Athenahealth Inc. (NSDQ:ATHN) won a preliminary “Interim Final Rule Stage 1” nod from the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology for its web-based electronic medical records system.
The EHR service, AthenaClinicalsSM version 10.6, met 24 of 24 requirements for eligible healthcare providers as published by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services in the IFR publication. The IFR certification is related to the HITECH Act, part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.
The CCHIT program is an independently developed certification that includes an inspection of an EHR’s integrated functionality, interoperability and security using criteria developed by the CCHIT’s volunteer work group panels.
The Watertown, Mass.-based EHR provider said the certification is confirmation of its ability to help doctors qualify for ARRA incentive plan for the adoption of EHR systems. Because its services are bundled into a single application, no upgrades are necessary for current AthenaClinicals users.
Athenahealth yesterday said they reached a deal with VHA Inc. to supply its practice management services to the national health care network’s hospitals and clinics. Under the terms of the agreement, VHA will sell the AthenaCollector revenue management service at a discounted rate. The deal opens a big window for Athenahealth to sell more units of the AthenaClinicals EHR system, which VHA will recommend to the 1,400 member hospitals and 28,000 providers in its network.
In May, Athenahealth won a patent for its web-based EHR system. The patent, for the company’s “Automated Configuration of Medical Practice Management Systems,” represents an enhancement for the web-based features of the company’s offering.
The company also announced the appointment of Dev Ittycheria to its board. The news comes on the heels of a series of personnel changes at the company. In June, Athenahealth promoted chief technology officer Ed Park to replace outgoing COO David Robinson, who resigned “in keeping with the anticipated length of service under his employment agreement.” AthenaNet Intelligence senior vice president Jeremy Delinsky succeeded Park as CTO. Senior vice president of corporate development Nancy Brown will also step down July 31 “to pursue other opportunities.” She’ll be replaced by senior vice president of business development and product strategy Derek Hedges.
