Kaylee Meadows is the practice administrator at Anderson Hills Pediatrics, a pediatric medical facility in Ohio. Read on to learn how Anderson Hills Pediatrics approached a large-scale transition to a new EMR system, used athenaOne® to increase patient engagement and improve financial performance, and gave physicians flexible documentation options, including AI-based workflows.
Q: What prompted your practice to switch to athenaOne?
A: Our previous EHR system had been in use since 2008, so 12 or 13 years had passed, during which our practice had become completely accustomed to the old EHR workflows. And for us, this was a significant step.
It was the perfect convergence of circumstances. We decided to switch to a new EMR in the midst of the COVID pandemic, and at that very time our servers were reaching the end of their lifespan. One of the physicians, who had very extensively customized our previous EMR, was about to retire, so I needed a plan for him.
In addition, over time we connected several different services so that patients could use the portal, schedule appointments on their own, and our medical records could be transmitted to various organizations. Therefore, when planning this transition, we were looking for a way to bring all of this together.
One of the deciding factors for us was that there was another practice in our community that was already using athenaOne. They openly invited us to visit, showed us all the strengths and weaknesses, answered all our questions, and dispelled our concerns about what the new EMR would look like. Ultimately, it was that relationship and the opportunity to see the real experience of a similar practice that played a decisive role for us.
Q: How did athenaOne help you overcome these challenges?
A: Initially, our goal was to get rid of servers, create a succession plan for IT support regarding EMR customization, and consolidate third-party vendors. Since switching to athenaOne, we have a system that is easy to configure and works effectively for our physicians in many different ways. We accomplished that goal.
We have significantly reduced the number of third-party vendors, with the expectation of fully transitioning to athenaOne within the next year without any third-party support. We now work in the cloud and are in the process of decommissioning all the old servers that we still had from previous years.
I think this experience exceeded all our expectations. The most interesting part of this entire process is that when the novelty fades into the background, you can lean back in your chair and think: what should we do next? What else can the system offer? And what workflows could we change with the system's help? It turned out to be an amazing, interesting, and satisfying experience.
I also very clearly remember asking myself again and again: did we make the right decision? And then we were interviewing a new physician who wanted to join our practice, and the interview panel included our doctors, who enthusiastically told the candidates that we use athenaOne and how much they would enjoy working with us. It was a very gratifying moment that confirmed we had made the right decision in switching to this system.
Q: How has athenaOne impacted your practice's financial and administrative operations?
A: Over the past year, we have really focused on making significant changes to the practice's financial operations within athenaOne. What I never expected from the administrative and even financial side was the amount of data now available for tracking and analyzing what is happening in our processes.
We noticed that accounts receivable was starting to get out of control, and we spent a lot of time analyzing the workflow issues we need to address in billing. Do we need to engage patients more actively to help them pay their bills on time? We can also track and analyze how our front-office team is meeting goals to ensure expectations are being met and to celebrate their successes.
About 80% of patients leave their credit card information on file at every visit. This has really changed our financial model. In addition, the self-registration platform and the ability for patients to provide us with their insurance information in advance have greatly helped in sending the right claims to the right payers with correct coverage information.
From an administrative standpoint, I never thought I would become a "data geek" who loves having reports and information at hand. But now we can track trends, feel the pulse of the practice, and make adjustments where needed. We have also done a lot of work on patient outreach to make sure they come in for preventive checkups on time. Are they getting their vaccinations on time? We even used the [athenaOne's Patient Portal] communication tool to notify families about a recall of infant formula when we knew we had given out samples during visits. I think the ease and ability to connect with patients has been a huge change from an administrative perspective, eliminating the need for us to make those patient calls we used to make.
Q: What impact has athenaOne had on physicians and clinical workflows, including artificial intelligence?
A: From a clinical perspective, here is the difference I see for our team: previously we worked within the framework set by another physician in our practice. With the switch to athenaOne, we now have a template or visit plan that the whole team can use. But the path to final documentation can be different—everyone chooses what works best for them.
For example, we have a physician who uses the Ambient Notes feature and [another] AI-based solution. Another doctor relies heavily on text macros and documents a lot with them. And someone types very quickly manually during the visit. I like that each of them has the flexibility to achieve the desired outcome.
I also believe that during onboarding, the ability for our physicians to meet with the coaching team after go-live and receive consultations at any time really helped them speed up the documentation process so they could spend more time with patients. We conduct an annual physician survey, primarily assessing their overall satisfaction. And I have to say that year after year, the number of physicians indicating that burnout or dissatisfaction is specifically related to the EMR seems to be decreasing, and this issue is no longer a major source of frustration. That doesn't mean we have completely eliminated typical physician burnout, but it's nice to know that the EMR is not the cause.
Q: How did you help your team cope with such large-scale changes?
A: For us, these were truly large-scale changes, and such things can be genuinely frightening. So at the moment we signed the documents to transition to athenaOne, we tried to make it a grand event for our team and physicians. We threw parties and celebrations. Our medical practice loved puns. We actively played on the number one in all sorts of puns and fun activities for our staff.
We started by creating an atmosphere of joyful anticipation of something new, and we tried to focus on that rather than on fears. We also deliberately ensured that our team participated in various aspects of configuration and development, so they understood in advance what they would be facing. And I think this played a key role in making our official launch successful.
Our team's participation in the system configuration process became the most important factor in our long-term success. Employees were able to see what athenaOne offers and how it differs from our previous system. They began to better understand why it was necessary to change workflows. Ultimately, they felt they were part of the whole process. And that changes absolutely everything: when you understand the reasons for what you are doing and you are involved in large-scale changes.
Our super users also made a huge contribution to conveying the essence of understanding to the rest of the team. They played a crucial role during the launch phase, answering colleagues' questions and helping them cope with difficulties, although we also received excellent support from the athenaOne team directly during the launch.
Q: What stood out to you during the onboarding process and technical support from athenahealth?
A: We transitioned to the new system during the COVID pandemic, so it was a completely different era compared to what many organizations face. But I think the coolest thing here is that we learned to carry out a large-scale EHR transition almost entirely remotely. We constantly communicated with the athenaOne team via video in Teams or Zoom. We conducted a lot of training remotely, and during the transition itself, far fewer employees worked on site.
The most wonderful thing was that everything still went very smoothly and simply. Someone was always available — especially in the first days of launch — ready to join a call or video conference at any moment when we needed help. A kind of remote command center, if you will. But in fact, the support, encouragement, and willingness to answer our questions during the most difficult moments proved invaluable — not only in shaping what the system would look like for us, but also in getting through the first days when you are inevitably ironing out all the bugs and rough edges of a new system.
I believe the athenaOne implementation process is very strategic. During the onboarding phase, we met regularly, were given homework, and were held strictly accountable for completing it. I think this was an integral part of the success, allowing us to move forward on schedule during implementation and successfully achieve our goals by the time of launch.
I have only the warmest words for the team that helped us make this transition. It seemed to me that they were extremely open about what we needed to do, showed healthy strictness when necessary, and had deep knowledge of all aspects of the system. I had the feeling that they truly understood our specific situation, recognized the capabilities of athenaOne, and helped us navigate this journey fairly easily.
Q: Why did athenahealth turn out to be an excellent choice for an organization like yours?
A: I think there are a whole host of reasons. The system allowed us to address several serious challenges. Unfortunately, we needed to streamline the business, and the efficiency we gained from athenaOne allowed us to do so through natural attrition, without resorting to layoffs or forcing employees to work themselves to the bone amid staff and support shortages.
From a business perspective, when you think about cost savings and increased efficiency through staff optimization, it's a huge result. The system has a lot of flexibility in how physicians can document, how to set up visit plans, and make the system work for you. And I think it's great that we have this level of flexibility without necessarily needing a brilliant programmer on staff who understands all the intricacies of the technology world. Ultimately, I think the system itself is very intuitive to learn and use, and for new employees the onboarding process becomes extremely simple, allowing them to quickly get up to speed and provide patients with the care they need.
One of the things we are most proud of right now: 80% of patients coming to appointments have their bank card data saved in the system. Looking at other metrics, in terms of staffing we have achieved significant reductions in billing and appointment scheduling departments — by about 50% — simply because patients so often self-schedule that there is no longer a need for phone calls and allocating additional resources to that support.
Q: What would you advise other organizations that are considering similar changes?
A: One of my favorite sayings is: 'The best is the enemy of the good.' But I also believe that you cannot let the pursuit of perfection interfere with the very process of moving forward. It is very hard to resist the desire to find the perfect solution and solve all problems before you start doing something. But I have learned that with such large-scale changes, the most useful thing is to simply make a decision and move on. If you think the result is good enough, take a step forward, knowing that obstacles will inevitably arise along the way. You will make small mistakes. And that's okay. You will err brilliantly.
Ultimately, I am convinced that you should not let fear ruin everything while waiting for perfect conditions. If everything is good enough to start, make the decision and deal with problems as they arise.
electronic health record medical practice management patient engagement healthcare and professional burnout athenahealth products clinical documentation patient payment collection reducing administrative burden EHR usability staff shortages pediatrics
