"We have used a number of traditional software-based practice management systems over the years and decided that those systems were not allowing our medical practice to optimize our operation and there was obvious room for improvement."
William Mallon, M.D.
Triangle Orthopaedic Associates
Letter from Jonathan
Welcome to another edition of the athenaPulse! Many of this issue's articles focus on the difference between traditional software-based practice management systems and real results. As you know, at athenahealth we are actively focused on helping you get results. Our services are designed to deliver on the value proposition we made to you. Improved collections, faster payments, and less hassle are among the results you will experience (or already have) as an athenahealth partner. Hold us to it!
Below you will hear from one of our clients in North Carolina about his experience switching from a traditional PMIS to athenahealth. In this month's Compliance Corner you'll learn about DHHS's recent announcement to provide grants to states to improve Medicaid program efficiency. The athenista Spotlight this month is Chris Cousins, our new Vice President for Client Operations for the Southern Region. Chris comes to athenahealth with over 14 years of experience delivering real results in revenue cycle management. And don't miss the update on athenaClinicals, athenahealth's unique approach to the EMR. We will add over 250 providers to the athenaClinicals platform this year and so far clients are satisfied!
Save the Date
athenahealth's 2007 User Conference will be held Sunday, September 30 - Wednesday, October 3 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. Look for more details to follow in future issues.
Client Spotlight: From Software to Results: How Switching to athenahealth's Services Can Make a Real Difference
Learn about the immediate results Triangle Orthopaedics experienced when they switched from a traditional software-based revenue cycle management system to athenaNet. Click here.
athenaClinicals Update
With 39 live providers and 250 more being added by the end of 2007, athenaClinicals is spreading quickly and so far, clients are satisfied! Kevin Tolin Scheper, Director of Clinical Implementation Services at athenahealth gives an update on how athenahealth's newest client service is fairing. Check it out.
Ann & Natalie's Compliance Corner
This month, we report on a recent announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to provide awards of $103 million to states to support innovative systems to get more value out of Medicaid dollars. Read on.
athenista spotlight: Meet Chris Cousins
Meet athenahealth's new Vice President of Client Operations for the Southern Region. With more than 14 years in the business and a resumé of producing real results for clients, Jonathan Bush was glad to get Chris off of the market and working for athenahealth!
Vital Stats
A recent analysis comparing athenahealth's 2005 and 2006 scrub rates shows an increase in dollars saved of 38% (from $363,673,615 in 2005 to $502,559,208 in 2006). As a quick refresher, a "scrub" occurs when a claim hits athenahealth's "rules engine" and requires correction before it can be submitted. In order to get a true representation of the scrub rates, a "Same Store" analysis measures the practices that have been live with athenahealth for each of two consecutive years. The results show that athenahealth's powerful, ever-growing "rules engine" helps all practices not just those who are new to athenahealth. With athenahealth, providers participate in a network and share intelligence. As the network grows, so does the intelligence of the service because payer rules are added to the database on a daily basis resulting in increased revenue and efficiency.
Best wishes,
Johnathan Bush
