This document discusses the experience of Associates in Obstetrics and Gynecology, an independent practice in Dalton, GA, in transitioning to athenahealth's suite of services. The practice needed an EHR to achieve Meaningful Use requirements and wanted help with billing, collections, and patient communication issues. After implementing athenaClinicals, athenaCollector, and athenaCommunicator, the practice saw measurable improvements like decreased days in accounts receivable, increased patient visits, and lower no-show rates. They also experienced unmeasurable benefits like increased flexibility, management control, and better work-life balance for physicians. The implementation process went smoothly with athenahealth's training and support.

1. Thriving as an
Independent Practice
S. Craig Tidwell, M.D.
Associates in Obstetrics and Gynecology, PC
This event is live as of XY

3. Survey of the Epocrates user base. February 2015.
Answered: 2,144 Skipped: 642
I would prefer to be
employed by a
larger group
58.14%
Given the opportunity,
doctors want to stay independent
3
20.10%
11.75%
I would prefer to
practice
independently
I am not
sure

4. 4

5. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; NCHS; and Himmelstein/Woolhandler analysis of CPS
3500%
3000%
2500%
2000%
1500%
1000%
500%
0%
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 200 2005 2009
Physicians
Administrators
Growth of Physicians and Administrators
1970-2009
5

6. Clinical Transformation: New Business Models for a New Era in Healthcare. Accenture, 2012.
http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Clinical-Transformation-New-Business-Models-for-a-New-Era-in-Healthcare.pdf#zoom=50
Business Costs & Expenses
Prevalence of Managed Care
EMR Requirements
Maintaining/Managing Staff
Number of Patients Required to
Break Even
87%
61%
53%
39%
53%
Top Concerns That Influence Decision to
Seek Employment
6

7. Source: athenahealth’s addressable market (physicians) based on athenahealth analysis
using SK&A, HIMSS, and self-collected data
% Employed Physicians
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
-
2011 2012 2013 2014
650K 676K 684K 692K
44% 50% 57% 57%
56% 50% 43% 43%
Employed
Independent
7
First signs that physician consolidation has
leveled off

8. Care is moving out of the hospital while
outpatient visits continue to rise
8
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v 33%
-17%
Outpatient
services per
FFS Part B
beneficiary
Inpatient
discharges
per FFS Part A
beneficiary
v
v
v
v
Fiscal year
Cumulativepercentchange
vv
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
20
13

9. 9
Independent providers see
16% more
patients
than employed providers
Independent
practices see
5.9% fewer
no-shows
than owned
practices
5.9%
Source: athenahealth Data, 2015

10. 10
Patients wait
4 days longer
to see an employed PCP than
an independent PCP
Source: athenahealth Data, 2015

11. What’s the
Solution?

12. 12

13.  Obstetrics & Gynecology
 6 physicians
 6 certified nurse midwives
 32 staff members
 1 office in Dalton, GA
 510 patient visits per
month/doc
 3,074 patient visits per
month/practice
 On the network since 2012
Associates in Obstetrics
and Gynecology
13

14. 14
Before athenahealth

15. 15
 Needed an EHR to stay current and
achieve Meaningful Use
 Dealing with self-pay problems &
collection issues
 Challenges with managing billing
department
 Wanted better outreach and
communication
Before athenahealth

16. 16

17. 17
On-Boarding
“With the assistance of training modules, templates, and
project managers, the implementation was much
easier than we thought.”

18. athenahealth Solutions
18
1 athenaClinicals
athenaCollector2
athenaCommunicator3

19. Meaningful Use
19

20. Flexibility in the Cloud
20

21. www.aogdalton.com
21

22. Measurable Practice Results
1.1 charge entry lag days
96.3% same day encounter close rate
3.4 minutes Provider documentation time:
36 days days in Accounts Receivable
$160,000 in Meaningful Use incentives
22

23.  Increased Visibility and Management Control
 Reports – Capture and Track Key Metrics
 Claims
 First Pass Resolved Rate = 93.3 %
 Easy Submission
 Less Work
 Rules Engine
 Positive Impact on Accounts Receivable:
 10.97% decrease in Days in Accounts Receivable
 Efficiency of the front office
 Staffing Improvements
 Practice Growth
athenaCollector – 2012

24.  Access anywhere, anytime
 Document encounters more efficiently
 Spending more time with patients
 Integrated care capabilities
 Easy workflow
 Coordinating patients’ care
Exporting charts
Easy to read, relevant information, minimal records
athenaClinicals – 2012

25.  Improve staff efficiency
 Call backs by Athena
 Group Call options:
 ReminderCall
 GroupCall
 ResultsCall
 Improved communication & Scheduling
 Patient visits increased 2.93%
 No show rate decreased 16.2%
 Participation in their medical care
 Patient Portal - 24/7 Access
Patient Satisfaction
athenaCommunicator – 2012

26. 26
Unmeasurable Results

27. 27
After athenahealth

28. 28
Work/Life Balance

29. Thank You
S. Craig Tidwell, M.D.