I am writing in response to Dr. Dan Quinn, a Berkely Therapist, who is blogging on finding a simple to use practice management solution. In his post on October 20th, 2011 (http://therapybridge.net/?p=325), Dr. Quinn makes a list of items that he would want available in a practice management tool.
I agree with Dr. Quinn 100% that most software out there is WAY TOO COMPLICATED!. I have my Ph.D. in Bioinformatics. Before I started Therabill, I tried setting my wife up with software and I could NOT figure out how to use any of it... it was way too complicated!!
I am not going to go through Dr. Quinn's list of necessities and address them. I do want to say that Therabill does have features meet all of those needs though. I want to address his last point (point 6).
6. Cuts directly to the chase, and doesn’t do a bunch of other stuff that makes screens complicated and navigation ponderous.
Any therapist is going to have a very difficult time finding software that does only what they need it to do and nothing else. The only way to get this would be to hire a developer to create your own personalized software. Depending on your needs, you might be able to whip something up. But if you are wanting something like electronic claims submission, then don't expect it in a couple of weeks. The guidelines for 837 files (electronic claims) cost over $500.00 and is about 700 pages long. It will take more than a couple of weeks to read it and understand it (and longer to code it). You mentioned that you wanted web based, now you will be getting a dedicated server (I wouldn't recommend web hosting to hold your private patient information). Dedicated servers cost around $150 - $300 per month). If you are going to have a good coder, think $80.00 - $120.00 per hour... well, you can see where this goes. It gets VERY expensive.
The reason you are not going to find commercial software that does ONLY what you need it do it is because different providers have different needs. Provider A may say I need software that does {A,B,C,D,E}, Provider B may say I need software that does {A,C,E,F,G}, Provider C may say I need software that does {C,E,I,K}... and so on. Commercial software takes the very high cost of creating the and maintaining the software and tries to spread it over many users (and then try to come out with a profit). Therefore, we have to meet as many providers needs as possible.
I am firmly confident that Therabill has solved the "complicated" issue. Therabill was designed by therapists. One of the things my members always tell me is that it is "so easy to use".
Dr. Quinn, I invite you to come take a look at Therabill (www.therabill.com). We can schedule a phone conference, where I will walk you through the site and show you how things work (I do offer this to any new member of Therabill too). If you do not want a phone conference, I suggest you take a look at our Quick Guide Video
