HUDSON HEADWATERS HEALTH NETWORK IMPLEMENTS ATHENAHEALTH’S REVENUE CYCLE MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR NEW YORK STATE COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH CENTERS
Health Clinics Leveraging Centralized Network to Improve Operational Workflow and Care Delivery Across Upstate New York Region
CHICAGO (April 06, 2009) – athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN), a leading provider of internet-based business services to physician practices, today announced at the Annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference & Exhibition in Chicago, that Hudson Headwaters Health Network, a not-for-profit, community-based network of health centers and health programs serving the Lake George/Adirondack and Glens Falls Region of New York has successfully implemented athenahealth’s centrally-hosted practice management and billing service, athenaCollectorSM. Hudson Headwaters facilities are located in 12 communities and employ over 130 medical providers.
“The community care setting has very distinct revenue cycle management needs and athenahealth has nicely connected our health centers across the region on one common platform, which we feel will improve our financial operations while supporting our broader efforts to enhance the delivery of care throughout our health network,” said John Rugge, M.D., CEO of Hudson Headwaters. “Given athenahealth’s software-enabled service design, we are also now positioned to manage the many billing challenges presented by state and private payers, which will not only enable us to better manage our finances but also expand access to care.”
As part of its athenaCollector service, athenahealth has built a proprietary knowledge-base of payer reimbursement process rules, athenaRules, which is designed to enforce medical provider office workflow requirements and is updated continuously by athenahealth staff. athenaRules acts as a proactive utility that guides clinic staff away from making billing mistakes that impact operational performance and the overall patient experience. This service makes athenahealth’s revenue cycle management service ideal for multi-site, enterprise-level care delivery organizations looking to optimize physician office workflow and compliance.
In 2008, athenahealth’s national software platform, athenaNet(R), which Hudson Headwaters clinics now operate on, received top ranking for physician practices with two to five physicians in the practice management category in the annual Top 20 “Best in KLAS” Awards report. athenaCollector also received “Best in KLAS” for the second straight year in the 26-100 physician practice category and ranked second for medical groups with six-25 physicians.
“With athenahealth’s software-enabled service, athenaCollector, being centrally-hosted, athenahealth is able to leverage its network of medical practices across the country to aggregate financial and clinical data to drive systematic change for all users of athenaNet. This operational leverage with payers, laboratories, pharmacies and other third parties in a medical provider’s supply chain results in athenahealth clients experiencing significant financial gains,” said Jonathan Bush, Chairman and CEO of athenahealth. “athenahealth is thrilled to be working with Hudson Headwaters as they look to drive improved operational performance and the overall patient experience across their care delivery network, which is twice the size of the state of Rhode Island.”
Source: athenahealth
