Using an EMR to manage patients is one of the most convenient ways for doctors to streamline their practices. However, before you choose the best EMR for your practice, there are a few things that you should know. These include interoperability, cost, usability, and customer support.
Interoperability
One of the key benefits of the Athena EMR is its interoperability with other health information systems. The Athenahealth network has 81 million patient records, and it handles five billion data transactions annually. This allows it to easily integrate with other systems to enhance patient care and improve care coordination.
Interoperability tools are built into the athenahealth software, which includes athenaClinicals for ordering new lab tests and prescriptions. The software can also send patient data to other healthcare providers through AthenaNet, which is a network of more than 150,000 providers. The network also provides recommendations on how to optimize patient care. In addition, the athenaCommunicator provides a patient portal and includes HIPAA-compliant messaging.
Athenahealth’s products are designed for both small and large-sized practices, and its hosted or cloud-based offerings help improve productivity and efficiency. Gamify, for example, is a management dashboard that provides dashboards and leaderboards. Its other features include zero pay resolution, authorization management, and claim scrubbing.
Cost
The cost of Athena EMR varies widely, depending on the features you choose, and the number of doctors and providers you’re planning to enroll. A standalone version of the software costs $140 per user per month, with practice management and medical billing tools available for purchase separately. You can also contact an athenahealth sales representative to get a personalized quote for your specific needs.
The athenahealth pricing structure is unique in that it offers both cloud and on-premise versions of the software. This is a major advantage for practices that are new to the EMR market or those that have a low number of patients. It is also cheaper than many of its competitors.
The software also features interoperability tools that help doctors and patients work together, such as sending information to the CDC’s Immunization Information System database. This helps practices meet meaningful-use standards set by the Medicare and Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program. Another feature, athenahealth’s patient portal, allows patients to update their contact information. Clinical staff must approve the changes before they can be posted on the patient’s record. Patients can also complete their own intake forms before their visit, making it easier for them to get started with a new doctor. Check out the other top EMRs from the EMR systems list.
Usability
A recent KLAS report evaluated the usability of several EMRs. It found that athenahealth outranked eight of the larger vendors in the ambulatory EHR usability category. The usability rating of athenahealth is 85%, and it also received the highest usability score for overall functionality. The report also reveals common pain points for providers, as well as recommendations for how to improve user experience.
While athenaClinicals is the largest vendor of EMR software, it does have some weaknesses. For instance, many users complain about minute service charges, as well as usability issues. Users also complain about the lack of help for older EMRs. For this reason, it’s important to consider a software’s history before selecting an EMR.
Athenahealth features interoperability tools to help practices connect to other healthcare providers. For example, it can send vaccination data to the CDC’s Immunization Information Systems database. It can also help the practice meet meaningful-use standards set by the Medicare and Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program. The software is also designed to make it easier for patients to start seeing a new doctor. A patient can log into a patient portal and update their contact information and history, and can also complete an intake form prior to a visit.
Customer support
Athenahealth is a private American company that provides network-enabled healthcare services and point-of-care mobile applications. Its flagship product, the Athena EMR, provides medical practitioners with an easy-to-use interface to manage patient records. Its services are designed to simplify physician workflows and reduce costs for hospitals and clinics.
The Athena EMR is robust with powerful functionalities that streamline everyday care. Users report that the software is easy to use and has minimal downtime. They also found the customer support team to be very responsive to most concerns. However, some users found the claims functionality unsatisfactory. Some noticed that the system was unable to make the customizations that they wanted.
In addition to customer support, athenahealth also provides reporting tools that allow practitioners to monitor and evaluate key practice metrics. The company also holds quarterly customer success meetings where customer success managers review practice reports and identify opportunities for improvement. The reporting tool also features a dashboard where users can compare their practice’s performance to the average athenaNet practice.