Choosing an EMR that works for your addiction treatment group practice or outpatient program is a tall order. There are very few software products that cater to your industry’s specific needs and those that do come with other drawbacks, like missing functionality, poor user reviews, or prohibitive startup costs.

Today, we’ll look at AthenaHealth, a popular software option among behavioral health providers, and examine the pros and cons of attempting to implement this product in a medium-sized addiction treatment organization.

What is AthenaHealth? What Makes Addiction Treatment Providers Gravitate to This Software?

AthenaHealth is a cloud-based EMR that prides itself on the Silicon Valley value of disruption. This tech-forward company was founded in 1997 and caters to many different types of medical providers. AthenaHealth attempts to cater to everyone from pediatricians to anesthesiologists to dermatologists and - yes - behavioral health providers. In so doing, they specialize in meeting the needs of no one (except, perhaps, their own).  

AthenaHealth offers the typical amenities of an “all-in-one” EHR, like practice management, revenue cycle management, orders and ePrescribing, patient portal, reporting, HIPAA compliance, clinical charting, and more. The software is typically described as a good fit for “larger practices” and it boasts strong interoperability, automatically surfacing relevant patient data when and where it makes good sense for it to be highlighted. 

What are the Drawbacks of AthenaHealth for Addiction Treatment Group Practices and Outpatient Programs?

With all of AthenaHealth’s merits, there are some serious cons to this software of which addiction treatment providers should be aware.

No Free Trial 

Did you want to test drive AthenaHealth before investing an average $150 a month? Sorry - that’s not an option. 

Integrations Come at a Price 

Have a few other programs you like to use for billing, scheduling, payment processing, ePrescribing, etc? Sorry - you’ll need to pay a fee to access third-party software integration with AthenaHealth. 

Non-Transparent Pricing Structure 

AthenaHealth makes its prices something of a mystery. It is a subscription based software, so payments come in a month-to-month format that allows you to access the software for a set period of time. Unlike other EMRs in the behavioral health space, AthenaHealth doesn’t publically share its pricing structure. Customers report paying an average of $150 but some pay more, some play less. What goes into this pricing, exactly, is unclear. Add-ons also account for differences in price.

No Support for UB-04 Institutional Claims 

AthenaHealth publishes all of their API documents online. Careful examination of these APIs reveals that AthenaHealth doesn’t support UB-04s, a mainstay billing form for “institutional claims,” like those produced in IOP or outpatient settings. This is a major drawback for any group practice or larger treatment organization that is currently operating an outpatient program or may want to develop an outpatient program in the future.

Definitely Will Not Work for a Residential or Inpatient Program

While inpatient or IOP programs may be able to get by with AthenaHealth’s CMS-1500 forms in some cases, residential programs and inpatient programs will absolutely not be able to function without UB-04 claim forms. This makes AthenaHealth a terrible software choice for inpatient or residential addiction treatment programs. 

Users Complain About Clunky, Unintuitive Design 

While most users find AthenaHealth’s design interface adequate, users often report that the workflows could be tighter. In the words of one reviewer, “some things take a few too many clicks for me.” In this staffing climate, anything addiction treatment executives and group practice owners can do to facilitate clinician satisfaction is worthwhile. Frustrating software is one of the key drivers behind clinician turnover that is just not mentioned enough, despite it being a relatively easy fix. Unfortunately, AthenaHealth does not represent a frustration-free working environment for many clinicians.

Why is Behave Health a Better Choice for Addiction Treatment Group Practices and Outpatient 

At Behave Health, we frequently speak to addiction treatment organizations who have experienced the limitations of Athena Health and are looking for a better, more customized, solution to their problems. 

We may be biased, but there are many benefits Behave Health offers behavioral health providers that AthenaHealth simply does not. 

These include: 

• Design centered specifically around the needs of addiction treatment providers, group practices and IOP or outpatient programs 

• A zero obligation free trial 

• Support for UB-04 claim forms and “institutional claims”

• Transparent, affordable pricing structure

• Emphasis on intuitive, easy-to-use, clinician-friendly design

• Built for every level of care: outpatient, IOP, inpatient, residential and more

Want to Learn More About the Behave Health Universe? We’re Here to Help.

Behave Health is committed to making it easier - and more profitable - to operate evidence-based, results-focused addiction treatment centers.

Our all-in-one app puts clinical, administration, staff, admissions, alumni, residents, treatment plans, billing, insurance authorizations and more - all at your fingertips.

Get your free trial started today and see why more addiction treatment centers prefer Behave Health.

PS. Just getting started with behavioral health? Need help with certification, too? Behave Health can also help direct you to the right resources for help with Licensing or Accreditation by either The Joint Commission or CARF. Mention to your product specialist that you’re interested in this service after you start your free trial!