PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 26, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- athenahealth, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHN), a leading provider of internet-based business services for physician practices, and Physicians Practice(r), America's leading practice management journal for physicians, today announced that they will be hosting a industry-unique healthcare Payer Performance Panel to discuss the 2007 PayerView(sm) Rankings at The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Annual Conference being held in Philadelphia on October 28th-30th, 2007.
In May 2007, athenahealth and Physicians Practice released their second annual PayerView Rankings, which reflected the collective medical billing experience of more than 8,500 medical providers. The panel discussion entitled "Payer Performance Panel: Payers Respond to PayerView Rankings" will showcase leaders from the healthcare industry discussing this year's results: Nancy Brown, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Government Affairs, athenahealth; John Kelly, Chief Business Architect for eBusiness Solutions, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care; Janna Meek, Director, Integrated Provider Solutions, Provider Network Operations, Humana Inc.; and Pamela Moore, PhD, CPC, Senior Editor, Physicians Practice.
During the panel discussion, payers will respond to the rankings, address their current provider network programs and discuss their collaborative work with athenahealth. The interactive session will allow attendees to judge the implications of the rankings and assess the role that transparency of payer business practices can play in improving billing efficiency.
"We are thrilled to be working so closely with Physicians Practice to bring together two of the country's most forward-thinking payers to engage in an interactive dialogue discussing this industry-unique initiative and the role of payer transparency within the billing environment," said Nancy Brown, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Government Affairs for athenahealth. "Our PayerView Ranking initiative has proven to be a wonderful tool in helping athenahealth address some of the current administrative breakdowns that medical groups face in their dealings with payers and where athenahealth can help drive greater process integrity within the healthcare industry."
The first panel session will be held on Monday, October 29th from 1:45 p.m.-3:00 p.m. and a second session will be held on Tuesday, October 30th from 10:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
About Physicians Practice
Physicians Practice creates content to help physicians strengthen their practice operations to improve patient care through its award-winning journal, popular Web site, audioconferences, newsletters, and live seminars. Physicians Practice(r), America's Leading Practice Management Journal, received numerous awards in 2006-2007, including: Publication of the Year, Best Publication Redesign, and Best Regular Column for "The Bigger Picture" from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors (ASHPE); Publication Redesign from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE); and recognition as one of Baltimore's Future 50 companies from SmartCEO magazine. For more information about Physicians Practice, visit our web site at www.PhysiciansPractice.com
About athenahealth
athenahealth is a leading provider of internet-based business services for physician practices. The Company's service offerings are based on proprietary web-native practice management and electronic medical record (EMR) software, a continuously updated payer knowledge-base and integrated back-office service operations. For more information, visit www.athenahealth.com or call (888) 652-8200.
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the benefits of the Company's service offerings. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the risk that our services offerings will not operate or produce data with the accuracy or reliability that we expect due to flaws in design or operation or otherwise and the risk of errors or omissions included in our payer and clinical intelligence rules engine and transactional database. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. athenahealth, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by athenahealth, Inc., see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.