Medical billing and records software provider Athenahealth Inc (ATHN) has been chosen as a vendor for its electronic health record (“EHR”) services by California Health Information Partnership and Services Organizations (“CalHIPSO”), a nonprofit organization that offers programs and services to help medical providers adopt EHR systems.
CalHIPSO, the regional extension center (“REC”) in California (except Los Angeles and Orange County), is responsible for the adoption and implementation of EHR systems across all primary care providers settings in the state.
The partnership between Athenahealth and CalHIPSO will allow more than 6,000 healthcare providers across California to implement Athenahealth’s web-based “athenaClinicals” EHR solutions and enable them to attain the “Meaningful Use” criteria and secure incentives offered by the HITECH Act, which was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”).
Physicians and hospitals that adopt EHR and use them meaningfully are eligible for incentives under the ARRA, a federal stimulus package aimed at increasing the use of EHR by medical practitioners.
Athenahealth extended the timeline for physicians to participate in its “Federal Stimulus Bonus Payment Guarantee Program” following the release of the government’s final rules for Meaningful Use of EHR in July 2010. As a result, physicians across the U.S. (including those in Maine) now have until June 30, 2011, to join the guaranty program and implement the company’s EHR solution to qualify for the incentive under the HITECH Act.
Athenahealth is a leading provider of web-based business services for physician practices. The company faces stiff competition across all of its operating platforms with established Health IT players such as Allscripts-Misys (MDRX) and Quality Systems (QSII).
Sustained strong adoption of Athenahealth’s athenaClinicals EHR services has contributed to a revenue growth of 27% in fourth-quarter fiscal 2010. Utilization of athenaClinicals by medical providers more than doubled during fiscal 2010.
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