Athena EMR Review - User Experience, Cost, and Interoperability

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Whether you are looking for an EMR for your practice or an integrated solution, you will find Athena EMR has the features you need and the price that fits your budget. This review will explore the User experience, cost, and interoperability of the Athena EMR. It will help you decide if the Athena EMR is the best solution for your practice. This product is also known as Athenahealth. It is a private company based in the United States that provides network-enabled healthcare services.

User Experience

Athena has robust functionality that streamlines the daily tasks of care providers. Most of its users said that the interface was easy to use, and they did not experience system downtime. While the customer support and claims functionality were satisfactory, some experienced some inaccuracy in data. It was difficult to identify the cause of such issues. However, the overall user experience of Athena EMR was positive. There are a few cons to consider when considering this software.

Athenahealth is a cloud-based software provider of EHR and other health and wellness services that help healthcare providers deliver smarter patient experiences. Its suite of products includes patient engagement and care coordination tools, as well as revenue cycle management. The company works with more than 160,000 healthcare providers across the U.S., and is consistently improving its offerings to meet the needs of the medical community. For more information, visit athenahealth.

Athenahealth's EMR has many benefits. It includes an advanced data model and a renowned interoperability platform. Its athenaNet platform includes 150,000+ healthcare providers, so data from each provider can be leveraged to provide recommendations for optimizing performance. AthenaClinicals lets clinicians clearly view patient notes, such as allergies, medical conditions, and medications. Other features include appointment scheduling, HIPAA-compliant messaging, and a patient portal. Moreover, it offers the ability to integrate with telehealth systems, so patients can participate in appointments without having to download new software from their home or office.

Cost

Athenahealth EMR is one of the best-known EMRs currently available. Most of its users are happy with its features and customer support. Its billing software is not as robust as its other features, so you will have to transfer ongoing billing transactions to another system. It also comes at a price, which might make it out of the price range for smaller practices. However, there are other options to consider when deciding on an EMR.

Athenahealth EMR costs between $140 and $3,360 per provider, depending on which features you need. The EMR software alone is easy to use and error-free. It also provides insights based on your practice size and risk level. As a result, it can add to your practice's profitability. However, it is important to remember that these costs may be a bit higher than you originally thought.

Athenahealth does not provide fully outsourced revenue cycle management, but instead provides dedicated billing support. The implementation process can take four to six weeks, depending on how much data you need to import. You'll be paired with a dedicated account representative who should stay in contact with you after the software goes live. The customer support center is located in California, but if you need to send data in other languages, you'll be able to speak to someone in the company directly.

Interoperability

In the U.S., there are still many challenges to achieving true interoperability in healthcare. Much like the early digital shifts in banking and retail, the healthcare system requires more work to become truly seamless. This information dysfunction burdens patients and providers, keeps costs high, and threatens positive health outcomes. Athenahealth has a patient-centric approach to interoperability and a business model that aligns with that purpose.

Final Verdict

Besides its electronic medical record (EMR) system, Athena offers billing, practice management, patient portals, and other services. The software is available in on-premise and cloud versions. Athena's goal is to enable sustainable healthcare facilities by providing tools that enhance patient engagement, care coordination, and revenue cycle management. In addition to HIPAA compliance, Athena's software enables physicians to get meaningful insights about their patients' health and treatment.

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Athenahealth offers a single API for all partners and supports a variety of industry standards. A successful integration with Athenahealth's API can take as little as a weekend to complete. However, you must make sure to test your integrations frequently and develop quickly. For example, an Apple integration didn't require special work, while an API for Athenahealth is different. For PHRs, it requires a different process.