Federally Qualified Health Centers turn to athenahealth to Help Achieve Comprehensive Patient Care

athenahealth cloud-based solutions drive efficiencies and connectivity for multi-site health centers in underserved communities

Federally Qualified Health Centers turn to athenahealth to Help Achieve Comprehensive Patient Care

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athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN), a leading provider of cloud-based , (), , and services to medical groups, today announced that it will provide cloud-based services to two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs): Manet Community Health Center and Community Health Programs. These new signings follow athenahealth’s successful implementations with Hudson Headwaters Health Network and Three Lower Counties Community Services, expanding the list of FQHCs that have turned to athenahealth as a strategic partner to support their goals.

FQHCs are federally funded community-based organizations providing primary health care to persons of all ages, regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance status. These organizations face the considerable challenge of managing the health of their respective populations while meeting a number of federally mandated performance and accountability requirements for administrative, clinical, and financial operations and promoting comprehensive, coordinated care, which for some means reaching Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) designation. Because athenahealth’s software is cloud-based, offers robust back-office services, and reveals insights through identification of issues and trends, the company is uniquely positioned to support the challenges of these multi-site, highly trafficked practices.

“athenahealth’s low-cost, high-touch model is a perfect match for FQHCs that are challenged to do care better, often under more extreme circumstances,” said Jonathan Bush, athenahealth CEO and Chairman. “Administrative complexities, lack of information exchange, and other inefficiencies in health care threaten not only their viability but their ability to provide quality care in critically underserved areas. athenahealth’s goal is to relieve these burdens and allow physicians more time to focus on patient care. We are honored to be advancing the mission and goals of FQHCs nationwide.”

Manet Community Health Center, a multi-site FQHC headquartered in North Quincy, Massachusetts, has over 51,000 patient visits a year. Henry Tuttle, Chief Executive Officer at Manet, noted, “Prior to working with athenahealth, we were experiencing unmitigated business interruption. We were also investing in cumbersome hardware that required us to shift valuable time and resources from the practice of medicine to managing our IT. athenahealth’s cloud-based solutions have enabled us to redirect our efforts from the ‘server room’ to the exam room.”

Community Health Programs, a multi-site FQHC in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and surrounding areas, was similarly challenged. Bryan Ayars, Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Programs, added, “athenahealth handles much of the administrative work that slows a practice down and enables us to be fully present at the point of care, rather than distracted by IT operations and administrative red tape. We’re handling more than 14,000 patient visits a year and appreciate the efficiencies created through athenahealth’s services and their ability to ensure we stay current with program requirements.”

Manet Community Health Center and Community Health Programs will both begin using athenahealth’s service, athenaClinicals; its streamlined and practice management service, athenaCollector; and its service, athenaCommunicator.

athenahealth has a growing track record of success addressing the unique challenges and goals of FQHCs. Hudson Headwaters Health Network, an FQHC in upstate New York that sees 60,000 patients annually, began working with athenahealth in 2009. In just two years, the health care organization achieved a 22 percent increase in collections, a 26 percent reduction in days in accounts receivable, and PCMH Level 3 certification.*

Three Lower Counties Community Services, Inc., a community health center serving Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties in Maryland, successfully completed Stage 1 Meaningful Use in 2011 by working with athenahealth. Joan Robbins, Chief Executive Officer, noted, “athenahealth drives efficiencies and optimized workflow across our multispecialty group. Its services have made meaningful use attestation and eligibility straightforward and attainable.”

athenahealth, Inc. is a leading provider of web-based business services for medical groups. athenahealth’s service offerings are based on proprietary web-native practice management and software, a continuously updated payer knowledge-base, integrated back-office service operations, and automated and live services. For more information, please visit or call 800-981-5084.

* Based on a weighted average for athenahealth, Inc. clients with valid pre-athenahealth benchmark data that had their 15-month anniversary with athenahealth during 2010, clients see an average 12% increase in collections and 35% decrease in days in accounts receivable.