"athenahealth gives you the kind of support you need to be able to make sense of it all and get paid."
Eugenia Marcus, M.D.
Pediatric Health Care, Newton, MA
Letter from Jonathan
This month, there are two pieces of very important news. First, we have made considerable changes to how we handle remittance processing ("posting"), which I address in a Posting Update. Second, we are pleased to announce a major change in athenahealth leadership with the arrival of our new COO, Jim MacDonald. And I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and catching up with new ones at our highly anticipated User Conference - including a Carnival theme party this year - not to mention our hands-on, information-packed conference sessions. Plus, what are the 3 most important things businesses should know about organizational culture? Find out from Amy Pooser, this month's featured athenista (and don't miss Amy's presentation at the User Conference). Finally, catch up on the latest executive order promoting increased transparency and quality in healthcare systems in the Compliance Corner. Read on!
athenahealth's 5th Annual User Conference is October 10-13, 2006
We're dotting the I's and crossing the T's in preparation for this year's User Conference. In addition to terrific educational material and hands-on sessions, Andy Stefanovich is making his return to inspire and entertain us. We'll be having a Carnival as this year's theme party and don't forget the Live Benchmarking prize drawings and our general prize drawing during lunch on the last day. If you haven't registered yet, click here. We also welcome walk-ins. Can't wait to see you there!
New COO Joins athenahealth
We're pleased to announce that James M. MacDonald joins athenahealth as our new Chief Operating Officer. MacDonald will oversee all corporate operations and will report to Jonathan Bush, Chairman and CEO of athenahealth. For more, click here.
Ann & Natalie's Compliance Corner
Welcome back to Ann & Natalie's Compliance Corner! This month, we bring you highlights of the new executive order promoting healthcare price and quality transparency. How does this affect your practice? Find out here.
athenista Spotlight: Meet Amy Pooser
A devoted organic farmer and major U2 fan, she almost escaped to California to study Buddhism. Now she is the official keeper of athenahealth's organizational culture. Meet Amy Pooser, athenahealth's Vice President of People and Process. Miss one of our athenista profiles? Click here for the archive.
KLAS 2006 Year End Report - We Need Your Help!
As you many of you know, KLAS* (considered the "JD Powers of healthcare") ranked athenahealth #1 in the 1-5, 6-25 and 26-100 MD market segment for ambulatory billing and scheduling in 2005. We achieved this milestone due to the diligent efforts of our clients who filled out surveys on our behalf. Now, we need your help to maintain our #1 status in 2006. The deadline for the year-end rankings is approaching quickly, so please visit the KLAS website today to complete a 10-minute survey. Thank you in advance for your participation! Contact ashirrell@athenahealth.com with any questions.
*Top 20:2006 Mid-Year Report Card is copyrighted by 2006 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Vital Stats
Days in Accounts Receivable (DAR) dropped 0.8% between September 2005 and September 2006, with lost patient care revenue (LPCR) steady at 4.8%. Some of the biggest improvements came in our most challenging payer segments (i.e., Medicaid, Self-Pay). We're working hard to make sure DAR continues to go down among all payer categories.
athenaFunnies: Cold in Here?
True stories from the athenahealth vault
A client called the Client Support Center (CSC) with a scheduling question. The practice manager had frozen a doctor's schedule in error but there were patients already scheduled. The client wanted to know how to "defrost" the patients.
Best wishes,
Johnathan Bush
