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Our technology goes a step further, curating data for seamless integration directly into your workflows—so it’s within reach when you need it. * Clinical interoperability requires a single record—not a single system. Exchange data that’s curated for seamless integration directly into your workflows. * Improved Efficiency Improved Efficiency Improved Efficiency * * You’re never left to fend for yourself With expert back-office teams and automation, we take on your administrative work—at speed, at scale, and more efficiently than any one organization possibly could. * INCREASE REVENUE Grow your revenue by adding a partner that’s aligned with driving your success. Leverage our expertise, network, technology, and data-driven insights, and surpass your goals. * A partner that’s invested in your future Meet some customers who have realized stronger financial performances after partnering with athenahealth. Hear why they believe we’re stronger together. Watch the video * COST AND VALUE Most healthcare software costs more than the price tag suggests – and delivers far less than promised. Since we only get paid when you do, you know your success is our top priority. * Get more value from your healthcare IT Learn how to identify the total costs of ownership in IT investments including labor, operating, and opportunity costs. Read the whitepaper * * Improve your data, insights, and capabilities through connectivity Make it easier to deliver high-quality care and optimize your revenue cycle with connections that span the healthcare ecosystem. See how our network can help your organization achieve its full potential. Explore the benefits of joining our network * * Understanding every change, so you don't have to We anticipate healthcare industry change on the horizon and propose the best measures for you. And because updates can be pushed out across the network overnight, you’ll always be prepared. Learn more about our approach to managing healthcare regulations * * Support that prepares you for success Get the foundational training to feel prepared from day one, live support when you need it most, and the personalized assistance to achieve your short and long-term goals. Learn more about our approach to customer support * INTEROPERABILITY Open data exchange is only the first step in healthcare interoperability. Our technology goes a step further, curating data for seamless integration directly into your workflows—so it’s within reach when you need it. * Clinical interoperability requires a single record—not a single system. Exchange data that’s curated for seamless integration directly into your workflows. Read the whitepaper * * You’re never left to fend for yourself With expert back-office teams and automation, we take on your administrative work—at speed, at scale, and more efficiently than any one organization possibly could. Learn more about how we improve efficiency About * Who We Are Who We Are Who We Are * * Helping shape the future of healthcare We partner with healthcare organizations of all sizes and provide them with the technology, insights, and expertise to help them drive better clinical and financial results. * Careers Careers Careers * Careers at athenahealth Help us make the healthcare system healthier for everyone. * Culture We’re collaborative and strive to build inclusion into all we do. * Teams Get to know the teams that bring our work to life. * Locations Our offices span the U.S. and India. Find the closest one to you. * Student opportunities Solve real business challenges, and experience our culture firsthand. * Ready to join the team? 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Find the closest one to you. * STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES Solve real business challenges, and experience our culture firsthand. * Ready to join the team? Help us create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all. Explore athenahealth jobs * THE NEWSROOM From media mentions to relevant data-driven insights, this is the home of athenahealth in the news. * PRESS RELEASES Read the latest on how we’re helping support sustainable healthcare for all. * NEWS Browse the latest athenahealth related headlines. * DATA INSIGHTS Knowledge gleaned from the largest, single, connected network in healthcare. * GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Read our comments on current proposals for healthcare-related legislation. * PRESS KIT Get up-to-speed on the history, people, and vision of athenahealth. * * Helping expand healthcare accessibility for all athenaGives is our social impact platform for supporting expanded access to high-quality healthcare for everyone. Our efforts currently include philanthropy, volunteering, donations, and supporting STEM education opportunities. Explore the athenaGives program * * Our Leadership Team Meet the dedicated professionals leading us in our pursuit of delivering accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all. Meet the team * CONTACT US For contact information and answers to frequently asked questions. * OUR HEADQUARTERS We’re located at 311 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA 02472. * SALES Answers to FAQs about our products and pricing. * CUSTOMERS For current customers with athenaNet issues or who are seeking support. * PATIENTS If you’re looking for your patient portal, you’ll need to get the correct web address by contacting your medical provider directly. 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Search our COVID-19 content * CONNECTIONS BY ATHENAHEALTH Explore healthcare insights unlocked using data from the athenahealth network. * CLINICAL TRENDS AND NEWS Here are the current industry trends and news we think you should know about. * FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Insights and tools for driving financial stability and success. * PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Strategies for supporting your staff and practice’s health and welfare. * HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY Check-in on today’s trends and the innovations of tomorrow. * PATIENT EXPERIENCE Insights into the evolving needs and expectations of today’s patients. * VALUE-BASED CARE Strategies and tips to keep your practice thriving on the way to VBC. * HEALTHCARE'S NEXT ACT See what industry experts and thought leaders are saying about the future of healthcare. * PARTNER CONTENT Insights from our Marketplace partners on innovations in healthcare technology. * * Webinar Hub Insights from our network on trends that could impact your practice’s daily operation and future goals. Explore our Webinars * * Case Studies Hub See how practices are going from surviving to thriving with the help of our solutions. Read our Case Studies * * Whitepapers Strategies for improving your healthcare outcomes and business performance based on insights from the industry’s largest, single, connected network. Read our Whitepapers Article BURNOUT AND STAFFING SHORTAGES ARE RESHAPING THE FRONT-OFFICE STAFF EXPERIENCE By Caroline Watson | January 21, 2022 The work experience of administrative staff working in healthcare organizations can have a meaningful impact on a patient’s experience. Research shows that when administrative staff feel they have as much latitude as clinicians to speak up about workplace issues, patients are more likely to be able to book an appointment when needed and see their doctor within 15 minutes of the appointment time. To learn more about the administrative staff experience, athenahealth surveyed 139 administrative staff as a counterpart to the Physician Sentiment Index released in 2021. The survey revealed that front office staff are experiencing more burnout than the rest of their administrative counterparts. SOURCES OF BURNOUT IN THE FRONT OFFICE Compared to their colleagues working in the back office and in management, front-office staff report more negative sentiment toward their workplace overall. They’re the least likely to feel inspired to go above and beyond in their work, to want to stay at their current organization for the next three years, and to recommend their organization as a place to receive top-quality clinical care. The reasons why may vary, but the patient-facing aspect of working in the front office can be quite stressful. Front-desk staff are often called to play a caretaking role in addition to their administrative tasks. As the first person patients see upon arriving at the practice, front-desk staff may bear the brunt of patients’ frustration or irritation. That frustration frequently comes to a head around billing issues, according to Christopher Apostol, D.O., Evans Medical Group. “Our staff has expressed that there’s a lot of anger from patients when they get bills,” Apostol explained. “Our staff is the problem, in their view, because we’re telling them how much they owe.” In most cases, however, the front-desk staff are simply reporting the insurance company’s decision about the claim and are powerless to make changes. With stressful situations like this a regular part of working in the front office, it’s no wonder staff are more burned out than their colleagues. AUTONOMY PROMOTES POSITIVE WORKPLACE SENTIMENT The survey revealed that one of the most effective strategies to ameliorate negative workplace sentiment can be summed up in one word: autonomy. Of survey respondents who reported having a sense of flexibility and empowerment in their work, 96% feel inspired to go above and beyond, 89% intend to stay at their current organization, and 94% would recommend their organization to a friend or relative. A sense of empowerment is especially important for front-desk staff, who are often the people from the office that patients have the most interpersonal interactions with. Front-desk staff may find themselves comforting patients, listening to their stories, and giving them health-related advice, but these contributions can easily go unnoticed. As a result, front-desk staff may find themselves in a position where they don’t feel properly trained or respected but are still relied upon by patients for support throughout their care process. Rhonda Tucker Donnelly, front office coordinator at Evans Medical Group, knows these dynamics firsthand. It’s part of why she invests a lot of time listening to her staff and trying to find concrete solutions to their daily challenges, through questions like: “What can we do better, and how can we make your life a little easier? What are the things you’re doing mundanely and routinely that are a pain? How can we fix that or automate it?” THE TECHNOLOGY-ORIENTED FRONT OFFICE OF THE FUTURE As healthcare organizations look ahead to a future shaped by industry-wide staffing shortages, technology tools are helping to decrease the total volume of work required in the front office and enable staff to focus on higher-value tasks instead. For example, some organizations report success using online patient portals to encourage patients to view and pay their bills before coming to the office, so front-desk staff can spend less time collecting payment. Other organizations have found that offering patient self-scheduling cuts down on the deluge of daily phone calls to the front desk. After struggling to find a full-time employee to hire, Evans Medical Group decided to move to online check-in through Epion Health, an athenahealth Marketplace partner. “We’re really looking at it as a substitute for a full-time employee, because we can’t find a full-time employee,” said Apostol. “If Epion can remove 20-25% of our online check-in or registration, then that’s like having a new employee. And the employees here will be freed up to be able to do the tasks that they haven’t had time to get done.” Those tasks include everything from catching up on billing to performing patient outreach to close care gaps. “Our front office does some of our outreach for appointment reminders for gaps in care, between our ACO or some of our other value-based contracts,” said Apostol. “We run those reports regularly to make sure that we meet the quality metrics or that we’re not letting patients fall through the crack. But we haven’t been able to run those reports nearly as much or as fast because there’s just not that extra time in the day.” With digital check-in, however, Evans Medical Group will be able to ask patients to fill out demographic information at their leisure, rather than spending significant time on the phone with the office. “That should help a lot with our ability to speed up the check-in process and not keep our staff tied up,” said Apostol. It may even have the important added benefit of increasing patient satisfaction, as the check-in process should be much less time-consuming on the patient side. As staffing shortages become a more permanent fixture, other healthcare organizations may soon follow suit. Technology-driven solutions like digital check-in and self-scheduling, among others, offer organizations more staffing flexibility, while simultaneously improving the patient experience. Evans Medical Group participates in athenahealth’s Client Advocacy Program. To learn more about the program, please visit athenahealth.com/client-advocate-hub. Evans Medical Group was not compensated for participating in this content. 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