Optimize financial and operational performance

In the heart of Aiken, South Carolina, CSRA Renal Services has served patients living with renal disease since 1986. As the only nephrology practices in a three-county radius, they have built a reputation for delivering high-quality care. In recent years, the practice struggled with operational challenges that hindered their revenue cycle performance and ability to care for the patients in their community.

In April 2023, they made a strategic decision to transition to athenaOne®, a comprehensive and cloud-based solution designed to cure complexity in revenue cycle, clinical, and patient engagement workflows. Ron Reynolds, the Practice Administrator at CSRA Renal Services, shares how this transition has set his organization up for success.

Need for a more comprehensive, flexible, and integrated system

Before the transition, CSRA Renal Services grappled with inefficient and time-consuming workflows. “In the old system, it was piecemeal. There were a lot of clicks to get to where you needed to be,” Reynolds recalls. According to Reynolds, their previous EHR was not cloud-based, so they faced a lack of connectivity across their five dialysis clinics and hospital settings. They struggled with limited patient engagement tools, leading to missed appointments. Slow, manual claim workflows created financial strain and uncertainty.

Recognizing the need for change, CSRA Renal Services turned to athenaOne. The transition was not only about adopting a new system; it was also about modernizing their operations to enhance efficiency, mobility, and data transparency. Reynolds put it best: “We were looking for something that was versatile, mobile, and gave us reporting capabilities not only from a financial perspective but also from a clinical perspective.”

A painless transition to a new system

According to Reynolds, the onboarding process played a crucial role in the success of their transition. He emphasized the value of the tailored training provided by athenaOne’s onboarding team, saying, “Our onboarding team was phenomenal, and they really held our hand through the whole process.”

The implementation of athenaOne brought immediate benefits. The cloud-based connectivity allowed for seamless operations across multiple locations, creating new visibility into practice operations. With athenaOne® Mobile, clinicians could access patient data and prescribe medications in real-time while rounding at hospitals and clinics. “With athenaOne, it’s just one click and it’s right there on the screen,” Reynolds said.

CSRA Renal saw results reflected in their organization’s performance metrics swiftly after the transition, and they experienced no disruption to cash flow during implementation. Their revenue cycle delays improved significantly, with claim turnaround times reduced from 60-90 days to just 17 days. “Going into our first six months, we had increased our revenue between 5-8%, and ended the year right at the 8% mark,” Ron shared.

With a robust suite of patient engagement tools in athenaOne, the practice also saw a 30% decrease in missed appointments. They’ve also leveraged this enhanced visibility into patient data and outcomes to empower clinicians with data to deliver more proactive care.

Get in touch to learn more about athenaOne

As CSRA Renal Services continues to thrive, they are now planning to expand their team to better serve the community, allowing them to add another provider and nurse practitioner. They have reporting into both financial and clinical performance data that allows them to more granularly track and then optimize their practice. Ron shared, “The insights we gained from athenaOne have empowered us to make informed decisions that directly benefit our patients."

The decision to implement athenaOne significantly improved CSRA Renal Services revenue cycle workflows and patient engagement abilities, enabling them to enhance patient care, streamline operations, and improve financial performance.

To learn more about how athenahealth can transform your revenue cycle management and enhance your practice's efficiency, get in touch with us today!