Practice management pricing

For desktop MPM software, licenses start at $2,000 to $3,000 and range up to $10,000 or $15,000. Depending on your budget, you may wish to consider getting fewer licenses initially, and then add more later. Many vendors are quite willing to set up leases or extended payment schedules, turning a hefty $6,000 purchase into a more palatable $200/month commitment.

Vendors use different standards to determine exact pricing: the number of physicians, concurrent users, or computers that will have the software installed. A thorough needs assessment before you start shopping – who will use the system, and how – can make for smoother negotiation.

Online or ASP software is paid via monthly fees. Setup fees are usually less than $1,000, with monthly fees ranging from $50 to $500 or more. Many ASPs do so by charging for actual usage: $0.50 per claim, $0.75 per patient statement, and so on. Often, they have monthly minimums no matter how little you actually use the software. Note that these usage-based pricing arrangements are generally fair – typically totaling $60 to $200 per month in fees for a small practice – but they require you to estimate your average usage before you can compute the total cost. See what other BuyerZone users have paid for MPM software.

There are a large number of additional fees to be aware of. Some providers may include these as part of their monthly fees, and some may bill each item separately. As long as you know exactly what fees you will be expected to pay, you will be able to compare vendors accurately.

• Data transfer fees – when you import existing data, vendors will often charge you for an extra step of cleaning, de-duping, and preparing the data for the new system.
• Exit fees – when you leave the service, to cover the expense of exporting your data so you can move it to a new system.

• Support fees – basic support is often included for six months or a year with the purchase of a desktop system and is usually included in an ASPs' monthly fee. However you may encounter long hold times on the phone unless you upgrade to the "gold" or "premier" support package, which will cost extra.
• Training – As with support, basic training is often included, usually computer-based training (CBT). If you need extra administrator training, or on-site classroom training, you can expect to pay extra for those as well.

Upgrade pricing can also vary. ASPs will usually upgrade their software without charge to you, but desktop vendors may charge an upgrade fee because they have to help install the new software. Check your contract to see how often upgrades will occur and how much they will cost.