WATERTOWN, Mass., June 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- athenahealth, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHN), a leading provider of cloud-based services and mobile applications for medical groups and health systems, today announced that it leads the market in electronic health record (EHR) usability. This industry ranking is part of the 2015 KLAS Usability Report, which details usability levels of nine different ambulatory electronic medical record (EMR) solutions based on feedback from physician leaders across 145 organizations.
Specifically, the 2015 KLAS Usability Report examines EMR modules including physician documentation, ePrescribing, medication reconciliation, problem lists, and clinical decision support; as well as looks at capabilities related to three overarching aspects of EMR usability:
- Productivity: How efficiently a physician can accomplish what he or she needs to do each day and whether that can be done with minimal disruption.
- Effectiveness: How EMR functionality and tools help users deliver better and safer patient care.
- User Interface: The overall look, feel and intuitiveness of the system.
In addition to being recognized as leading the market in EHR usability, athenahealth was also recognized in the 2015 KLAS Usability Report in the following ways:
- For high involvement in helping to drive usability for its clients
- For leadership in enabling provider productivity
- For having the most visually pleasing user interface
- Ranked #1 in three out of the five examined EMR module categories (ePrescribing, Problem Lists, Clinical Decision Support)
- For leading its peers in mobile EHR app adoption and mobile EHR app usability
"According to an American Journal of Emergency Medicine study, emergency doctors spend 43 percent of their time documenting versus 28 percent of their time seeing patients. This isn't just an issue in emergency medicine, sadly this ratio represents an industry that is inundated with inefficient and unsatisfying technology," said Mary Kate Foley, vice president of user experience at athenahealth. "While we're exceptionally pleased to be recognized as leading the market for EHR usability, it's only so gratifying given the massive discontent that many doctors have with EHRs. Today's KLAS ranking pays tribute to our effort and progress, but later this year we'll introduce a truly reimagined EHR experience, one built in partnership with and based on direct feedback from physicians. Our goal is to revolutionize the way doctors encounter technology at and around the point of care."
athenahealth's EHR, athenaClinicals, is delivered via a national cloud network vs. sold as standalone traditional software. There is no cost for implementation or ongoing costs associated with software maintenance or upgrades. Today, more than 26,000 providers across the U.S. use the athenaClinicals EHR to document patient encounters and coordinate care across the continuum. Because of its cloud-based platform, athenahealth has unparalleled visibility into provider performance and can track progress, as well as engage providers to ensure they're performing in line with their clinical and financial goals. Amongst other things, athenahealth tracks the following on behalf of providers using its EHR:
- Provider Documentation Workflow – The amount of documentation a provider completes before a patient leaves the office. This measure indicates the ease at which a provider is able to navigate the EHR, as well as keep pace with patient inflow. The athenahealth network shows that on average 70 percent of providers complete total documentation before the patient leaves the office.
- Meaningful Use Success – The percentage of providers who have successfully met all Meaningful Use behavioral measures as required as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Incentive Program. In 2014, 98.2 percent of athenahealth's participating providers successfully attested to Stage 2 Meaningful Use.
- Patient Encounter Sign-Off Time – The average amount of time it takes for a provider to close a patient encounter following a visit. The athenahealth network shows that providers close 70 percent of their encounters the same day they see the patient. Primary Care Providers and OB/GYN providers tend to close encounters in the timeliest manner.
athenahealth's Reimagined EHR initiative focuses on removing distractions from physicians at and around the point of care so they can be fully present with the patient. By making the most usable and intuitive EHR in the market, in combination with delivering high-value services that allow provider organizations to only do the work they do best, athenahealth will transform the EHR from a documentation tool into a technology experience that doctors will come to love. The Reimagined EHR experience is in development now at athenahealth, led by a team of 75 technologists, clinical workflow experts, and physicians.
About KLAS
KLAS is a research organization that independently monitors vendor performance by surveying and interviewing thousands of healthcare organizations. Their rigorous survey methodology and attention to impartiality, accuracy, and honesty makes KLAS one of the most respected information sources for healthcare IT buyers. KLAS utilizes a three-step process to collect candid performance data. First, they collect a series of direct product evaluations completed by healthcare providers. Second, KLAS performs in-depth, confidential interviews to gather insight into specific strengths, weaknesses and future expectations for the product. Third, the gathered data is subjected to an internal audit to verify completeness and accuracy.
About athenahealth, Inc.
athenahealth is a leading provider of cloud-based services for electronic health records (EHR), revenue cycle management and medical billing, patient engagement, care coordination, and population health management, as well as Epocrates and other point-of-care mobile apps. We connect care and drive meaningful, measurable results for more than 64,000 health care providers in medical practices and health systems nationwide. For more information, please visit www.athenahealth.com.