Kareo and PatientPop merge to create all-in-one provider platform

Medical software developer Kareo and healthcare marketing company PatientPop have merged to create Tebra, an all-in-one digital platform that supports practices in acquiring and serving patients, the companies announced Tuesday.

With Tebra, providers can access PatientPop’s services to grow their practice and gain new patients alongside Kareo’s clinical software for electronic health records and billing.

Together, Kareo and PatientPop as Tebra will have access to more than 100,000 providers with more than 85 million patients, according to a statement by the companies.

“By bringing the two companies together, we believe we can deliver to the market the first truly all-in-one platform to run a healthcare practice,” said Dan Rodrigues, founder and CEO of Kareo, in an interview with Fierce Healthcare. Rodrigues will serve as the CEO of Tebra.

The name Tebra, a derivation of the word “vertebra,” embodies the company’s vision, Rodrigues said—“becoming the digital backbone of practice success.”

Rodrigues said patients are demanding a more modern healthcare experience in the digital age, but many practices are unable to meet those expectations on their own “especially in a rapidly changing, competitive environment.”

“One of the challenges that many of these provider organizations face is just how fragmented the vendor landscape is today,” he said. “Many of them are using four or five different products in their practice, they have no in-house IT, and it’s really hard to stitch together a solution that way.”

He also noted that integrating these products with the clinical and financial systems already in place can pose additional challenges for providers.

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By forming Tebra, Kareo and PatientPop hope to build a network where new products can integrate seamlessly alongside the company’s offerings, he said.

“PatientPop helps doctors attract more patients, manage their reputation, and grow their business,” Luke Kervin, co-CEO and co-founder of PatientPop who will serve as Tebra’s chief innovation officer, said in a statement. “But the one thing our customers have been asking for over the years is a deeper integration with their clinical and financial system of record. Now with Kareo, we can finally bring to the market the all-in-one platform our practices have been demanding.”

Kareo and PatientPop will continue to operate as independent brands in the near future, with the goal of fully integrating their offerings under the Tebra brand by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

With the merger finalized, the new team is already looking toward future product offerings, potentially even a consumer marketplace on top of the Tebra platform, Rodrigues said.

The company has substantial R&D capabilities internally to develop offerings on its own, he said, but noted that the “very fragmented” market also offers opportunities for future M&A.

“One of our motivations for bringing these two businesses together is we want to emerge as one of the market leaders here, and ultimately, we see ourselves as a consolidator,” he said.

Travis Schneider, co-CEO and co-founder of PatientPop who will serve as Tebra’s chief corporate development officer, said the deep integration of Kareo and PatientPop’s offerings will help practices thrive in a competitive market.

“What excites us the most is we genuinely feel like we’re building something that’s going to be transformational, and it doesn’t yet exist in the industry,” Schneider said. “And at the end of the day, it’s going to really serve and help the healthcare practices out there, regardless of specialty and size.”