Kareo Launches Free Cloud-based Electronic Health Record

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Kareo, Inc., the cloud-based medical office software and services provider for small medical practices, serving over 17,000 medical providers, today launched Kareo Electronic Health Record (EHR). This new application is available free of charge as a stand-alone application or integrated with Kareo Practice Management and Kareo Billing Services, providing a seamless user experience and instant data exchange across applications. Kareo EHR offers small medical practices an intuitive and intelligent way to deliver care and engage patients through native iPad and iPhone applications or with a web browser. Kareo acquired mobile technology and a clinical knowledge base from Epocrates and leveraged these assets in developing its new EHR.

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"More physicians in the U.S. practice medicine in small practices than any other way, yet the demands of managing a small practice continue to grow. Small practice physicians need smarter and more mobile technology to help them care for their patients and optimize their businesses," said Dan Rodrigues, founder and CEO of Kareo. "Our customers asked us to develop an electronic health record to complement our practice management and billing services solutions. With Kareo EHR, small practice physicians can now take advantage of an intuitive solution designed for how they deliver care and run their practices. Best of all, Kareo's EHR is available for free and without ads or any long-term commitments."

Kareo EHR was designed to support how small practice physicians deliver care and interact with their patients and can be used through native mobile applications or a web browser. With mobile use, physicians can restore the natural doctor-patient interaction that desktop-based EHRs have come to inhibit, while demonstrating savvy use of technology in delivering care. Kareo EHR offers a simple and intuitive interface physicians can use to quickly build notes via clinical knowledge base pick lists or with integrated voice recognition. Regardless of device or location, all care team participants have critical, up-to-date patient health information at their fingertips. Health information can be instantly exchanged electronically, including e-prescribing medications, ordering and viewing lab work, and sharing information with patients through the embedded patient portal. Kareo EHR streamlines workflows through its integration with Kareo Practice Management providing users single sign-on and instantly synchronized data, including appointments, billing codes, and all critical patient information. Kareo EHR is certified for use, as a complete EHR, by providers to demonstrate Meaningful Use and to qualify for up to $39,000 in 2013 incentives offered under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.    

Kareo acquired core EHR technology originally developed by Epocrates and combined it with Kareo's medical office software platform to build the new application. Included in the acquired technology, was a comprehensive clinical knowledge base that enables documentation and treatment orders for the top 100 primary care conditions and previously unreleased mobile device technology designed to deliver efficient note taking on tablets through intuitive swipe, tap, and touch actions. The overall development effort was led by Dr. Tom Giannulli, Kareo's chief medical information officer, practicing physician, and original inventor of much of the acquired technology. The combination of Dr. Giannulli's leadership, Epocrates technology, and Kareo's software platform enabled the creation of a breakthrough EHR application for small practices.

[Editor's Note: Please see Kareo release dated February 20, 2013, "Kareo Appoints its First Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO), Tom Giannulli, MD, MS"]

"Adopting an electronic health record is especially challenging for small practices because most EHRs were not built with their needs in mind," said Tom Giannulli MD, MS, chief medical information officer at Kareo. "Our cloud-based solution gives small practices the promised benefits of EHR technology and eliminates the challenges of implementing complex and expensive on-premise software. It was our goal to build Kareo EHR to support the physician's need to deliver high-quality care while ensuring the utmost in practice efficiency."

Kareo EHR is available free of charge, with no long-term commitments, no expensive implementation or ongoing support costs. Physicians simply sign up and get started. Kareo coaches are available to help physicians take full advantage of the features of Kareo EHR and free support is included for all users. Application upgrades are delivered automatically allowing physicians to instantly utilize new functionality and meet emerging industry demands, including supporting the requirements of each subsequent stage of Meaningful Use. Kareo EHR is advertising free and clinical data are owned and controlled by the practice. Kareo's EHR is made available for free in an effort to build trust and earn physicians' business in other practice areas. Should they decide to upgrade, physicians using Kareo EHR have the ability to purchase and instantly integrate Kareo's full software and services suite at any time.

Kareo has built a market leading position in delivering intuitive, integrated, affordable technology and services to support the business needs of small medical practices. The launch of the best-of-breed, no cost Kareo EHR immediately delivers these same benefits to physicians on the clinical side of their practice. Small medical practices now can rely on a single trusted partner to deliver all of the cloud-based technology needed to manage essential clinical and business components, enabling optimized practice efficiency and an increased focus on patients not paperwork. Kareo EHR is available now at www.kareo.com.  

About Kareo

Kareo is the only cloud-based medical office software and services platform dedicated to small practices. At Kareo, we believe that, with the right tools and support, small practices can do big things. We offer an integrated suite of products and services designed to help small practice physicians get paid faster, run their business smarter, and provide better care. Our Practice Management software, Billing Services, and free, full-featured EHR help more than 17,000 medical providers more efficiently manage the business and clinical sides of their practice. Based in Irvine, California, Kareo's mission is to help providers spend their time focused on patients, not paperwork. For more information, visit www.kareo.com.

Kareo EHR (formerly Caretools EHR) is a Complete EHR and is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by and ONC-ATCB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

Media Contact:
Jody LoMenzo
Feinstein Kean Healthcare | an Ogilvy Company
P 617 761 6733
[email protected]

SOURCE Kareo, Inc.