CounSol.com

Pros

I love almost everything about CounSol! I used it when I was a solo practitioner and have continued as my company has grown into a group practice.
What I like:
- Electronic intake forms as well as all other forms
- FULLY customizable forms including progress notes
- Client self scheduling/ Client portal
- Online payments
- Calendar sync with phone
- Secure messaging- staff and clients
- Quick claim submission and ERA reconciliation
- Customer service- its amazing really!!
- Generally accurate monthly payment reports
- Appointment reminders via text, email and phone
- I also love that they don't tack on costs for features- it is included in the plan you pick!

Cons

I have been with CounSol long enough that I have been able to see them grow, including them implementing suggestions I have personally made for the EHR. That said there are a few things I still don't like:
- the interface itself is not as pretty as some of the other ones out there
- there can be a lot of button clicking sometimes (this has improved)
- my staff report they do not find it intuitive to use
- the way the payment report screen handles refunds (however, if you know how it does, then it is easy to account for- just more button clicking)
- Use of Office Ally for clearinghouse, but bc of changes on the part of Office Ally not CounSol
- They don't have an app and I dislike the mobile view
- Not a monthly all clinician view calendar, but there is a weekly one, but it doesn't show openings, just booked appointments

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to CounSol.com

Pros

Overall this has been a great product to help with the backend of my private practice in keeping track of income and number of sessions. It provides texts, emails and alerts for scheduling which is invaluable to keeping appointments full and it provides professional looking invoices for clients to use for out of pocket reimbursement. I also like that client credit cards are stored in the system for ease of payment.

Cons

As I am using this to manage my entire practice, I think it would be beneficial to have a more robust reporting options with regard to the financial features. It would be nice to be able to print out sales by month, quarter or year. If there is this mechanism in place already, I have not found it.
It would also be helpful to have a smart feature when typing notes into the system that autocorrects. It is frustrating to be typing a word in and the system does not recognize it to give suggestions for the correct way to spell the word.
When client's credit card expires, it is a pain that a new card has to be keyed into the system, that a simple expiration change can not be done instead, as most keep the same credit card number.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to CounSol.com

Pros

The invoice feature, the ease of calendar, birthday emails,

Cons

The intake measures aren't pulled into the initial intake note. This doesn't create a professional looking intake note like the other system I used. No ability to write a formal short note about a phone session, or missed sessions when you void the invoice you can't document it. Can't send attachments in an email via this site that I don't want to make available to all clients. The billing feature pages are very confusing and can be very overwhelming. The measures offered are limited and personally I don't want to have to input them and/or recreate them and it doesn't allow me to send specific measures to individual clients. It's like a one size fits all with this product.

Pros

This software sends appointment reminders, has helped me organize client information, file insurance claims and collect practice data (like number of monthly sessions, monthly income taken in, etc.) It has a nice, clean layout and offers many customization options.

Cons

It was a little challenging learning how to use the billing features, but there would be a learning curve for this with any practice software.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing CounSol.com

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to CounSol.com

Pros

Its ability to protect client data but allowing us to invoice, send claims, use telehealth, communicate electronically, and chat. Great for getting documents signed and completed. Great for creating new clients as the system is user friendly (outside of very small font).

Cons

It is made for one type of bill... outpatient therapy sessions (90832,90835, 90837). Things like, crisis, client contact, groups, case management, peer support specialists, and prescribers, are no billable due to the documents that are tied to invoices/ claims.

It also allows you to bill without regard as to whether the appointment actually happened or not. No need for notes or documents, just make an appointment and send in the bill.

The calendar is very clunky and hard to use.

The font is extremely small with no way to make it bigger.

There is no ability to do groups/ couples treatment unless everyone is piled up under the same webcam (so much for 6 feet).

It is very difficult to make appointments. There is no way to edit an appointment after it has been made either... it has to be canceled.

There is an overlord of your account who has to help you do most everything.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing CounSol.com

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to CounSol.com