Leading vendor of cloud-based services for physician practices
and inpatient facilities
Athenahealth
(
ATHN
) recently revealed that it will engage with MedChi, The Maryland
State Medical Society. The purpose of working together will be to
make it easier for physicians in Maryland to derive advantage
from cloud-based facilities.
MedChi will invite its members to avail of a simplified route and
implement Athenahealth's set of cloud based services at a
discount. These offerings include athenaCollector, athenaClinical
and athenaCommunicator. In addition, participating doctors stand
to gain from the experience of the company's network of 35,000
physicians.
The Maryland State Medical Society (MedChi) is the biggest
non-profit association for physicians in Maryland. It represents
a resource for physicians in the state.
Athenahealth's web-based deployment provides a low-cost scalable
service while its flexible rules engine leads to higher
efficiency in claims settlement. The Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS)-based approach allows for a more flexible delivery
mechanism that is expected to help Athenahealth win deals. The
company has traditionally enjoyed high customer satisfaction
rates, which facilitates a larger number of referrals.
Athenahealth's unique business model makes it a strong provider
of RCM services (athenaCollector) designed for small physician
practices. Its EHR product (athenaClinical) is a key player in
ambulatory settings.
We believe that sales of athenaClinical are likely to remain
robust. In addition, the company will harness its newer products,
namely athenaCommunicator and athenaCoordinator.
The company should benefit from its extensive athenaCollector
client base, as only a minority of its subscriber base also
utilizes athenaClinical. Cross selling represents a real growth
opportunity in the near term. In this regard, Athenahealth has
made rapid strides in capturing the EHR business of physician
practices. However, this segment is shrinking, as hospitals
increasingly absorb physician's medical practices.
Athenahealth is geared to enter the enterprise segment through
its strategic alliance with
Microsoft
(
MSFT
) and the acquisition of Proxsys, both completed in 2011. The
company has recently signed on, and executed several
enterprise-sized deals, which provide it with a credible and
referenceable client base.
Though the federal stimulus will gradually wind down, the
replacement market has been growing. Competition is fierce and
larger competitors may benefit from the incumbency factor.
Industry stalwarts such as
Cerner
(
CERN
) offer long-standing seamless products integrating inpatient and
ambulatory-care systems.
Quality Systems
(
QSII
) and
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions
(
MDRX
) are two other well-known competitors in a crowded field.
We have a long-term Neutral recommendation on Athenahealth.
ATHENAHEALTH IN (ATHN): Free Stock Analysis
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