A smooth EHR implementation for a complex organization

A 10/10 EHR onboarding: Here's what made the difference

Jason Gabel, Operations Manager at American Hip Institute, spoke with confidence when asked what makes his organization unique: “We are the best at treating hips.”

In a specialty saturated with major hospital systems and orthopedic clinics, his organization has chosen to go narrow and deep. Independent, physician-led, and fiercely committed to their patients, they’ve built a destination clinic in Chicago that draws people from across the globe — athletes, referrals for complex cases, and those who’ve searched for answers elsewhere and come up short.

American Hip Institute takes that reputation seriously, and they strive to provide every patient who walks through the door with a concierge-level experience. That’s why, when they recently re-evaluated their EHR systems, they chose athenaOne® for Orthopedics — they knew the importance of having the right partnerships and data in their system to let everyone work at their highest level and remain autonomous.

Gabel feared going into their EHR transition that such a foundational overhaul might cause some disruption to their business. That was not the case.

Learn how American Hip Institute smoothly onboarded to athenaOne without any disruption in business operations and how their new system is set up to help them thrive.

Onboarding: Leaving no stone left unturned

Transitioning to a new EHR is, in Gabel’s words, “probably the most challenging decision on a technical level that a practice can make.” American Hip Institute gave their onboarding experience a perfect 10 out of 10. The reason why, according to Gabel, is the expertise and close collaboration of the athenahealth onboarding team.

“The team was not just there to configure our EHR. They were there to help us through the change management process,” he says. Instead of a one-size-fits-all rollout, athenahealth's onboarding team brought rigor, deep expertise in the platform, and a methodology that checked every box. The team conducted onsite visits, discussed checklists tailored to orthopedic nuances, and maintained an open dialogue to surface and address unique workflows.

“Through their mode of inquiry, they brought everything to the table,” Gabel said. “They came on-site and asked us a hundred questions, they saw firsthand from visiting our practice some of the things that made us unique, and they retained that so that months later when we’re talking on the phone they called back to those.”

This meant that Jason and his team didn’t need to worry that at go-live they would discover a world of nuances they didn’t account for. When the time came for everyone at American Hip Institute to log onto athenaOne for the first time, Gabel shares that it was “as if we’ve been on the system for years.”

Celebrating a massive milestone

For American Hip Institute, the day they went live on athenaOne was one of celebration instead of chaos and concern.

“Having everybody on site, seeing all the hard work pay off, that was the highlight,” Gabel recalls. “Our surgeons said, ‘I’ve been through a number of EMR transitions, and by far, this one was the smoothest.’” He shares gratitude for the athenahealth onboarding team in the role they played in getting his organization to that point, saying, “We got there together.”

Gabel spoke to the importance of partnering truly hand-in-hand throughout the onboarding process: “A lot of new products and offers are a hands-off process, but I perhaps think it would be an error to consider an EHR the same. athenaOne’s not like that, and it’s a good thing that it isn’t, because all the while you’re configuring your system [through onboarding] you’re also learning how to be the administrator of that system, it’s a simultaneous process.”

Spending more time on higher value work

For Gabel, the time since going live with athenaOne has been delightfully quiet, in large part because he and his team are so well-equipped. He’s the person who usually gets questions and concerns about their systems, and he finds himself with more time to work on higher level work than on their old system, because fewer people have questions.

He has also noticed a dramatic reduction in the time he needs to spend onboarding physicians on their systems, given athenaOne’s suite of self-serve trainings and resources. “The time it takes to get new staff acclimated is really reduced,” he says. “Our legacy system was the hardest part of the job for new staff. With athenaOne, all that’s in place, pages, resources, self-serve support. It kind of works itself out from there.”

athenaOne’s integrations and Marketplace partners were also game changers for Gabel, in terms of the time and IT lift required to innovate and adapt. “The Marketplace lets us flip on integrations almost as easily as flipping a light switch. That used to be a huge, bespoke IT project.”

For Gabel, the impact is measured in time, confidence, and the ability to focus on what matters most: “I can operate at my highest and best use. Our staff can solve their own problems.”

Opening doors to continuous improvement and growth

American Hip Institute’s mission is to reach as many patients who can benefit from their services as possible. Down the line, that may mean expansion, and on their former system that posed a huge question mark. Now, Gabel feels confident in athenaOne’s ability to easily support their growth.

“If you’d asked me a year ago how we’d implement a new regional office, I wouldn’t have known where to start,” he says. “Now, I know exactly what to do in athenaOne. I can add a new facility, change configurations by location, and do it tomorrow.”

When asked about his favorite thing about partnering with athenahealth, Gabel summarizes all the benefits they saw through onboarding and in their first few months live: “Being able to administrate this system autonomously, with a partner who’s committed to our success, but who’s there to make me the best administrator I can be.”

If you’re ready to amplify your practice’s impact, explore how athenaOne for Orthopedics can empower you to grow on your terms. Set up a conversation today.