athenaClinicals Version 10.6 receives CCHIT's EHR technology, preliminary IFR Stage 1 certification

athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN), a leading provider of web-based practice management, electronic health record (EHR), and patient communication services to medical groups, today announced that the latest version of its web-based EHR service, athenaClinicals^SM Version 10.6, has been inspected by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) and is certified EHR technology, IFR Stage 1, preliminarily meeting 24 of 24 requirements for Eligible Providers published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Interim Final Rule (IFR). Inspection information is available at http://www.cchit.org/products. For the purpose of qualifying products for ARRA incentives, CCHIT anticipates, but has not yet received, accreditation by HHS.

This preliminary IFR Stage 1 certification is related to the HITECH Act, part of the larger American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA). athenahealth, Inc. believes that this certification further validates its ability to help physicians qualify for and obtain incentive payments associated with the forthcoming final definition of Meaningful Use.

athenaClinicals Versions 0.27 and 10.6 were also certified in the CCHIT Certified® 2006 and 2008 programs respectively. The CCHIT Certified® program is a separate, independently developed certification that includes a rigorous inspection of an EHR's integrated functionality, interoperability, and security using criteria developed by the CCHIT's broadly representative, expert work groups. Since athenahealth's services reside on one application, all athenaClinicals clients are now using preliminary IFR Stage 1 certified EHR technology with no upgrades necessary.

"Many physicians and hospitals are facing unique challenges and ambiguities surrounding the HITECH Act and emerging requirements for achieving Meaningful Use. We believe earning preliminary IFR Stage 1 certification from CCHIT demonstrates that providers using athenaClinicals can feel confident in achieving Meaningful Use and that athenahealth will fully execute on its Federal Stimulus Guarantee Program," said Jonathan Bush, Chairman and CEO of athenahealth.