What You Should Know:
– athenahealth, a leading provider of network-enabled software and services for health care practices and systems nationwide, today announced athenaOne for Behavioral Health, uniquely developed to help Behavioral Health providers deliver coordinated, meaningful, and holistic patient care.
– By seamlessly integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care into one solution, behavioral health practices can ensure that the patient is at the center of their care and that behavioral health plays its essential role in whole health. This new offering joins athenahealth’s growing suite of specialty solutions, including athenaOne for Women’s Health and athenaOne for Urgent Care, which were announced earlier this year.
Streamlining Behavioral Health Care with athenaOne: Enhancing Efficiency, Coordination, and Patient Engagement
The rising demand for behavioral health services, coupled with a shortage of providers, presents unique challenges across care settings. Providers face additional obstacles such as stringent documentation, regulatory requirements, and financial pressures due to low reimbursement rates. AthenaOne for Behavioral Health addresses these issues by offering a comprehensive, ONC HIT-certified solution that integrates electronic health records (EHR), patient engagement tools, and practice management features. The platform’s tailored workflows, clinical content, and embedded services allow providers to refocus on delivering personalized, meaningful care.
Reducing Administrative Burden and Increasing Efficiency
Behavioral health providers often face extensive administrative tasks, particularly due to the need for customized treatment plans, care team coordination, and detailed session documentation. AthenaOne alleviates these burdens by offering:
– Configurable workflows and clinical content tailored to behavioral health
– Customizable pre-made templates that streamline treatment plan development
– Documentation support for both individual and group therapy sessions
These features help providers save time during and between patient encounters, allowing them to focus more on care delivery rather than administrative tasks.
Enhancing Care Coordination
Managing patient care across various settings is a significant challenge in behavioral health. AthenaOne supports multiple care models, including outpatient practices, intensive outpatient programs (IOPs), and partial hospitalization programs (PHPs). By leveraging athenahealth’s industry-leading interoperability, the platform ensures seamless integration of patient data from across the healthcare ecosystem into a single clinical workflow. This comprehensive view of patient health allows providers to deliver more connected and meaningful care, ultimately driving better outcomes.
Improving Patient Engagement
Patient outcomes in behavioral health are heavily influenced by their level of trust and engagement with providers. AthenaOne facilitates this by offering a suite of patient engagement tools, such as athenaTelehealth, which supports secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth sessions. The platform also empowers patients with the ability to self-schedule appointments and communicate with providers before and after visits. This flexibility enhances patient autonomy and strengthens the provider-patient relationship, fostering greater participation in their own care.
AthenaOne for Behavioral Health equips providers with the tools to reduce administrative burden, improve care coordination, and engage patients more effectively, enabling a higher quality of care across behavioral health settings.
“Behavioral health providers strive to provide comprehensive, meaningful care but are often faced with a perfect storm of challenges that can get in the way of delivering care that achieves desired health outcomes,” said Chad Dodd, vice president of product management at athenahealth. “