Athenahealth this week introduced new electronic health record products aimed at specialists. By combining critical electronic health record and practice management capabilities with tailored workflows, the cloud-based company said it is aiming to reduce burnout and improve the EHR experience in specialty care.

WHY IT MATTERS

Because healthcare is complex and patients continue to express their desire for increased involvement in their care and expectations for a consumer-grade experience. 

"Healthcare technology, including EHRs or practice management software, hasn’t always delivered on efficiency, user experience, or many of the benefits once promised to clinicians," Dr. Nele Jessel, athenahealth's chief medical officer, wrote in a blog post Thursday.

She said burnout rains continue to be significant beyond the pandemic era, based on the company's physician sentiment survey, and the need to "cut out the noise for clinicians and allow them to focus on caring for their patients" was clear.

The online survey conducted by the Harris Poll from October 23 through November 8, 2023, and sponsored anonymously by athena, gauged the sentiments of 750 primary care physicians and 253 specialists, 95% of which do not use the company's EHR.

Most physicians surveyed – 93% – said that they feel burned out regularly, reporting 15 hours of "pajama time" each week.

"These clinicians often feel that EHRs are not tailored to their specific needs, and they are left to hunt for relevant information within the patient’s chart," she explained.

"What specialty practices need is something built with the flexibility for their nuances – their workflows, how they run their practice and the clinical complexities they deal with daily."

While urgent care operators, for example, require flexibility and scalability, "they need specific capabilities that help them meet patients where they are to deliver a convenient, consumer-grade experience – from scheduling all the way through to their after-visit summary and access to test results." 

Added to athenaOne:

• Specialty-specific enhancements, including preconfigured workflows and tailored clinical content, informed by insights from across the EHR network.
• Dedicated specialty-focused onboarding and customer success managers.
• Curated partnerships addressing the nuanced needs of specialty practices. 

Purpose-built for women’s health practices, athenahealth said it combined 360-degree views of patient health with gynecological, obstetrical, menopausal and other workflows for their specialties.

Dr. Katherine Gregory, gynecologist at San Francisco Gynecology, said in a statement that automating key administrative tasks has enabled clinicians and staff to maximize their time with patients.

"As a women’s health practice, we care for our patients through many stages of their healthcare journey, seeing them through major health moments during every phase of their life," she said. 

"It’s important that clinicians and staff have solutions that provide a comprehensive patient view so we can provide consistent, coordinated care."

Ahead on the specialty roadmap are rollouts for behavioral health and specialty-care sites, according to athena's announcement.

THE LARGER TREND

Physician specialists are in short supply in the United States, with demand far exceeding supply in some specialties, like cardiology.

Technology, including virtual care and remote patient monitoring, is helping specialty care practices and providers reach more patients. Specialty telemedicine has helped hospitals' immediate challenges.

Finding the root cause for strain in EHRs has long been a driver in fighting physician burnout.

"The right technology can, to a surprising degree, help ease burnout among clinicians by simplifying processes and removing hassles," Bridget Duffy, cofounder of the CEO Coalition, a healthcare-workforce-protection organization formed by 10 health system CEOs, and former chief experience officer at Cleveland Clinic, told Healthcare IT News years before the pandemic.

ON THE RECORD

"Expectations have put additional pressure on clinicians and practices in an already competitive landscape," Jessel said in her blog post.

"It’s an opportunity to use our learnings and expertise to change the game in healthcare, empower specialty practices and give clinicians what they need to succeed and practices the chance to thrive."

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.