athenaOne Erfahrungen

Vorteile

The user interface is very friendly and everything is set up to guide you through easily while entering patient information.

Nachteile

Sometimes the add on software like the label printer and document printer would stop working, but that is rare.

Vorteile

User friendly- and great for creating personalized templates and schedules

Nachteile

Needs a training curriculum for new users- and follow up training

Vorteile

Practice management reports and features are in abundance if that is your priority. The reminder call system does what it is supposed to. Community section in resource hub lets you know that others are just as frustrated and upset. Most of the customer service reps are very pleasant and helpful when the functionality or configuration is there; of it is sub par and missing, they do apologize.

Nachteile

The clinical documentation product is terrible. Supports physician- based practices vs rehab/OT/PT (though clients can see comments on product for all disciplines). Lack of quality templates that are compliant with regulatory agency requirements. Lack of feedback options. Lack of support. Account managers do not actually help to manage any issues you have with product. Very time consuming to call in for support repeatedly. Athenahealth clearly does not review feedback on community resource hub. Individuals that process Athenafax can be lazy and not process items with documents clearly identified with Athena identifiers/ printing, leaving in review for practice to handle (extra work). Honestly...too many cons to list.

Vorteile

The Customer Support!! It’s fantastic. The software is a very close second

Nachteile

The price but it is completely justified.

Vorteile

Enhanced collector capabilities. User friendly. Invested in success of clients. Very supportive.

Nachteile

There isn’t anything that I don’t like.

Vorteile

Admittedly, the software is easy to use and offers meaningful use suggestions. The five step patient visit is simple to understand. The patient portal is nice, however, the patient facing portion could look more modern. Billing is easy from a practitioner standpoint. It also is starting to integrate with other EMRs so occasionally we can pull labs and imaging from other participating systems.

Nachteile

Setup was arduous to say the least. Also, once claims are submitted, that's another story. I was sold that this software was all-in-one. They LIED. This is NOT the software for a small practice. They act as if I have an army of billing people when they told me that Athena was all I needed! For example, there was functionality that we needed to be aware of to find an important document from medicare. NO ONE told us and this document languished in some digital box. If we were a hundred person organization, I could pay someone to sit and manage the 20 or so boxes where they put communication. As a result, we got kicked off medicare for THREE months until I found out and remedied the cause.
I was assigned a 'customer success rep' and had to find out who it was because she never scheduled a call. The previous THREE other reps were no better.
They treat small practices like we don't matter.
If you have less than 100 employees, FIND ANOTHER EMR.

I'm in the market for another.

Vorteile

Relatively easy to use after training and some oversite during implementation

Nachteile

It has little functionality for the large multi specialty group for customization. It doesn’t allow quick review of the ongoing story and treatment plan for chronic diseases. Medication flow charts are lacking for chronic disease management. The present ones are too cumbersome and time consuming to customize.

Vorteile

It is fast; automatically saves most of what you type in; does not crash very often (3-4 times/year); email support requests usually answered within 24 hours; online help knowledge base is comprehensive and it has a good search engine.

Nachteile

Not designed for mental health EHR, patient management, communication. Primary care clinicians say it's "pretty good" although "EPIC is better". Most behavioral health clinicians do not like Athena (based on support forum polls and Athena even admits it if your decipher the corporate-speak.) Athena rarely designs workflows, templates, and processes for Behavioral Health. They cobble together features and processes used by primary care clinicians and staff and tell us it's designed for Behavioral Health. If Athena employs mental health professionals I've never seen them on video presentations or as authors of "how to" resources or anywhere else.

Vorteile

Ease of use and ability to locat3 and share payment records electronically

Nachteile

Collection follow-up and payment posting needs improvement

Vorteile

For me personally, it was ease of use. Understanding how to navigate between modules.

Nachteile

The one main feature that’s missing is an encounter interface.

Vorteile

I love that I have the ability to customize my order sets and templates. I also like that I can draw on the expertise of other medical practice templates so that I didn't have to re-invent the wheel in many instances!

Nachteile

Sometimes there is a hesitation in changing "pages". It is a cloud based software so my local internet and the internet where the software is located do play into the speed of use.

Vorteile

The most important features of athenaOne which have produced a SEA CHANGE for our practices are 1) easy access to demographic, clinical, scheduling and billing information regardless of your role, 2) remarkable and rigorous data collection and report functions that allow optimal decision-making and tracking of business functions, and 3) an optimal platform for developing and implementing PROCESSES which improve efficiency, reduce human work and reduce human error.

Nachteile

The only thing I don't like is that I don't optimally use all of the features because I haven't learned what they are yet! We have been using athenaOne for a little over three years and there are still a large number of features and processes that I could implement or use in our small practices. There is always a better way!

Vorteile

We use AthenaHealth every day. The portal is easy to use and implement (users simply configure a browser, login). Their help desk is pretty decent. For a small to medium business looking for an Electronic Medical Portal for their staff to use, Athena would make a great alternative to larger options like Epic or Allscripts. It supports proprietary devices (payment processing, or card and check scanning devices) which can be a pain but makes purchasing and insurance scans and patient registration and charting easy overall. Updates seem to be fairly streamlined and well-communicated (happen quite often) and don't seem to impact care unless it's a larger update. Athena has a backup domain (if their site does down) as well as stack updates for troubleshooting down times with different components of the EHR which is VERY helpful.

Nachteile

Most changes are up-voted, which means that they are voted on by other agencies trying to get their changes implemented as most valuable. Things like Billing and Patient Care do not streamline well enough yet together--they work in two separate constructs, so our billing is constantly having to rework the way that they bill to fit the way Athena works with Patient Care. Troubleshooting with our medical assistants can sometimes be complex with Athena, so for more complex issues, the help desk might take you to two or three different folks to solve an issue. The Help Desk has become more complex making it harder to navigate ticketing. It was simpler to put in a ticket prior to the changes.

Vorteile

it’s search feature was useful ONE TIME compared to our old ehr. ..the training team was nice and appeared competent. appreciate e-prescribing controlled substances WHEN IT actually WORKS AND ACTUALLY GETS THERE AFTER YOU’VE BEEN ALERTED THAT IT HAD!!!!!!!!!

Nachteile

I am facile in computers and code to some extent. i am picky about my notes but am creative and work around a lot of garbage and always have without as much as a groan and am considered quite agreeable. HOWEVER, the word ATHENA incites rage in me. portal doesn’t work. can’t preload notes until pt checked in. this is bad for new patients in my specialty. when highlighting text, it does not overwrite. you have to press delete and type. finding documents is a frickin scavenger hunt. 5 or 6 clicks before you can even start seeing a pt. viewing labs is torture. viewing med list is torture. documents get redirected capriciously when scanned. one hopes and prays an rx went through when it said it did. we have initiated a boatload of safety concerns to our quality department but get tired of doing it. customer support...god help me. portal does NOT work. can’t dispose of certain things on your dang list until weeks of dedicated manpower exhausted. when things supposedly fixed, they will not tell you what the issue was or how they fixed it AND IT STILL DOESN’T WORK. Feedback on labs from provider ( and pretty much anything) involves an archaeological dig to unearth. reminders for appointments via text cannot be adjusted so for a 15 min earlier arrival ( thus pts get rather upset)...i’ve been told of billing quirks (it was supposed to be our savior or something). communication with other healthcare systems blows as no one else was stupid enough to get this. problem lists are imported from the previous (functional) ehr and translated into things like “rage and unsocialized behavior in an adult” when original dx was something like “anger issue”...leaving some pts in tears before you talk them down...some documents sent to you are never received. so hard to differentiate to a pt the origin of an error. you look like you don’t know jack to a pt when using this ehr saying things like (after several deep breaths)...” if they said they sent it, it’s very possible they did; however i do not see it ...i would recommend that they mail the document to me as if they fax it, it will be hijacked by the system....here is an addressed, stamped envelope for them to send it in...i greatly apologize for the delay this has caused in your treatment.”.

Vorteile

It is integrated EMR, Billing and Care Management that does help address PCMH, MU, and other complex Government/Insurer issues. First pass billing and payment process works fairly well and seems efficient when there are no errors (see below). Cost is reasonable for the services provided.

Nachteile

The base code is absolutely awful. This leads to repeated problems with your interface, incompatibilities, and slow response. If you surf employment sites you will find this a recurring theme noted by ex-employees.

The product has many features that increase the chance for human error and patient harm, and the company refuses to admit or deal with these issues, in fact compounding basic problems in the years I have used it. This user interface would be unacceptable in the aviation industry. Isn't healthcare supposed to be as safety-driven as aviation? Medication lists are not presented in a user friendly way and don't show the difference between what patient was taking before the visit and what has been changed or started/stopped in a meaningful way during and after the visit. This is one of the most dangerous aspects of this software, but by no means the only patient safety issue. When you get a request for a refill, it takes several clicks and screens to find the med history before you make the refill, encouraging you to skip this vital workflow, and penalizing you for following this standard of care if you do follow the workflow.

The support center includes a "community" where you can share your problems and solutions with other users. But it is basically an echo chamber, as the company openly bans anyone who makes repeated negative comments about the product. If you don't agree to their draconian Terms of Use you can't even access this area to get help or learn about the latest updates.

My documentation time per patient after the visit is about 10-12 minutes on average. I refuse to boilerplate my documentation - I deliver personalized care. I have tried to get dictation software from the athenahealth partner Dragon which I believe would shorten this to about 1 minute, but 2 months ago I made my first request to Dragon and still have not heard back after 4 additional attempts from within and outside of athenahealth. If you by Dragon direct, you don't get full interoperability, according to athenahealth. Right now I have zero interoperability.

Too many clicks. I quote another provider who switched to another EMR locally when I asked why he switched out.

Patient Portal does not allow patient to upload a graphic. "Hey Doc, is this a mole I need to worry about?" "Here's what my incision site looks like, is it OK?" "This is the pill the pharmacy gave me, it looks different" and "What the heck is this rash?" are questions you can answer quickly saving patients and you time and effort with other EMR portals. Not athenahealth.

Vorteile

The organization of certain sections was done pretty well.

Easy INR managing.

Fairly good growth charts w/ automatically calculated percentages available.

Good implementation of external screening questionnaires, meaningful use, etc.

Ability to create auto-texts, templates, etc.

Nachteile

Glitchiest product imaginable: text formatting issues, superimposed text transferring to next screen, text failing to scroll to next line causing entire paragraph to look jumbled up, poor copy-paste, small view screens/boxes, stubborn dragging/sorting of ICD diagnosis code boxes, frequent slow-downs, freezes, sudden unpredictable crashes failing to save one’s note work.

Severely outdated terminology for certain medical diagnoses making simple common diseases difficult to find in search feature.

Abysmal medication refill system. 3, 5, sometimes even 10-15 min. to address 1 refill request (inexcusable). Very difficult to confidently say whether a prescription has actually been filled or not.

Medication lists are just a complete trainwreck. ‘Medicare monthly order form’ is not a medication that should EVER need to be reconciled.

System shockingly even was able to allow me to prescribe controlled substances under other doctors’ names unwittingly & w/o their consent.

Poorly interfaces w/ outside labs, pharmacies, hospitals, other clinics, etc. Does not communicate well w/ others.

Requires way too much daily hands-on maintenance work to keep organized, unsustainable for a busier practice.

Absolutely ZERO (& I do mean ZERO) helpful customer or IT support. Even had an Athena clinical trainor fly in to seemingly attempt to help, who only sat in the break room & fiddled on their computer the whole week & ultimately proved incapable of providing effective solutions.

Vorteile

I like that AthenaOne provides an integrated suite of tools and services to help providers manage their practice and ensure quality care. The medical record is comprehensive and easy to use, and payment capabilities are streamlined. It also includes integration with a clinical network that provides access to additional resources. In addition, the patient engagement feature helps build relationships and facilitate better care.

Nachteile

The least favorite part of AthenaOne is that it can be a bit expensive to purchase and implement. It may also require additional training to get the most out of its features. However, the cost and time invested in AthenaOne is worth it when considering the long-term benefits it provides.

Vorteile

The implementation was easy to set-up. Athena was a big help in creating forms and letters. The tempplates are easy to set-up and modify as well. Once the forms have been created you can also make changes to them as well. The order of the check-in through check-out process is set-up in a way that is easy to navigate and goes in order of how you treat your patient. The best part is that Athena takes care of the MIPS, MACRA, etc data that is needed for Medicare without adding additional work for the staff. I like the fact that there are less documents that require scanning, since all of our faxes go directly into the system and are attached directly to the patient's record. The reporting options are also very good with this system.

Nachteile

I really don't dislike anything about the software, other than it would be nice to track letters that are sent to the patients. So you can print off collection letters or follow-up letters and it would automatically record that a letter went to the patient, without you having to make a notation.

Vorteile

from the clerical input, insurance checking/info response, patient input, dx order features, sign off and the visual, detail of the LIFEspan of a claim, orders require "circle completion," the ease of quality reporting requirements...i could go on an on with the amazing functionality features of this program.

Nachteile

it is expensive, but it eliminates the need to hire for areas of administration. what I would pay for 1-3 people to do, Athena provides an entire team of people, thus creating a quicker turn around time for appeals, the need to call insurance companies. the implementation period is overwhelming, and going live will make you question yourself and your desicion. but, so worth it.

Vorteile

not what it was advertised to be.
was also told that data migration would be seamless if i left; turns out I cant migrate anything. "termination team" still has not been assigned despite notice given to leave 3mo ago

Nachteile

Athena did a good job on selling me that all billing would be handled and I would need to put very little effort into this aspect. It couldnt have been further from the truth. In actuality, I needed to hire a full time biller to review the deficiencies created by Athena. The billing process is not run by billers, it is run by a software program. charges sat in a "bucket" until the charges were no longer valid due to untimely billing. I lost out on so much billing its sickening.

Vorteile

The workflow of Athena is excellent and uses common sense. E-prescribing, integrated fax, communication among office employees is a must.

Nachteile

There are a lot of steps to go through from chart completion to claim submission. Sometimes it feels like there is a lot of double work happening.
Athena does not know much medical terminology and often tells me that I am misspelling things when I know them to be correct.
I wish that the dictation portion were free.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

EpicCare

Warum athenaOne gewählt wurde

Claim management. Practice growth.

Zuvor genutzte Software

EpicCare

Gründe für den Wechsel zu athenaOne

Cost and ease of implementation.

Vorteile

It is cloud based.

The Resource Hub connects you with other users that help you devise work arounds to handle the issues with the software.

Nachteile

The Classic Version was very customizable, easy to learn, easy to use. The Streamlined Version is a washed down version of what their Classic was. Their idea of Streamlined is to limit the customization ability, to make each office workflow the same despite specialty and to code the program to look more like an App. You will be encouraged to post suggestions on an internal board for updates and changes but even if hundreds of users agree with you that won't mean they will make a change. You lose a lot of control. There are issues with offshore posting and you will not be able to talk to someone about these issues. The training is all videos that are not specific to your office type. Account managers change often and will route you to call the Customer Service Center instead of answering questions. The reps at the Customer Service Center after often nice enough but the internal training seems to be lacking because you are often waiting weeks for an answer to something and/or something that is obviously a big issue is disregarded and you will be told that it is working as designed. The streamlined roll out, support, and willingness to work with the clients is disappointing to say the least. They took a decent product and they wrecked it and give no option to delay or keep the product that actually worked right. Also there is no tech support for their patient portal which has a lot of issues and my practice fields a great deal of phonecalls from patients who have trouble accessing it.

Vorteile

I like that the flow of my day is pretty well maintained b/c of athenanet, it's pretty easy to follow since the last big update

Nachteile

There's TOO much info sometimes and is very repetitive; if I could label things myself like we do on our regular computers and not be forced to put things in specific spots. I don't like if I have a case open, you personally have to make sure to check on it otherwise they say basically "if we don't hear from you in 5 days, we assume it's good and close the issue"- why isn't there an alert system when you've responded? AND don't put it in the news/messages b/c NOBODY checks that, it's a waste of space basically and adds additional task of checking for nonsense b/c we communicate already through the chart via the yellow alerts or in a case or in the instant messaging

Too many steps/repetitive, once the dr reviews labs, she can put it in our box and then I will call the pt and then once I close it, let it be closed.. why would it go to the Notify box now? I've already notified the pt... Why when we print labs from the exam does it go to staff inbox, clearly we've printed it so now I just waste 5 seconds opening it up just to close out of it....

Vorteile

Easy charting. The billing software works well. There is little else positive I can say.

Nachteile

There are multiple clinically important flaws within the software. The medication list that the patient sees has no resemblance to the true list that the physician sees. Inaccurate information abounds. The patient sees no instructions on how to take their meds. The completed clinic note is jumbled, with the HPI buried halfway between the Review of Systems and the Family History. It takes 15 clicks of the mouse to refill a prescription. When we send a refill authorization to the pharmacy the patient gets no notification that the work was done. If you order something from Amazon, you get an immediate order confirmation. Not so with Athena. The problem list in the chart is listed in some random illogical order -- so the diagnosis of cerumen impaction can head the list while something important like DM, CHF or COPD might end up at the bottom of the list. The fees that Athena charges are outrageously high. They take a percentage of your collections, so as you'd expect, they work very hard to collect every penny for you. They don't work very hard to improve the part of the EMR that provides excellent patient care. I could go on and on .....but the most discouraging fact is that when the company is alerted to software glitches, or issues that could really improve patient care, NOTHING IS DONE. Its not like it takes a few weeks to correct the problems. MONTHS go by and THERE IS NO RESPONSE.....NO CORRECTIVE ACTION.

Vorteile

I like the apps.. the athenacapture , athenatext and athenanet apps for my iphone worked faster and more efficient than our PC’s in our office..;
Some patients actually tell me they like the system..

Nachteile

Whoo., where to start,, lets just say Athena is a big Con job..
Ongoing Suffering , pain, misery for over a year,, i think I will need therapy and counseling after this PTSD experience;
Don’t believe What you see in their promo videos and fake online reviews ssy.
I fell for them al..
They are devilish with their 75 page fine print contracts(beware)
Lets just say nothing works like it should.
The system has a behemoth amount of extraneous setup /customizable options however
They are not easy to configure and nobody helps you even if you beg..
I just asked for basic family practice set up and that is too confusing for the system :
The system has preset worksets so if your MA types chest pain as chief complaint
It automatically pulls the EKG,troponin
So lets just say you have to spend a great deal of time customizing this beast of a system and its never just right:
No-one at athena believes in keeping it simple..
They are insincere, unavailability (east coast)
They Don’t think like doctors and that is the problem..