Tyler Vogler, COO of Eisner Health, knows firsthand the challenges of managing a large Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Los Angeles. With multiple clinics serving thousands of patients, Eisner needed a system that could keep up with their goals: improving operations, investing resources wisely, preparing for growth, and most importantly, enhancing patient outcomes.
Eisner’s previous electronic health record (EHR) system was holding them back. Providers had developed inefficient charting habits, and data was scattered across different clinics. “We found ourselves working against the system rather than the system working for us,” Vogler explained.
Eisner switched to athenaOne® in 2023 for a more efficient, centralized solution. Here’s how athenaOne helped Eisner achieve their key goals.
Refining operations to build efficiency
On their last EHR, Eisner struggled with efficiency. According to Vogler, physicians developed “bad charting habits,” and data was piecemeal. Digital transformations often can create disruption, but Vogler sings the praises of both Eisner and athenahealth teams in creating a smooth experience.
Eisner's implementation of athenaOne was carefully planned and well supported. According to Vogler, Eisner worked closely with athenahealth’s team to develop a strategic and meticulous rollout plan. “We had athenahealth folks on site helping support us; we had super users who got extra training,” Vogler shared. This hands-on approach helped ensure that staff and leadership alike were prepared and confident when the system went live.
Implementing athenaOne immediately centralized data—Eisner’s primary objective for the switch. “We’re focused on tearing down those silos and working as an organization, not 10 individual clinics,” Vogler noted. This shift allowed Eisner to operate more cohesively and make better-informed decisions.
Investing time and resources intentionally
Eisner established an ongoing athenaOne training program for their staff to ensure providers stay efficient and satisfied well beyond onboarding. They built on the comprehensive, free athenaOne training curriculum and tailored it for their organization.
In addition to training, support through open communication and collaboration are priorities at Eisner. “We try to make sure to carve out the space to explain and talk through with our clinic leaders the “why” behind it,” Vogler said. This approach helps staff feel involved and invested in the changes, from the decision to transition to athenaOne itself to adopting new features and workflows within it.
This approach allows Eisner to see the full breadth of opportunity and avoid pigeon-holing themselves into a singular approach. Vogler shared, “In many ways, some of the features that athena have helped us address other challenges in our organization.” Eisner has realized unanticipated benefits of data centralization by making the most of athenaOne and staying collaborative internal and with athenahealth.
Fostering a data-driven, outcomes-driven culture
Data plays a central role in those internal conversations, as Vogler and other leaders at Eisner are intent on making data-driven decisions. When they’re discussing the “why” with clinic leaders, the data helps them provide more context.
Data is also critical to Eisner’s approach to quality improvement. “The ability to collect data on the services that we're providing and how our patient outcomes are improving based on those services is huge,” Vogler explains. In the healthcare space, particularly for FQHCs, the ability to prove that your organization is operating efficiently and providers are working at the top of their licenses is key.
Data-driven conversations guide workflow changes, team restructuring, and process improvements, and they’re also critical to the healthcare landscape. athenaOne’s reporting capabilities have been essential in supporting these efforts.
Leveraging opportunities and preparing for growth
Eisner stays proactive in adopting new athenaOne features to stay ahead of the curve. The 2024 release of new Ob-Gyn functionality as a part of athenaOne® for Women’s Health was particularly impactful, allowing them to retire a third-party application and centralize all their Ob-Gyn workflows into athenaOne. They are excited to implement new behavioral health features coming out the door with athenaOne® for Behavioral Health. For a multi-specialty organization like Eisner, having specialty-specific workflows integrated into the EMR improves efficiency and standardization.
“If providers are the driver of patient care, the EHR is the vehicle,” Vogler says. With athenaOne, providers are more satisfied with the tools they use daily. Features like barcode scanning for documents have saved staff hours and reduced errors, freeing up time to focus on patient care.
A partnership that supports growth and care
Eisner Health’s experience with athenahealth demonstrates how the right technology, combined with intentional training and collaboration, can transform operations and support better patient outcomes. From improving efficiency to fostering a data-driven culture, athenaOne® for Community Health Centers has become a key partner in Eisner’s ongoing mission to deliver high-quality care.
Get in touch to learn more about how your organization can grow and thrive with athenaOne for Community Health Centers.
