Improving care by reducing manual authorization work

Tryon: Entrepreneurial physicians who embody the service of practicing care

Tryon Medical Partners serves as a bedrock to patients in the Charlotte, North Carolina community. Founded by a group of physicians who broke away from a large health system in pursuit of greater clinical independence to practice more personalized care, Tryon was established on the belief that they could serve their patients better outside of a traditional health system.

According to Tryon’s Chief Operating Officer, Jordan Archer, this philosophy has driven them to create a unique platform across their medical specialties from pediatrics to endoscopy to internal medicine and women’s health that are a “safe landing place” for patients of their community across central North Carolina.

This shift to community health care allowed Tryon to build its own Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and develop a sophisticated database across their medical infrastructure for more coordinated care. Archer feels that this transformation allows Tryon to address the challenges of physician burnout and administrative burdens that are often exacerbated within larger medical systems with purpose-built technology that eases complexity rather than adding it.

athenaOne® Authorization Management: a smooth start and a promising future

One of the critical components of Tryon’s success has been the implementation of athenaOne® Authorization Management service. Initially launched as a pilot for Tryon in early 2024, this service has become fully integrated into Tryon’s operations, handling all referrals and authorizations across their organization.

Prior to this integration, Tryon faced significant challenges with a labor-intensive authorization process that often led to inaccuracies and inefficiencies. Archer reflects on this period, stating, “It was highly, highly labor-intensive. And also mistakes were made, it's just the human factor.” Tryon’s staff was spending a lot of time on authorizations and referrals, and clinicians were left with less than 10 minutes to spend with each patient. Tryon was looking for efficiencies to help save them time and let clinicians focus on what they do best: provide care.

The decision to partner with athenahealth for authorization management support was driven by both operational and financial considerations. While they did their due diligence in reviewing options, Archer explains, “While cost is important, quality is also really important. We decided that an integration with athena was paramount not only from an efficiency standpoint but just from an affordability standpoint.”

Tryon rolled out Authorization Management to all 14 of their clinic locations and it immediately provided greater visibility into where issues were occurring and allowed them to restructure their staffing model for efficiency. Beyond the expected streamlined prior authorization and referral processes, Tryon also saw improved timelines for patient scheduling and significantly faster order completions. The integration has not only improved efficiency but has also provided Tryon with valuable insights into referral patterns, which is crucial for organizations navigating value-based care arrangements.

The results of athenaOne Authorization Management were significant, and the implementation was remarkably smooth. As Archer puts it, “The first thing [Auth Man] has done is] continued to foster our philosophy around pairing top talent and technology. And that thesis has played out unbelievably well.”

Tryon maintained a steady claims denial rate of only 3-4%, an exceptional achievement given the complexities of referral and authorization management, not to mention the challenges of overhauling systems. Archer emphasizes the importance of this stability, stating, “Whenever you put a piece of technology in like this, you worry about some adverse effects... but our denial rate has stayed flat.” Fast forward to mid-2025, and that denial rate has dropped to 1-2%¹.

According to Archer, the introduction of Authorization Management has alleviated approximately 95% of the workload associated with authorizations, resulting in a 40% reduction in overhead costs¹.

Why Tryon recommends Authorization Management

Archer believes that “authorization management will always continue to be pain points for medical groups throughout the country, until legislation changes.” Given that, he feels that finding the right solution is essential both to address current pains and to equip organizations for long-term success. Based on his experience, Archer feels athenaOne Authorization Management is that right solution “to help solve for your problems, not only today, but on a go-forward basis from a growth and scalability standpoint.”

According to Archer, Tryon is also diving “headfirst into [the VBC] arena” as they feel it, “brings clinicians back to why they got into medicine – caring for patients.” To Archer, this means reducing “administrivia” as much as possible to allow providers to focus on the coordination of care and work at the top of their license and leveraging AI to better predict high-risk and high-need populations. Services like athenaOne Authorization Management are essential in that pursuit, to continue wicking away that manual overhead.

When asked if he would recommend athenaOne Authorization Management to other practices, Archer didn’t hesitate. He mentioned that one of the biggest challenges independent medical practices are going to continue facing in years to come is the ability to keep costs low while increasing efficiency, and he confidently states, “What comes to mind with Authorization Management is our ability to do so in a super meaningful way, not only as it relates to our current practice now, but as it relates to our ability to scale and grow.”

Innovating and growing together

Tryon Medical Partners exemplifies the power of independence, versatility, and a deep compassion for community in healthcare. By prioritizing patient-centered care and leveraging innovative technology, Tryon has not only survived but thrived in a challenging environment. And as they continue to grow, Archer feels athenahealth has been an important element of that success.

“athena’s been an unbelievable partner for Tryon as it relates to our quest for growth and scalability in the independent group space,” Archer said. “When you look at things like enhancements and partnership capabilities on the revenue cycle side, on the patient engagement side, on the authorization side, it's been a huge asset to us."

Archer also highlights that athenahealth has made rapid advancements in administrative reduction, creating more time for the patient-physician relationship, which is what Tryon is fundamentally based on. He is eager to see how AI in athenaOne continues to drive efficiency in care, saying, “Tryon is leveraging AI in places that shouldn’t scare patients, such as prior authorizations, that also allow physicians and clinicians to spend more time with them.”

With a shared commitment to continuous improvement, clinical independence, and adaptability in an ever-evolving landscape, Tryon’s partnership with athenahealth positions them for continued success in their pursuit of delivering, as Archer puts it, “unbelievably patient-centric" care.

Let our technology take authorization work off your plate

Ready to reduce the administrative burden of prior authorizations at your practice? Get in touch and ask for your demo of athenaOne and athenaOne Authorization Management. We’d love to show you around.