CollaborateMD: Your Medical Billing Software Provider

In the mid 90's, Douglas Kegler, founder of CollaborateMD, saw that the healthcare community was in dire need of an improved practice management and medical billing solution. As a computer programmer and software engineer by trade, with years of experience in the healthcare sector, Kegler knew that a better solution existed.

Kegler had begun writing several DOS and Windows-based dental and medical billing programs in 1989, but found a common problem with his and other programs: medical offices had to install, maintain, and support their own server, database, and connections with the clearinghouse or insurance companies, which greatly increased costs. Moreover, software in the medical field was cluttered with hundreds of menus, making them difficult to navigate, impossible to maintain, and altogether too expensive for practices with less than 25 physicians.

As his interest in finding a better solution turned into a determination to design and develop the software himself, Kegler paid the bills with a "day job" that was still supporting a Windows medical billing application written in Pascal for a large billing service in Syracuse, NY. Meanwhile, the rise of Web applications throughout the banking, trading, retail, and media industries in 1997 intrigued Kegler, and undoubtedly served as the catalyst that drove him to choose the speed and flexibility of the Internet as the foundation on which he would later build his software.

Still in the brainstorming phase, Kegler solicited feedback from both a well-known neurologist who had used a medical billing program Kegler wrote in 1993 called Quicfa, and his Syracuse-based billing service client. Both expressed interest in the idea but shared hesitations about transferring data over the Web due to concerns about security.

In early 1998, Kegler turned away from creating a browser-based application, fearing it would be too slow, as most users were on dial-up modems at the time. Choosing instead a C++ or Java client/server application, Kegler could maintain the software, database, and clearinghouse connections from his Company, enabling customers to focus on medical billing, practice management and patient care. The system would be designed with intuitive screens and easy-to-navigate menus, making week-long training sessions a thing of the past.

Continuing into 1999, Kegler worked non-stop on weekends and nights to design and develop his Internet-based system. As he neared completion of his first beta version, he contacted his two previous clients from Syracuse, NY, who both agreed to test the system.

Thousands of hours later, Kegler distributed a press release in May 1999, informing the healthcare sector he would soon release the first Internet-based medical billing software. The official version publicly launched in January 2000. The Syracuse-based neurologist liked the system so much that he signed up as a client, and is still a client today.

Once the system was built, Kegler realized he needed to make it affordable to billing services and practices of all sizes. He set a low set-up fee to cover implementation, and a low monthly fee to cover the costs of system usage, software updates and maintenance, customer support, and clearinghouse fees.

The end result was CollaborateMD: an Internet-based practice management and medical billing solution that is simple, efficient, and affordable. Today, we have users in every state in the country. Contact us now to find out what’s in store for tomorrow.

CollaborateMD: Your Medical Billing Software Provider

The mission of CollaborateMD is to help healthcare entities optimize clinical and financial workflow, improve net profitability and patient care, lead healthcare collaboration, provide meaningful work opportunities for employees, give back to society, and cultivate revenue and profitability. Our foundation is based on providing affordable, quality solutions and excellent customer service to all who come to us, regardless of business size, type, or revenue. Innovative software functionality, superior quality and outstanding customer service is derived from unsurpassed drive, dedication, integrity, and teamwork from employees and partners and will facilitate us reaching the goal of ten thousand active providers.

The CollaborateMD Way serves as a guideline for the working environment at CollaborateMD. It defines the way we treat each other and the way we work with our customers. We are committed to these values:

• We treat each other with respect, fairness and courtesy. We are slow to anger. We do not tolerate rude or abusive behavior.
• We consider it a privilege to work together. We acknowledge, recognize and value our working relationships. We do not let each other fail.
• We lead by example and are role models for each other.
• We trust, believe and empower each other to exercise our individual strengths
• We solve problems at our own level. We identify causes and we do not place blame. We make escalations the exceptions, not the norm.
• We communicate across departments and between levels. We are open to constructive comments and input from others.
• We foster a positive work environment and do not let negative attitudes consume us.
• We take charge of our professional development and we make time to train, develop, coach and mentor each other.

CollaborateMD: Your Medical Billing Software Provider

“…Of equal importance, at a time when it is hard to know who to trust, it is of great comfort to us that your CEO, Doug Kegler is a man of honesty and integrity; rare qualities in these uncertain times.”

-- James M. Yurdin, M.D. and Betsy R. Yurdin
CollaborateMD’s first customer, 1999

Douglas Kegler, president and CEO, founded CollaborateMD (formerly XGear Technologies) in 1999 just before publicly launching the industry's first Internet-based practice management and electronic medical billing software, ClaimGear.

Upon graduating from SUNY at Fredonia in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a concentration in business, Kegler had already written his first billing program which was designed for dental billing. He soon joined TDH Medical Systems as a software developer responsible for supporting McKesson practice management software. It was at TDH that Kegler wrote Quicfa, a stand-alone claim submission program used by many physicians and a key neurologist that would later become the first ClaimGear user.

Kegler moved on to work for Recra Environmental, and later took a contractor position with Lockheed Martin, where he was the lead developer for the AFIS (automatic fingerprint information system) back-up unit. It wasn't until Kegler took a position with FedEx in 1998 that he began researching, planning and developing ClaimGear in his spare time. Over the next 18 months, Kegler and his fiancée wed, bought their first house, had their first child, launched XGear Technologies, and learned that twin baby girls were on their way. With family support and great determination, Kegler quit his full-time job to build the company he had long-envisioned, CollaborateMD.

Evelyn Rodriguez, vice president of customer support, was recruited to the CollaborateMD team in 2004 after nearly a decade of experience working in the healthcare industry. With an education in nursing and a career specialty of medical billing, Rodriguez now manages a team of 12 analysts, representatives and implementation specialists to support almost 3,000 system users. Rodriguez and her team handle tens of thousands of cases each year, providing support, building customer loyalty and ensuring the highest level of quality service for our users.

Patrick Mann, vice president of software operations, was brought on-board in 2002 to assist CollaborateMD president & CEO, Douglas Kegler, in initial development of the application. Mann now leads the team responsible for all product research and development. Prior to joining our team, Mann graduated cum laude from the University of Central Florida with a degree in computer science, worked for the Florida Department of State as a software engineer, and later served as senior software engineer for ISR Global Telecom.

CollaborateMD: Your Medical Billing Software Provider

Here at CollaborateMD, our team members are given the tools to succeed at their jobs, the opportunities to advance their career, and the latitude to enjoy every step along the way. It’s because of these reasons (okay, and because of the great benefits package, competitive compensation, and relaxed corporate culture) that CollaborateMD was honored as a 2009 “Top 100 Places to Work” by the Orlando Sentinel.

We consider it a privilege to work together. Whether we’re cross-training to improve intra-departmental cohesion, collaborating on company-wide initiatives, or toasting to our individual and team successes at one of our many festive gatherings, we pride ourselves on building each other up to face whatever challenges come our way. Being invited to join our team is an honor, and we always look forward to sharing our knowledge, skills and abilities with newcomers to the CollaborateMD family.

Check back soon.

It is our goal to hire the right candidate and to interview only those who are earnest about being a team member at CollaborateMD. Once you have determined the current job opening for which you wish to apply, please click the link within the job description and follow the application process on careerbuilder.com.

CollaborateMD: Your Medical Billing Software Provider

"We are proud of our accomplishments and pleased to be recognized as a stand-out in an industry brimming with so many talented software providers. Our success is in part attributable to our software’s hybrid platform, which combines the best of both browser- and server-based solutions to provide a more cost-effective and intuitive solution from which our customers greatly benefit."

-- Douglas Kegler, CollaborateMD Founder & CEO