athenahealth vs. eClinicalWorks
Which Suite Best Meets Your Independent Practice's Needs?

1. ATHENAHEALTH OUTPERFORMS ECLINICALWORKS

athenahealth outperforms eClinicalWorks in every area KLAS measures. Though each vendor’s product functionality is fairly comparable, athenahealth’s unique revenue model ties their success directly to their customers’. Customers report that athenahealth is a trusted advisor and that this results in more consistent, long-term success. eClinicalWorks is a technologycentric company, with better-than-average functionality but a poor track record for partnering with clients. Their delivery deficiencies often detract from the overall technology experience, leaving customers to hope eClinicalWorks will focus more on their success.

2. MORE PRODUCTS, VARIED SUCCESS WITH ECLINICALWORKS

eClinicalWorks’ à la carte suite offers more options, yet customer success varies, often depending on customer expertise. eClinicalWorks’ experience with larger customers has driven broader development in population health and patient engagement. athenahealth has fewer population health clients and provides patient engagement functionality through their patient portal instead of through a mobile app, but customers report consistent success with deployed solutions. Regarding interoperability, providers report more success with athenahealth’s open architecture than with eClinicalWorks’ specific HIE (eEHX). athenahealth began in RCM services and has always been a strong player. eClinicalWorks is newer to the market, but early live clients report solid capabilities.

3. ATHENAHEALTH EXCELS AT CUSTOMER SUPPORT

The focus on customer success is the area of greatest difference between athenahealth and eClinicalWorks, with the disparity being even more noticeable in large practices. athenahealth delivers prompt, high-quality service across all practice sizes, with many providers crediting their positive experience to dedicated account managers. Larger eClinicalWorks practices (>10 physicians) report that their vendor has difficulty scaling the support to fit their needs. Common complaints include long response times, unanswered tickets, and a difficult escalation process. One-quarter of eClinicalWorks EHR respondents plan to switch EMRs (compared to 25%–33% industry-wide). The majority of these point to support as their major concern, though usability, functionality, and enterprise-wide integration are factors as well. Another 16% would like to leave for similar reasons but can’t. athenaClinicals respondents are half as likely as eClinicalWorks customers to feel stuck or have plans to leave, but they report similar concerns.

4. ECLINICALWORKS MORE FLEXIBLE; ATHENAHEALTH AVOIDS SURPRISES

In terms of deployment models, product customization, and pricing structures, eClinicalWorks provides more flexibility and options for customers than athenahealth. eClinicalWorks offers both hosted and standard C/S deployments, giving providers more freedom to individually customize things like templates and workflows than does athenahealth’s cloud-based architecture. Though eClinicalWorks also offers more pricing options, their à la carte approach at times leaves customers feeling nickel-and-dimed when they need interfaces or new products/ services. athenahealth customers have a single option—paying a percentage of monthly collections. Providers who entrust their billing to athenahealth appreciate the all-inclusive pricing. Though some perceive athenahealth’s monthly cost to be high, customers report they get good value.

Writer
Elizabeth Pew