Archive for January, 2001
WebMBS Unveils ClaimGear v4.6
ClaimGear To Lower Medical Office Costs and Improve Productivity
ORLANDO, Fla.–(BW HealthWire)–Jan. 22, 2001–WebMBS Corporation, a leading Application Service Provider (ASP) of practice management solutions, today announced the release of ClaimGear™ v4.6, a full-featured, cost-effective, and completely Internet-based practice management system.
ClaimGear allows medical practices and medical billing services to perform all of the tasks related to practice management without the high costs normally associated with practice management software. A small account setup fee and low transaction fees, associated with each claim or patient statement, are the only costs involved. ClaimGear software, support, and upgrades are all bundled into the transaction fees.
ClaimGear was designed to make medical billing offices more efficient by speeding up data entry and removing time-consuming tasks. The Data Center takes care of setup with the iMcKesson clearinghouse, claims submission, clearinghouse and insurance payor reports retrieval and storage, insurance payor maintenance, printing and mailing of patient statements, and data storage and backup. Users have more time to concentrate on the billing instead of these complicated and time-consuming tasks. Additionally, medical offices no longer have to be concerned about purchasing future system capacity because the ClaimGear Data Center grows as their customers grow.
ClaimGear was written from the ground up as an Internet-based software package with fast data transfer and program maneuverability being a critical design goal. Creating the software as Web-based was not an option because software operated through a Web browser wastes valuable user time loading Web pages. Proprietary data caching techniques were designed and implemented in the software to minimize data transfer across the Internet. The final design resulted in an Internet-based program that is easy to maneuver and has fast and minimal data transfer between the user’s computer and the ClaimGear servers.
ClaimGear can be installed on multiple computers at multiple locations at no cost. The client’s data can be accessed from anywhere ClaimGear is installed because all of the client’s data is stored on the ClaimGear servers. “Most of our medical billing service clients install ClaimGear in the physician’s practice and give them restricted access. This allows the practice to perform tasks such as add new patients and enter patient cash payments at the time of service”, said Douglas A. Kegler, President of ClaimGear.
Data security is not a problem at the Data Center because strict security measures are enforced to protect all client data by the use of firewalls, data encryption, and passwords. Data duplication and tape backups insure high system availability.
“Our clients can’t believe how inexpensive and easy it is to manage medical billing with our software. And it shows. We started the year 2000 with clients in one state and now have clients in 14 states across the U.S.” Physicians and medical billing services no longer have to spend large amounts of capital to get easy to use, efficient, and flexible practice management software.
“Our products are mainly intended for medical practices with 1 to 5 physicians and medical billing services.” ClaimGear feels that the large corporations, looking to sell high-priced practice management packages, largely overlook this segment of the industry. “Each of our clients are given the attention and support they deserve and we provide them with an effective and inexpensive alternative to the large corporation systems.”
Note: As of Apr 26, 2007 ClaimGear has changed to CollaborateMD.
Local Entrepreneur Looks To Make It Big
(Article from Interview with Orlando Business Journal)
Orlando, FL; January 18, 2001- - Every morning Douglas Kegler, of downtown Orlando, wakes up and goes to his office to run ClaimGear. ClaimGear is an Orlando-based Application Service Provider (ASP) that provides Internet-based practice management software to physicians and medical billing services all across the United States. Every day hundreds of transactions are processed, phones and emails are answered, programming changes are made, new clients are setup, patient claims are sent to a claims clearinghouse and practice reports are received from the claims clearinghouse. It all sounds like your typical corporation, but its not. Douglas Kegler and his wife run ClaimGear out of an office in their downtown Orlando house.
Mr. Kegler had been a programmer for over 10 years when he came up with the idea in 1998 for creating ClaimGear. ClaimGear is an Internet-based practice management system used by physicians and medical billing services. “With the advances in the Internet and Internet programming I knew that I could create a system that was pretty much automated,” said Mr. Kegler. His previous experience working for TDH Medical Systems, Inc., in Syracuse, New York, gave him the knowledge he needed to create this system. “The old desktop-based systems created a lot of maintenance for companies. You were constantly on the phone or traveling to the clients to help them with problems.” By placing the system in-house, and taking complicated tasks out of the users hands, Mr. Kegler spends much less time supporting the system and clients.
“The system basically runs itself.” All transfers with the clearinghouse are automated, along with the system backups. Materials that used to be mailed to clients can now be downloaded from the Web site. The ClaimGear software and insurance payor electronic agreements are all on the Web site for clients to download. “Because ClaimGear is so easy to use, little time is spent on training or supporting clients.” Mr. Kegler and his wife spend most of their time answering emails and working on signing up new clients.
The Kegler’s took quite a risk this past summer when Mr. Kegler quit his programming job at FedEx to run WebMBS full-time. With a family and a six-month-old child to support and little income, they decided the time had come to take the leap and become self-employed. Mr. Kegler hopes that some day soon he will be too busy with clients and will have to rent office space and hire employees. But until that day comes, he’s happy that his daily commute only involves walking up a flight up stairs.
Note: As of Apr 26, 2007 ClaimGear has changed to CollaborateMD.