athenahealth,
Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN), a leading provider of Internet-based business
services to physician practices, today announced the launch of athenaCommunicatorSM,
a new patient communication service that is fully integrated with
athenahealth’s established web-based physician practice management and
electronic health record services. With the addition of this new
service, athenahealth provides physicians with a unique and
comprehensive suite of web-based services aimed at freeing them and
their staff from cumbersome administrative tasks, ultimately improving
practice operations and the quality of care delivered.
“athenaCommunicator will
now play a crucial role in seamlessly closing the growing and critical
activity of physician practices’ various communications with patients
across a number of fronts, which will become increasingly more important
as doctors and medical groups look to successfully participate in
emerging pay-for-performance programs like the HITECH Act.”
athenaCommunicator offers a set of communication tools and services
designed to manage patient interactions triggered by practice staff or
by automated routines within athenaNet®,
athenahealth’s web-based platform. Specifically, from a centralized
inbox, authorized users can view a record of all patient communications
conducted via a patient web portal, automated messaging platform, or an
athenahealth operator. Like other athenahealth services, this new
service is web-based and does not require doctors to invest in costly
software, servers, or phone lines.
Features of the athenaCommunicator service include:
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Automated Messaging Platform - Consists of automated phone
calls and e-mails to patients for appointment reminders, past due
balance alerts, disease management initiatives, and other
compliance-driven campaigns. Integrated messaging solutions include:
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ReminderCall℠ - Generates messages to patients for appointment
reminders and pre-appointment instructions.
-
GroupCall℠ - Creates broadcast outreach campaigns to select
patient groups regarding self-pay balances, annual visit
reminders, weather-related office closures, disease management
messages, and pay-for-performance programs.
-
ResultsCall℠ - Automates the secure delivery of test results to
patients.
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Patient Web Portal - Gives patients a secure and efficient,
24-hour, web-based approach to scheduling appointments, retrieving
test results, viewing personal health information, updating insurance
and demographic information, viewing educational health content,
reviewing financial statements, making secure credit card payments,
and more.
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Live Operator Services - With virtual access to the same
athenaNet screens currently used by practice staff, athenahealth
operators can answer patient calls on a doctor’s behalf and provide
convenient and intelligent assistance, easing the burden of high call
volume on a practice’s staff while granting greater access and
flexibility for patients.
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Self-Pay Reminder Service - With scheduled messaging based on
balance amounts and ageing thresholds, athenaCommunicator aims to
improve collection rates and self-pay days in accounts receivable.
Additionally, automated balance due reminders via phone and e-mail
coupled with soft-collect letters delivered via the patient web portal
can improve the speed and quantity of dollars collected.
Combined, these capabilities will bring a host of valued benefits to
physician practices, including expanded accessibility for patients
after-hours and on weekends; re-captured staff and physician time;
reduced no-shows and improved arrival rates; and the elimination of
expensive paper-based mailing campaigns.
athenaCommunicator Leveraging Advanced Healthwise®
Knowledgebase and Healthwise® Ix®
Conversations
As part of the athenaCommunicator patient web portal sites, patients
will now have access to the advanced Healthwise®
Knowledgebase. The 8,000 evidence-based topics in the Knowledgebase are
easy to use—in patient-friendly language. When patients access their
test results via the athenaCommunicator web portal sites, patients can
simply click to the information in the Knowledgebase that helps them
interpret their results. The Knowledgebase also helps people check their
symptoms to know when to call or visit the clinic. Additionally, it
guides people through decisions about treatment options. And, patients
with chronic and acute conditions can gain the knowledge they need to
better manage their health.
The athenaCommunicator patient web portal sites will also soon offer
thirteen Healthwise Information Therapy (Ix®) Conversations.
These multimedia “virtual coaching conversations” are short, interactive
programs where patients can learn about complex health issues (for
example, Beta Blockers to Prevent Another Heart Attack) and how
to make behavior changes (for example, Quitting Smoking). Through
an engaging use of voice, animation, and storytelling, each conversation
guides the patient through a series of questions and provides a custom
experience based on the patient’s answers.
“We have been a long-time client of athenahealth, and our group has
already seen the tremendous benefits this new patient communication
service can deliver,” said Usman Mirza, CEO of The
San Antonio Orthopaedic Group, one of Texas’ leading orthopaedic
centers and one of the original athenaCommunicator development sites.
“What is often not discussed when addressing physician practice
challenges is the massive volumes of phone calls, faxes, letters, and
messages that are required to best serve patients. We had recognized
that patient communications have not evolved to take full advantage of
mobile communication, internet, and email, and athenaCommunicator is
clearly designed to help us manage a wide variety of patient
interactions from one centralized inbox on athenaNet.”
Listen to Family Medical Associates’ experience using the new
athenaCommunicator service for their medical group in South Attleboro,
Massachusetts: http://www.athenahealth.com/our-services/athenaCommunicator.php
“Physician practices are increasingly challenged to remain accessible to
patients 24/7 while facing a rising volume of daily phone traffic and
administrative tasks that require prompt attention and can bog a
practice down. Our new athenaCommunicator service, built on our
web-based platform, improves patient and doctor interactions outside of
the office, leading to better access, care, and profitability.” said
Jonathan Bush, athenahealth’s Chairman and CEO. “athenaCommunicator will
now play a crucial role in seamlessly closing the growing and critical
activity of physician practices’ various communications with patients
across a number of fronts, which will become increasingly more important
as doctors and medical groups look to successfully participate in
emerging pay-for-performance programs like the HITECH Act.”
As of its launch, athenaCommunicator joins an integrated suite of
web-based medical practice solutions used and trusted by more than
23,000 providers across the U.S. These solutions include a network-based
electronic health record (EHR) service, athenaClinicalsSM,
and a revenue cycle management service, athenaCollectorSM,
which combined offer continually updated payer-specific billing rules,
advanced e-prescribing capabilities, back-office processing specialists,
and coding support tools that help medical providers to enhance patient
care and obtain appropriate reimbursement.