve had this problem for over 6 months.  When I got a call from an engineer, I told him about this issue and several others.  He logged into my account and could see all these random payer names.  His reply was “huh…that’s weird.  Let me call Gateway and find out why that’s happening.  I’ll give you a call back”.  It’s been two weeks or more, and I’ve yet to hear from him again.  So I called Gateway because this is also affecting the ERA from this same payer.  If I get an ERA, only maybe half the payments can be auto assigned.  The remainder I have to manual post.  Gateway tells me I have to get with Kareo since the clearinghouse is integrated into Kareo’s system and what I described is a Kareo problem not a Gateway problem.  And that’s just one of the MANY problems I’m having with Kareo.  That’s not an end user problem, that’s a functionality problem!

PMRNC

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Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2013, 07:55:54 PM »
I know you didn' t address me and maybe my 2 cents doesn't apply to your situation, however I do have some payers that come through on remittance under the "group plan name" rather than the payor, From what I can tell it appears this happens with the ERISA based plans that contract out. For example we have one particular company that is rather large here and they contract out with Cigna and their remittances come back with their plan/company name rather than Cigna, but we can of course cross reference upon further looking at the remittance.   Now if you are getting random groups.. you have no record of or patients with employee's of those companies, I would agree that is bizarre. ON all of our remittances through Kareo that come through this way however we can still see that Cigna (in my example) is the payor. 

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If I get an ERA, only maybe half the payments can be auto assigned.  The remainder I have to manual post.

OK, I am going to give you this one all the way and be fair. I DO NOT LIKE THE AUTO Posting and do NOT use it.. in all fairness I never thought it a good idea myself out of my OWN personal feelings. I don't care how busy I am, the only data I'm trusting is my own.. auto posting was NEVER a feature I wanted nor trusted..  I have seen this feature in other PM solutions and have to also say it's "iffy" at best. I just don't trust the whole concept. I want to post my own payments but I suppose if one prefers the auto posting and it was not working properly I would be a little miffed myself.   
Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community
One Stop Resources, Education and Networking for Medical Billers
www.billerswebsite.com

Medical Billing Forum

Re: Congrats to Kareo!
« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2013, 07:55:54 PM »