Is web based medical software a good idea?

Knowing that I co-founded Kareo, a web based medical software company, and that I’m an avid user of QuickBooks On-line as well as Salesforce (also web based programs) a friend recently asked my opinion about using such a service for his medical practice, I gave him all the usual reasons why he should but then asked why he should not sign up for such services. Wow, what a great question! Read on for what I told him to think through.

What exactly is web based software or Software as a service (Saas) also known as software-on-demand. As the name suggests, it is software deployed over the internet to run behind a firewall on a local area network or personal computer. With this type of service the software is typically licensed through a monthly subscription or a "pay-as-you-go" model.

In Kareo’s case, the technology provides an Internet-based medical billing and practice management software service for medical doctors. As a hosted software service, Kareo stores all customer data on central servers accessed over the Internet by end users who have installed a desktop application to their home or office computer.

In many respects it is an ideal way to deliver software and services to consumers. So, what did I tell him to think through before signing up?

1) Keep in mind that the program is hosted somewhere other than where you are, you could be in Alaska the data residing in Florida, with you accessing everything through the web. You are used to buying software and owning it so you need to be comfortable with the difference.

2) You will need decent “always on” internet access from wherever you connect from so you can access all your data and the program functions via the web.

3) You have to be able to rely on your web connection 100% of the time. What are you going to do when you have a waiting room full of patients but your internet connection just went down? That’s not as far fetched as you might think. Have you had trouble checking your email in the last year? Enough said

4) Are you sure your data is really yours? Sure, the hosting company says you own it in the contract, but if you ever have to leave the service, how much will they charge to give you your data? In almost all instances they may be able to give you the demographics but it will be virtually impossible to get the financial data in a usable format that could be imported into another software system.

5) Most importantly, what happens if you have a dispute with your vendor/hosting company and they shut off service one day or they simply go out of business? How do you see patients? How do you get your data? How do you rebuild all your files, including years of financial transactions?

I will post an update when I find out what he ends up doing…