Success Story
Manuka Health Clinic
Telemedicine solution from Kareo Extends Quality Care for Lyme-MSIDS Patients, Boosts Practice Revenue
Multiple systemic infectious diseases syndrome (MSIDS), a
complication of Lyme disease and other infections and allergies, is a
complex illness. Symptoms can include multiple neurological,
orthopedic, endocrine and rheumatic disorders, and are typically
unique to each patient. This makes diagnosis and treatment difficult,
requiring collaboration between numerous medical experts -- a
process much like solving a mystery.
But Dr. Ginger Scoggin loves a challenge. A pioneer in MSIDS
treatment, she founded Manuka Health Clinic (MHC) in Anchorage in
2008. The two-person practice is renowned worldwide as a leader in
vector pathogen treatment. Dr. Scoggin is consulted by other
healthcare experts daily. As testimony to her expertise, her practice
has a five-year waiting list.
Getting to Dr. Scoggin’s office for an in-person appointment can be an
insurmountable challenge for her patients. Many are very ill,
connected to IVs or PICC lines, and cannot easily travel. Others live in
remote and hard-to-reach parts of Alaska where unpredictable
weather conditions and transportation issues might prevent an office
visit. Dr. Scoggin had to communicate with patients remotely, often
spending as much as 25% of her time on the phone or Skype.
One problem, however, was that she couldn’t see patients’ symptoms
on the phone. She needed sophisticated imaging, unavailable
through Skype. In addition, HIPAA regulations prevented her from
billing for the time she spent with patients on the phone or screen,
resulting in considerable lost revenue.
Ever since its inception, MHC has used Kareo Practice Management.
“We have always been big fans of Kareo,” says Gen Ellis, clinic
director. “The system takes care of everything for us, from billing and
online scheduling to ordering lab work and clearinghouse functions.
It’s really easy to use, because there are multiple ways to locate any
given piece of information.”
“One day we heard that Kareo was offering a webinar on its
telemedicine module,” Dr. Scoggin adds. “We watched it and knew
that this was something we had to have. We literally made one phone
call, clicked once, and within minutes were up and running with a
super-sophisticated telemedicine system.”

Kareo Telemedicine is a cloud-based solution, and thus requires no
downloads for either providers or patients. Appointments can be set
up through Kareo’s online scheduling capabilities. Patients get an
email or text when it’s time for their virtual “visit”, and link in by
clicking on their computer or mobile device. Patients provide their
insurance information, eligibility is checked and credit card
information and payment is collected before the appointment starts.
Dr. Scoggin and the patient see one another over a secure network
where she can easily share lab results too.
Although she can’t touch the patient, Dr. Scoggin gets a detailed view
of symptoms and the overall patient’s condition. “I need to see things
with my eyes,” she says. “Kareo Telemedicine is the next best thing to
an old-school home visit.”
The immediate result of implementing Kareo Telemedicine was not
only better patient communication, but also better billing of Dr.
Scoggin’s valuable time. “It’s not that we are seeing more patients,”
she explains. “We have no bandwidth for more. Instead, we are finally
able to bill for all the time we were already spending on remote care.
Since adopting Kareo Telemedicine, our billings are up by at least
25%, with no extra time or effort on our part.”
Those billings translate into speedy earnings, thanks to Kareo. They
work closely with insurance providers to streamline and expand
telemedicine eligibility. “We have yet to have an insurance
submission denied since adopting Kareo Telemedicine,” notes Ellis.

A good example of the benefits of Kareo Telemedicine came during
the 2018 Alaska earthquake. “Vast portions of the region shut down,”
says Ellis. “Roads were blocked, and water lines ruptured.
Pharmacies remained closed for days.
“We used Kareo Telemedicine to provide uninterrupted care. We
advised patients just like they were in the office. We could tell them
which pharmacies were open nearby, so they could get the
medications they needed. It made an enormous diff erence –
providing reassurance, and in some cases potentially life-saving
information.”
“The greatest thing about Kareo, whether we’re talking about
practice management or telemedicine, is how easy it is to use. We
rarely even have a question. But when we do, our rep gets back to us
immediately. I can’t say enough good things about Kareo’s customer
support,” says Dr. Scoggin.
“Every medicine comes with its own NDC number,” she continues.
“They’re really long, and they differ between manufacturers. But
insurance companies require standardized information to be
imbedded in the billing. With Kareo, the number auto-pops up for me.
This is just one example of the way Kareo saves us valuable time
every day.”
Ellis agrees. “We didn’t realize how great Kareo was until a temporary
office assistant convinced us to try Advanced MD and NueMD. It was a
total mess – hard to use, buggy and impossible to access historical
records. Lucky thing we kept Kareo running in the background, and
could switch back easily.”
The partners at MHC joke about their loyalty to Kareo and its logo color. “Orange is the new green around here,” Dr. Scoggin says. “Seriously, though, if we didn’t have Kareo, we’d have to hire two additional people. Our efficiency, quality of care and profitability all hinge on the system.”



