Athenahealth has rolled out enhancements to its athenaOne electronic health record system, introducing new functionalities tailored to healthcare providers engaged in value-based care arrangements. Many of these updates are currently undergoing trials with numerous medical professionals involved in diverse value-based care programs.
The Clinically Inferred Diagnosis Gaps tool, now in beta testing, leverages AI to examine patient records and flag potential undocumented medical conditions that may require further examination. By displaying these suggested diagnoses alongside relevant clinical evidence, the system equips healthcare professionals with more full patient information during consultations, facilitating better treatment planning and documentation.
Scott Davis, M.D., M.B.A., Holzer Health System’s chief medical information officer, observed that clinicians often prioritize the most critical diagnoses during patient visits, leaving limited time to review all possible conditions.
A separate feature, Enterprise Care Management with AI-Suggested Goals and AI Care Event Summaries, has entered alpha testing. This system applies AI to propose individualized care objectives directly within patient charts while generating automated summaries of hospital stays. These summaries enable staff to swiftly assess hospital experiences and arrange appropriate follow-up care, promoting smoother transitions and reducing preventable readmissions.
The Data Explorer tool, also in beta, offers population-level analytics to help clinical and administrative teams evaluate performance against quality benchmarks, spot care deficiencies, categorize patient groups, and access relevant medical records for review or documentation. Integrated AI explains why individual patients meet or fail specific quality standards, allowing users to assess compliance status without manually sifting through extensive documentation.
AI-Powered Insights and Patient Outreach
Sage for Analytics, now available in alpha, harnesses athenaOne’s AI assistant, Sage, to assist value-based care teams in analyzing population health data through natural language queries. The tool generates live visualizations, tracks performance metrics, and pinpoints opportunities for quality enhancement.
Agentic Care Gap Outreach, set to enter alpha testing soon, will expand these capabilities by using advanced AI to identify patients needing intervention, initiate customized communications, track progress, and organize follow-up actions. This functionality helps teams transition from data analysis to practical interventions, addressing care gaps and improving overall quality outcomes.
Chad Dodd, athenahealth’s vice president of product management, highlighted the company’s role in supporting value-based care initiatives. “The effectiveness of AI depends on the quality of underlying data, and our network provides some of healthcare’s most full datasets. Combined with an infrastructure designed for rapid, large-scale AI deployment, we empower organizations to adjust and excel as the industry evolves toward value-based care.”
“Our transition to value-based care means all contracts now include financial incentives and penalties,” she said. “From my perspective, three key factors determine success in this environment. First, we need engaged providers willing to participate. Second, we must negotiate favorable agreements with insurers. But most critically, we require reliable, actionable data to effectively manage patient care. Athenahealth offered the best solution for our needs.”
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