AthenaHealth Integration Case Study: Mainstreet Pediatrics

There is a new pediatric practice in the Denver-area thanks to the vision and passion of Dr. Lorri Phipps. Mainstreet Pediatrics launched last Fall in the Parker, Colorado community with a mission of “delivering family-centered medicine with a generous heart”.  As a full-service pediatric clinic, Dr. Phipps and her partners make quality care accessible around the clock from their office, at-home visits or online appointment options.

This vision has become a reality, aided in part by the latest wave of healthcare technology solutions focused on ease of use and integration.  These innovations can turn a web browser into an electronic medical record (EMR) and a smartphone into a telemedicine device.

One such solution is AthenaHealth, an innovative EMR that is accessible over the internet.  Mainstreet employs Athena as their EMR and, with it, gains access to a marketplace of applications to enhance their practice offering and improve the patient experience.  AthenaHealth’s open source mindset invites other innovative solutions to integrate into their platform, creating an arsenal of tools (such as video visits) for practices like Mainstreet to implement.

Dr. Phipps knew from the beginning that telemedicine was going to be part of Mainstreet’s commitment to accessibility.  The ability to reach her young patients in their school nurse’s office or spare a trip for a mother of multiple children goes a long way for the work of a pediatrician.

After a few failed attempts with other telemedicine options in AthenaHealth’s marketplace, she was intrigued by SimpleVisit as a solution for video visits for her patients.

Using SimpleVisit

SimpleVisit takes a unique approach to virtual care by utilizing common video applications like FaceTime, Skype and Google Hangouts in a secure session for telemedicine.  The SimpleVisit service comes with a live coordinator who serves as a virtual receptionist and calls the patient to assist with the appointment prior to contacting the provider.

This approach eliminates a lot of the technical barriers to telemedicine by allowing participants to use familiar video applications and engage by simply answering a call.  SimpleVisit manages the exchange up to the point of the care. Learn more about SimpleVisit at simplevisit.com/overview.

AthenaHealth Integration

SimpleVisit integrates with AthenaHealth to allow users to schedule telemedicine appointments directly within the Athena interface.  There is virtually no disruption to the scheduling workflow — just associate an appointment as a televisit then provide the appropriate contact information.  SimpleVisit handles the rest.

The integration process is fairly straightforward.  Permission is given to SimpleVisit to access your EMR with a signed Business Associates agreement and electronic consent within your Athena account.

Adding the new appointment type and contact fields completes the integration.   The Athena admin user can create the new type in the practice management settings. Then the patient’s preferred video platform and contact ID are added to the patient record. That’s it.  Now virtual appointments are just a click away.

Telemedicine appointments can be scheduled ahead as a follow up for a current patient or some practices, like Mainstreet, offer video visits scheduled through their website or patient portal.  This feature attracts new patients who wish to stay in the comfort of their own home and meet with a doctor.

From Dr. Lorri Phipps:

“I recently opened my own pediatric clinic in Colorado and wanted to implement telemedicine immediately. I started off using a company that touted ease of use, Athena integration, and reasonable prices; only to find out it was the opposite of easy for my patients and our clinic staff, not at all integrated, and costly. In 6 months, I only had 2 telemedicine patients. Before I gave up, I looked at SimpleVisit. I am SO glad I did! Rob and his team are amazing and got us set up quickly.

SimpleVisit uses existing platforms such as Skype or FaceTime which everyone already has. No need to download another app and then sign into another company’s website to get services. I think the best parts are the live operators and the speedy connection with my patients – and I don’t have to do anything except provide care. The video quality is excellent. I highly recommend SimpleVisit!!”

Dr. Phipps and her team at Mainstreet Pediatrics have a solution in SimpleVisit that works, integrates with their AthenaHealth EMR and are happy to use.

They have successfully utilized modern healthcare tools to create a better experience for their staff and their patients.  SimpleVisit is proud to support the virtual care offering of practices like Mainstreet Pediatrics. 

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View SimpleVisit on the AthenaHealth MDP Marketplace: https://marketplace.athenahealth.com/product/simplevisit

Request a demonstration of SimpleVisit: https://simplevisit.com/demo/

About Simple Visit

SimpleVisit is a video service which allows patients and providers to connect over the video platform of their choice. With SimpleVisit providers are able to deliver on-demand visits to patients over any device or platform they have available to them. For more information on SimpleVisit and on how we are enabling providers to host virtual visits check out www.SimpleVisit.com