Latest news with #FederallyQualified
Business Wire
19-05-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Leveraging Expertise Derived from Serving 20% of All Federally Qualified Health Centers in the U.S., athenahealth Further Expands its Investment, Introduces athenaOne ® for Community Health Centers
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--athenahealth, a leading provider of network-enabled software and services for health care practices and systems nationwide, today announced athenaOne ® for Community Health Centers, an expansion of its already robust solution that serves more than 13,000 community health providers. This launch signals the company's continued commitment to improving equitable healthcare access for diverse populations and underserved communities nationwide. 'Our commitment to supporting equitable care is at the core of what we do and with athenaOne for Community Health Centers," said Chad Dodd, vice president of product management at athenahealth. With more than 15 years supporting community health providers on its network, athenahealth has a deep understanding of the dynamic nature of these organizations and the unique role they play in delivering accessible, high-quality care to the patients who need it most. athenaOne for Community Health Centers builds on this expertise and is a comprehensive solution that enables health centers in supporting whole-person care, with integrated medical, dental, women's health, and behavioral health workflows, among others. "As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), we depend on digital tools and advanced technologies to deliver comprehensive, accessible care to our growing patient populations. In these uncertain times, it's crucial to work with a partner that understands our model of care, and we value athenahealth's expertise and commitment to improving healthcare for all," said Jesse Suphan, director of revenue cycle at CHP Berkshires, a community health center with nine locations offering exceptional and compassionate care for patients of all ages across medical, dental, and behavioral health services. "athenahealth's approach to whole-patient care – integrating dental and medical workflows within the EHR – will be a game-changer in enabling us to provide the best care for our patients." With health centers facing challenges including larger patient loads and shifting regulatory and policy requirements, athenaOne for Community Health Centers will equip health centers with the tools they need to navigate this complex environment while focusing on delivering personalized, compassionate care. Among the range of features that support their unique needs: Integrated Patient Records: A complete patient record, pulling in data from various sources including from different care sites, EHRs, payer data, and more that provides the holistic view necessary to deliver informed and coordinated care, particularly for patients with complex needs and those facing social determinants of health. Value-Based Care Support: Tools to help health centers manage a variety of value-based care models that can support a more coordinated approach to patient care involving multiple care sites and services, improving patient outcomes and financial performance. Embedded AI Technologies: Continually evolving capabilities that aim to streamline processes, improve the patient experience, and reduce administrative burden. This includes Ambient Notes for clinical documentation as well as AI and automation tools to improve financial outcomes across RCM processes. Ongoing, Dedicated Support: Customer-success model with dedicated teams that provide health centers with timely onboarding, specific configurations, and best practice recommendations. These dedicated teams understand the complexities and needs of health centers that offer multi-layered services and require expertise in regulatory and performance reporting, for instance UDS. 'At Centerville Clinics, we prioritize our community and treat our patients like we would our family members. Moving to athenahealth gives us the autonomy to make decisions that are best for our patients, staff, and community,' said Barry Niccolai, CEO of Centerville Clinics, a network of medical facilities in southwestern Pennsylvania providing a wide range of healthcare services to over 40,000 patients. 'We unanimously selected athenahealth for their culture of partnership and look forward to modernizing our capabilities and improving the care experience for all.' As the future of care continues to evolve, so will athenahealth's investment in health centers, enabling these centers have the tools needed to thrive and provide better outcomes for every patient, regardless of their background or circumstances. These investments include enhancements that will help health centers capture eligible funds more accurately, expanded care manager workflows that will allow health centers to focus on population health management, and new features to enhance value-based care reporting and digital patient engagement. 'Health centers play a vital role in delivering essential healthcare to diverse populations who face access barriers, yet many are facing increasing pressures due to fluctuating funding, shrinking reimbursements, increased demand for value-based-care, and rising patient expectations,' said Chad Dodd, vice president of product management at athenahealth. 'Our commitment to supporting equitable care is at the core of what we do and with athenaOne for Community Health Centers, we are ensuring these centers have what they need to remain agile and forward-thinking while providing high-quality care to their community.' Learn more about athenaOne for Community Health Centers, the latest investment from athenahealth in developing purpose-built solutions for specialty organizations. Previously, the company released athenaOne for Women's Health, Urgent Care, Behavioral Health, and Orthopedics, and will announce additional solutions including athenaOne for ASCs later in the year. In addition to this new offering, athenahealth continues to support and invest deeply in the community health ecosystem, including through athenaGives which grants more than 400 free and charitable clinics with free EHR services. About athenahealth Inc. athenahealth strives to cure complexity and simplify the practice of healthcare. Our innovative technology includes electronic health records, revenue cycle management, and patient engagement solutions that help healthcare providers, administrators, and practices eliminate friction for patients while getting paid efficiently. athenahealth partners with practices with purpose-built software backed by expertise to produce the insights needed to drive better clinical and financial outcomes. We're inspired by our vision to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all. Learn more at
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Opinion - Want to cut Medicaid costs without hurting patients? Here's an easy solution.
Proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid implied in the House-passed budget blueprint run the risk of further reducing access to healthcare for millions of Americans. Physician reimbursements through these programs have fallen behind inflation for decades, leading to fewer and fewer practices and hospitals accepting them. But if we can't pay doctors more and must further cut costs, we can still offer physicians and hospitals something in trade. We can replace the reviled, wasteful and adversarial medical malpractice system nationwide with one that is already proven superior in many foreign countries: No-fault medical malpractice. If sovereign immunity and participation is offered only to physicians and hospitals who serve a proportional number of Medicare and Medicaid patients, that would shore up access for millions of patients. All this, while simultaneously improving care through transparency and better compensating numerous patients harmed by the healthcare system. To be clear, this is not yet another cry for tort reform. No-fault medical malpractice mirrors practices in aviation and other critical industries, whereby immunity is offered in many circumstances in exchange for honest and open reporting of errors. Here, no-fault systems award pre-specified amounts to patients who suffer a defined harm that is rare, causally linked to a medical action or procedure, and significant. For instance, a patient who starts bleeding while on blood thinners would not qualify, as it is a common and known risk, but a patient who goes blind after a spine surgery would be compensated. In many countries with this system, physicians themselves report adverse events. Because there is no incentive to conceal errors or fight lawsuits, reporting leads to significant systems improvements. A separate process reviews reports for evidence of dangerous physicians. Such a system could easily be funded through savings in medical malpractice premiums and by providing lifetime access to Medicare for patients who need it because of harm suffered. It could be administered by requiring public, anonymized review of claims by physicians participating in the program. The psychological harms of the current medical malpractice process on physicians are hard to overstate, with well-being significantly affected for years after. Suicides, psychiatric illness and more all increase when a physician is sued, and the process drags on for years. I suspect a large majority of physicians would happily see Medicare and Medicaid patients, despite a reimbursement cut, if it meant being free of the malpractice system. Indeed, this is partly how Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the military recruit physicians, despite lower reimbursement rates relative to commercial insurers. Beyond this, it just makes good financial sense. The current medical malpractice system is extraordinarily wasteful and sparks massively increased costs through defensive medicine: $55 billion when systematically estimated in 2011, which has only skyrocketed since. Depending on estimates, 25 percent of direct costs are spent on successful malpractice defenses, and attorneys' costs and fees can claim from 25 to 40 percent or more of successful lawsuits. All of this is money that could be going to patients. But the direct costs are only part of the story. Studies vary looking at defensive medicine between states with and without tort reform, even though there is some evidence for lower costs and increased physician supply. But this ignores the reality of nationwide medical training culture, which ensures that every doctor everywhere practices in fear. I vividly recall chatting with an obstetrician-gynecologist colleague about a large verdict in Baltimore, overturned years later on appeal, which led to a large increase in C-sections in that doctor's hospital in California — a 'tort reform' state. The harms of unnecessary C-sections cost a few thousand dollars and are impossible to prove, whereas the potential payment for a baby born with brain damage (regardless of any negligence) is in the tens of millions. This pressures doctors to recommend surgical delivery earlier. Similarly, in any scenario, there is near zero malpractice risk if you order a CT scan or imaging study, but a significant risk if you don't. Therefore, unnecessary tests are routine. These are only a few examples of how the legal system creates perverse incentives throughout medical practice. While some might argue that no-fault medical malpractice would disempower patients by preventing them from suing, the opposite is actually true. Numerous obvious cases of negligence are never brought to trial, because the costs of bringing a lawsuit ensure that the minimum any attorney will sue for is approximately $250,000 of economic damages. A construction worker out of work for three months due to a retained surgical sponge is already unable to sue. The elderly, disabled and children are even less valued and compensated since they do not work. Meanwhile, of cases that are brought to trial, the overwhelming majority are won by physician defendants, including, in one study, most cases with evidence of physician negligence. The federal government already pre-empts and controls certain lawsuits over medical care through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and by immunizing and defending Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers under the Federal Tort Claims Act. This would be a logical extension of such programs and well within the federal government's powers. The establishment of a national no-fault medical malpractice program for physicians and hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid is an easy, commonsense proposal that would preserve access to care despite program cuts, increase patient safety, and compensate patients reliably when they suffer harm. I hope President Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) consider adoption of such a system as a way to achieve the significant budget savings we all desire while allowing millions of Americans to receive care. Vamsi Aribindi is a cardiothoracic surgery fellow at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. His views do not necessarily reflect the official position of that or any other institution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
