EMR Review: Kareo | Editor’s Choice
By Dr. Terra Caudill
Updated: May 2014
Summary Review:
Company: Kareo
Pros:
• No setup fee
• Clear pricing on website
• No contract required
• Free 30-day trial
• Multiple demo videos on website
• Mobile compatible without App
• Easy export into another EMR
• Online patient self-pay
• Excellent customer service
Cons:
• Long response time to fix bugs
• No practice branding
• Your website must use their name
Price: $149/mo (if low volume/you do not accept insurance)
Setup Fee: None
Website: Kareo.com
Editor’s Questions:
General:
Q: Do you cater to cash-only physician practices?
A: Yes.
Q: What makes your product different from all the other EMR/PM systems on the market?
A: Kareo is built specifically for small practices. It’s simple and easy to use, with tools and software to help everyone in your office. Whether you’re a doctor, manage a practice or run a billing company, Kareo has the tools and software to make your job easier.
Electronic Medical Record (EMR)/Patient Portal:
Q: Include e-prescribing and labs? If so, which vendors do you use/extra fees?
A: Yes, e-prescribing via SureScripts and LabSoft or labs. No extra fees.
Q: Work with Dragon/other speech recognition software?
A: Yes, works with Dragon and Siri.
Q: Available as true white label, with no URL directs away from my website? Fees?
A: No, must use portal.kareo.com. May be an option in the future.
Q: Can the patient request appointment times from my calendar?
A: No, but coming soon. Can use ZocDoc as a third party app currently.
Q: Offer appointment reminders via email/text?
A: Yes, sends an email 3-days prior to the patient appointment and a voicemail 1-day prior to the patient appointment.
Q: Can the patient choose which types of alerts they want to opt into/out of?
A: Yes, they can be inactivated.
Q: Can the patient enter their own allergies and current medications?
A: Coming soon.
Q: Offer customizable forms and document upload capability?
A: Coming soon. Can use Adobe Acrobat then upload the documents into Kareo. Our template designer can create a custom template for $100/hr.
Q: Message/ticket system for question exchange?
A: Yes.
Q: Offer legal consent forms with e-signature capability?
A: No, but you can use EchoSign and then upload them into Kareo.
Q: Offer live video, text, email or fax functions?
A: Offer K-Fax, no extra fees.
Practice Management (PM):
Q: Can patients self-pay online via credit card in their patient portal?
A: Yes.
Q: If so, which merchant processor do you use, and what are their fees?
A: Stripe: 2.3% (or 3.9% if patients store their credit card info) + $0.30 per transaction.
Q: Are the patients provided with an invoice with CPT codes?
A: Yes.
Q: Can I export my invoices into Quicken?
A: Yes, via an Excel report.
System:
Q: Is it cloud based and mobile-responsive?
A: Yes, and the physician can write their notes on their iPad.
Q: What format is used to export patient information into another system?
A: Industry standard CCDA format. Requires 48-hr to fulfill request. No extra fees.
Q: How often is my information backed up/How many servers do you have?
A: Nightly backup on several servers in California.
Q: What support will I have/extra fees?
A: Yes, you can contact us via phone, live chat or by submitting a ticket. No extra fees.
Pricing:
Q: What is your monthly fee?
A: $299/mo (or $149/mo if you have low volume and do not accept insurance) for EMR + PM. The EMR only is free. Our Billing Services is 4-9% of collections, based on volume and specialty.
Q: What is your initial setup/implementation fee?
A: None.
Q: Do you require a contract/how long?
A: No contract required, you can leave at any time.
Q: What is the cost of adding additional physicians at a later date?
A: The same as the first provider. NP/PAs are 50% off.
Q: Are there any other fees for any other services/functions that I have not asked about?
A: There is a $299-$1500 data import fee if you are changing from another EMR and are using Kareo PM (Medisoft customers are free of charge). We can complete most projects within 5-7 business days. You can provide your data in a variety of formats, including a Comma–Separated Value (.CSV) or Microsoft Excel (.XLS), Text (.TXT), Access Database (MDB), etc. If you are unable to export/acquire your data, we can remotely access your system and attempt to acquire your data for you at no additional charge. If you are also using Kareo’s Billing Service, this cost is included in the free account setup process.
Summary:
Q: Any features currently in development that will be added soon?
A: Patient questionnaire and patient appointment booking in the Patient Portal. Other new features are coming out frequently.