Athenahealth Inc. (ATHN) won a patent for a part of its electronic medical records software offering.
The Watertown, Mass.-based HIT firm said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted its application for a patent covering its practice management and billing automation system. That’s the idea behind the company’s athenaNet rules engine, which “reverse-engineers” payer requirements. The software helps medical practices manage insurance claims by storing and modifying claim rules, using a database of payer reimbursement process rules.
Athenahealth took a big hit to its bottom line during the third quarter, the result of a tax provision that saw the company giving back about half of its profits to the feds. The company paid more than $2.3 million in taxes during the three months ended Sept. 30, a charge that pushed its net income down to $2.3 million, compared to $3.7 million for the same period last year.
Overall, the company reported $45.6 million in sales during the quarter, a 38 percent increase from the $33 million it posted during the same period last year.