carepaths^TM

Thank you for your timely newsletter about electronic health records (EHR). As most psychiatrists are in solo/small practices, I think we often get left out or priced out of EHRs. I wanted to bring up to your attention an EHR I have been using for over 10 years that is affordable and easy to use for even a part-time solo private practice psychiatrist such as myself.

www.carepaths.com is an EHR with a strong but plain document program, a patient portal, a robust, straightforward automated claims process, and, most importantly I feel, it is incredibly affordable. The most expensive option is with ePrescribing which will set you back $50 per month with no long-term
contract. Costco (!) is offering their EHR (granted, way more sophisticated) for $499 per month. As a part-time doctor, I cannot make that type of an investment.

Here’s a typical day for me. The patients are checked-in on Carepaths eCalendar upon arrival by my secretary. A draft progress note with correct CPT code is automatically generated and pre-populated with the clinical information from the last visit. I complete the progress note quickly, typing their progress as
well as using drop-downs and boxes. I then electronically sign. Having been a doctor for 25 years, my notes are more comprehensive than when we were using paper charts and are entirely legible. At the end of the day, I electronically send all claims automatically to all insurance companies in about 1 minute
per insurance company. I routinely leave my office at 5:03 pm.

The above process is a bit more complicated with patients with insurances requiring authorization such as Tricare. As we are located in a large military population, Tricare patients account for a large percentage of my patients. My secretary loads the authorizations in Carepaths which takes about one minute per
Tricare patient every 4-6 months. Carepaths automatically keeps track of the remaining authorizations and will not let you submit a claim if the authorization is expired. It also provides an alert of impending expirations.

As with all EHRs, time has to be spent creating the new chart with patient demographics and insurance details but this would need to be done with paper charts as well.

This EHR also has the YBOCS, AIMS, and multiple other clinical tracking tools (ADHD, etc) as well as hundreds of pre-built templates. The Outcome Questionnaire-30 is an excellent tracking tool for suicidal ideation and general acuity which patients complete at home just prior to their appointment. Claims
support is included in the cost. There is secure inter-office, doctor-patient messaging. There is an automated email reminder system. I receive electronic payments usually within 10-14 days of the patient visit.

I must disclose that as I have provided feedback to Carepaths over the years, they saw fit to waive their fee for the past several years. I did not ask them to do this. I would have provided this endorsement without their action as I have built a very efficient, improved psychiatric practice with their EHR.

- Kurt Peters, MD
Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist
A letter from Dr. Peters to a Psychiatrist colleague

“I wanted you to know that I recently ran an aging report on my practice which showed just how easy your claims feature has made my life.  With the exception of two invoices which were 30-60 days delinquent (and only represent about 10% of one week’s billing), all my invoices 30 days and older were all paid up.  In fact, the 30 day window had about only about 1.5 weeks of outstanding invoices!

So your accuracy and processing speed is phenomenal!”

Kurt Peters, MD
Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist
Colorado Springs, CO!”

-Kurt Peters, MD

“I have been in practice full or part time as a Psychologist for over 28 years. The Carepaths system is the most efficient system of record keeping, patient and practice management, authorization tracking, claims management, and billing that I have ever used. With the addition of features recently added to the system, my office will be nearly paperless. As I anticipate retiring in several years, the problem of record repository will not be a significant issue. The customer service at Carepaths is exceptional. Any processing difficulty is usually solved within a day. This system is head and shoulders an improvement over the two forms of proprietary practice management systems I used in the past.”  - Patrick Quigley, PhD, LSAC

“United Behavioral Health recently audited our facility. They gave us the highest grade, an A. We owe our success in large measure to the eRecord. As the UBH auditor pointed out, the eRecord’s sophisticated decision support and tickler system has allowed us to conduct automated audits so we can identify documentation that is not in compliance. This translates into peace of mind. But that’s only half of what the eRecord has done for us. It’s electronic billing and automated electronic remittance system saves us literally 20 hours or more a week. Given the price and flexibility of the eRecord, I feel it is in a class by itself. And one more thing, the service and support are exceptional. Yes, I too give the system an A.”-Teri Dimond, MSW, Complementary Support Services, Minnneapolis, MN

“Wayne State University Physician Group-Department of Psychiatry, affiliated with the Wayne State University School of Medicine has been using CarePaths’ eRecord for over six years. As a comprehensive clinical service group we offer specific programs for children and adolescents, adults, and geriatric patients. Specialty programs are provided for individuals experiencing severe and persistent mental illness, substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and general adult psychiatric conditions. We provide services in traditional outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, and hospital emergency departments. Staff includes: psychiatrists, psychiatric residents and fellows, psychologists, psychology interns, social workers, and psychiatric nurses. Payers include public and commercial, fee-for service, and grant funded. Taken together, we are a complex organization.The CarePaths’ patient management system has provided the flexibility to modify forms, create separate program sites, and establish customized reports. The library of standardized instruments has facilitated faculty clinical research and monitoring of outcomes at both the clinician and program level. We have achieved the flexibility of an in-house system at a fraction of the cost.

In six years we have entered almost 20,000 patients into the CarePaths’ system; yet finding a record from six years ago is no problem and is instantly available; there are no requests to Iron Mountain, no additional storage costs. It’s all included in the monthly fee.

When I am asked about the system and the price, I am frequently asked: “Why so inexpensive? What is wrong with the system?” The answer: NOTHING is wrong with the system. CarePaths provides a sophisticated practice management system with all the essential features—scheduling, billing, clinical documentation, e-prescribing, outcomes monitoring, and reporting. Moreover, CarePaths has established a partnership with us to address ongoing program needs for clinical forms, program reports, and research data exports. CarePaths’ practice management system is useable and affordable for the single practitioner or the multi-specialty, multi-location practice group.

We look forward to the ongoing development work of the team at CarePaths. We have witnessed the ongoing improvement of the system from day one, their development and improvements never stops, but the price remains—unbelievable.”

-Dave Johnson, MSW, ACSW, Chief Administrative Officer, Wayne State University Physician Group- Dept of Psychiatry, Detroit, Michigan