athenaOne Reviews

“Athena pros and cons”

Pros

The fact that we can perform all tasks within one system is great. Scheduling is fast and simple and being able to check patient insurance instantly is convenient.

Cons

A persistent glitch in processing copays has been ongoing for over six months. The software randomly displays error messages and fails to communicate with the credit card terminal. Athena's support has been unable to resolve the issue leading to frustration and a lack of answers or solutions.

“Was Better years ago”

Pros

It used to be easier to get signed up with insurance companies and obtain insurance information quickly. Claims are usually processed within 34 hours of submission.

Cons

The support team focuses more on the technical aspects of the program rather than evaluating medical aspects.

“Up and running!”

Pros

The idea of changing EHR systems is daunting but our transition to Athena has been wonderful. We love the system. The information transfer from our previous EHR was complete and accurate. We had the freedom to customize it according to our needs. The trainers have been fantastic returning for multiple sessions to expand our knowledge and usage. While we were initially a bit slow the system is intuitive and easy to understand for both experienced and new staff members. Athena has provided multiple logical paths for each task appealing to a wide range of staff members.

Cons

I tend to stick to my comfort zone but when Athena provides a refresher course I discover new and improved features. It makes tasks faster and significantly enhances my experience.

“Easy with helpful instructions”

Pros

I really like how easy this is to use. The step-by-step instructions are super helpful and during training, it was great that I could just ask someone if I had a question.

Cons

I was kind of confused at first but the step-by-step instructions helped a lot. The learning center wasn't so bad, either.

“simple and efficient for finding information”

Pros

It's very simple. I can find information easily and a lot of things like CPT and ICD-10 codes are already loaded in, which is a huge time-saver.

Cons

It requires way too many clicks. It doesn't really work for specialty clinics and you can't change things easily. The schedule view isn't user-friendly. I just wish I could customize more to make patient care smoother.

“Keeps patient care on track”

Pros

I love how the system walks you through a patient visit step by step, it makes sure you don't miss anything. The quality measure feature is also great for keeping track of that for all of our patients.

Cons

The scheduling and reporting features really need work. The scheduling templates aren't flexible at all and the reporting is just not good. It's either hard to find the report you need or even harder to build a new one from scratch.

“Powerful but hard to start”

Pros

From the front desk stuff and insurance checking, to putting in patient info and diagnoses, I'm impressed. I love being able to see the entire life of a claim and how it makes sure orders are fully completed. The quality reporting is easy too. I could honestly go on and on about all the amazing things this program can do.

Cons

It's expensive but it means I don't have to hire 1-3 extra admin people. Athena gives me a whole team which makes things like insurance appeals much faster. The setup period is totally overwhelming and when you first go live, you'll definitely question your decision. But in the end, it's so worth it.

“promising features, unreliable support”

Pros

I appreciate that claims that need work are organized into worklists and it's a great system. The electronic eligibility check is a definite plus. The automatic reminder calls for appointments and payments are a good idea too. There are some flaws but the concepts are solid.

Cons

Online training doesn't fully prepare you for the real thing. Customer service and my account manager are slow to respond and don't always solve my problems. The offshore billing team has a language barrier and they often post and work on claims incorrectly.

“Very easy to use”

Pros

It is so easy to use! I love that it automatically sends out reminders to patients. Also preparing our deposits is really simple with Athena.

Cons

There isn't much I didn't like about the software. Once you go through the training videos, it's pretty easy to figure out.

“Simple design, terrible billing”

Pros

The layout of the system itself is extremely user-friendly. That's the only good thing I can say, though because I find everyone else using the system to be pretty incompetent.

Cons

billing part is absolutely horrible. If you use their billing module, you should either stop or watch them like a hawk. Their billing team has no clue about modifiers or appeals. The worst part is, Athena takes credit for every single dollar that comes in even for claims they never worked on or patient payments they didn't collect. It's terrible!

“Easy system with great help”

Pros

The EHR was easy to figure out. The best part is Athena's back-office support. They handle all of our insurance filing which means we don't need extra staff just for billing. Their pricing is based on a percentage of what we actually get paid, which covers both the software and their support services.

Cons

The percentage they take was a little worrying at first. But when you factor in the cost of hiring extra staff, it's not so bad.

“Quick to learn and use”

Pros

It was very easy to learn and use. It connects really well with other EHRs and labs. It's also efficient, I finish my patient notes just a minute or two after each appointment.

Cons

There are lots of small ways and some big ones that it could be better. For example, the patient problem list doesn't show the ICD10 codes. They have a system where you can vote on ideas and this one has been popular for years but they've done nothing about it.

“great support, flawed priorities”

Pros

It's SO user friendly! Their customer support is excellent and really easy to get ahold of. There's even a system where you can vote for new features you'd like to see. It really maximizes our workflow and efficiency and you can customize it a fair amount for our practice's specific needs.

Cons

Athena lets you vote on and suggest ideas but they seem more focused on being the "EHR of the future" than on fixing the product they have now. I think they should pause and really listen to what users are asking for to make the current system better. A great example is CPT2 codes, there's no good way to link them where they need to go, so we have to do it all manually. It's a clunky, time-consuming process. If Athena doesn't fix this big gap, they're going to lose clients to other systems like Epic that have it figured out.

“Lots of features but high cost”

Pros

It has so many features that any practice, big or small can make it work for them. The tech support is the best and they're always available and ready to help you out.

Cons

It's also very expensive but I guess you get what you pay for.

“great service but a bit pricey”

Pros

They're a great billing company. They have a fantastic track record and always get our work done quickly. I was always happy with how they followed through on everything.

Cons

It's not the cheapest billing software out there. I think there are some cheaper options that could probably do the same job.

“Easy to use”

Pros

The interface is easy to use and the up-front costs were low. Compared to some of the other big names out there, I saved a lot of money on getting it set up.

Cons

So far, my only complaint is that the onboarding staff keeps rescheduling our meetings and calls at the last minute. I really hope this doesn't keep happening.

“user-friendly and easy to master”

Pros

Athena was user-friendly and easy to learn. This was especially important for me because I started at this office without any prior medical experience.

Cons

It could use some updates, especially in making it easier to find basic files like a patient's social history.

“Simple back-end maintenance”

Pros

The back-end maintenance isn't bad at all. It's pretty simple to change things or build new stuff for our providers. That said, customizing it can be tricky in some places.

Cons

People using the software kept complaining that it didn't work. Things would crash when you clicked on them like the ePrescribe feature. We also had several problems where test results just wouldn't show up.

“Constant frustration and safety risks”

Pros

The search feature was useful that one time I used it, especially compared to our old system. The training team was nice and seemed to know their stuff. I do appreciate the e-prescribing for controlled substances... when it actually works and the prescription actually arrives after you get the alert that it sent!

Cons

I am pretty good with computers and I'm usually a very easy-going person. But the word "Athena" makes me see red. The patient portal doesn't work. I can't start my notes until the patient is checked in which is terrible for new patients in my specialty. When you highlight text to type over it, it doesn't work, you have to press delete first. Finding a document is a total scavenger hunt. It takes five or six clicks just to start seeing a patient. Looking at labs or the medication list is torture. Scanned documents get sent to random places. You just have to hope and pray a prescription actually went through. We've reported a ton of safety issues, but we've gotten tired of it. Customer support is a nightmare. The portal DOES NOT work. You can't clear things off your task list without a huge, time-consuming effort. When they "fix" something, they won't tell you what was wrong or how they fixed it and half the time it STILL doesn't work. Finding lab comments from a doctor is like an archaeological dig. The appointment reminder texts can't be adjusted, so patients get mad when they show up 15 minutes early. The billing has weird quirks. Communicating with other clinics is awful because no one else was dumb enough to buy this system. Problem lists get imported from our old system and turn "anger issues" into weird diagnoses like "rage and unsocialized behavior in an adult," which has left some patients in tears. Sometimes documents are sent to us but we never get them. It's so hard to explain to a patient why there's an error and it makes me look like I don't know what I'm doing. I've had to say, "If they said they sent it, they probably did but I don't see it. Just have them mail it to me, because if they fax it the system might lose it."

“Smooth reports but expensive”

Pros

Our old system, Docutap had a more user-friendly interface. But its reports were a mess and you could run the same report twice and get different numbers. With Athena, we can run reports for one site or all 17 and it's consistent. The interface just takes a little practice to get used to.

Cons

Athena's products are expensive and if you need help, you have to put in a ticket which is a pain. Getting anything customized takes way too much time and effort.