
EMR vs EHR: Understanding the Difference
Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) are often used interchangeably, but they represent fundamentally different systems with distinct capabilities that impact patient
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AthenaHealth’s EHR software license starts at $140 per provider, per month. This means that a practice of 5 physicians would pay $700 per month, minimum ($8400 annually). Paying to migrate up to 1000 patient records and hold 2 sessions of staff training would add $1000 to starting costs, for a total of at least $9400 in the first year.
Setting up your practice with an Electronic Health Record software can be an essential part of establishing your operations. However, it can cost a large amount of money, and your choice of provider can greatly influence that cost. This quick overview gives you all the details on costs associated with choosing the AthenaHealth EHR software brand, and also helps you determine if it’s really the best fit for your practice.
As with most EHR softwares, the total price will depend on just how large and busy your practice is. The expense of adopting AthenaHealth can grow significantly if you need additional services to get it up and running, such as migration of your existing patient files or training for your staff.
For a practice of 5 physicians, using AthenaHealth could cost at least $700 per month, minimum ($8400 annually). Migrating up to 1000 patient records and providing a couple of sessions of staff training would increase start up costs by $1000. This would bring the total to $9400 minimum in the first year.
Today, it’s highly uncommon for medical practices to operate without having a digital system for managing their patients’ health records. Not only can having an EHR system be required for cooperating with other providers and insurers, it can also improve patient treatment and make your practice eligible for significant financial perks.
AthenaHealth is a common choice for providers, because it consistently ranks as one of the best EHR softwares on the market. The software has helped secure impressive results for a variety of small and large healthcare organizations. There are multiple case studies available to give you further insight into the software’s effectiveness.
The federal government provides $44,000-$63,750 in incentive payments to practices that adopt EHRs (with a minimum of 30% Medicare or Medicaid patients).
Choosing the right EMR/EHR vendor requires paying careful attention to the software’s ability to match your practice’s workflow, and in many cases, the ability of the software to comply with federal reimbursement and security guidelines.

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