WATERTOWN, Mass., Sept. 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- athenahealth, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHN), a leading provider of cloud-based services and mobile tools for medical groups and health systems, today announced that its More Disruption Please (MDP) Accelerator is now accepting applications. Launched in June 2014 with the arrival of its first portfolio company, Smart Scheduling, the Accelerator is the company's newest initiative for driving connectivity and innovation across the continuum of care.
The MDP Accelerator intends to drive disruption in health care by fostering the growth of high-potential, early-stage startups. athenahealth is offering its Accelerator portfolio companies seed funding, free office space at its Watertown headquarters, and ongoing mentorship from athenahealth experts, advisors-in-residence, and partners. Most notably, the MDP Accelerator provides its portfolio companies with exposure to athenahealth's network of more than 55,000 health care providers via seamless integration with athenahealth's athenaNet® platform. Companies interested in working with MDP can now access and test athenahealth's APIs through a reimagined developer portal, designed to streamline global connectivity with athenaNet.
Chris Moses, CEO, Smart Scheduling, said, "Smart Scheduling is thrilled to take advantage of athenahealth's commitment to open, interoperable, and disruptive technology as its first portfolio company. What's unique about the athenahealth Accelerator is its highly customized approach; we are working together to determine a mutual definition of success for our company. Access to athenahealth's APIs and cloud-based network has been, and will continue to be, critical to our scalability and success. We look forward to continuing to work with athenahealth's team to bring our unique service to more and more providers across the country."
Since 2010, MDP has been committed to disrupting the status quo in health care by delivering access and connectivity to innovative solutions. The MDP Network, which began by bringing like-minded health care professionals together through conferences and hackathons, now boasts over 2,500 members. The athenahealth Marketplace, introduced in 2013, integrates best-in-breed technologies into athenahealth's cloud-based network to offer complementary services that enhance athenaNet. The Accelerator is the third pillar of the MDP program.
Kyle Armbrester, vice president of business development, athenahealth, said, "After three successful years creating the MDP Network for innovation, More Disruption Please is taking the next step in its evolution, bringing entrepreneurialism to health care through a tailored program that offers portfolio companies customized resources and programming to meet their individual needs. With the Accelerator, athenahealth is deepening its commitment to creating a robust market for open health care technology—something doctors and patients demand to improve the quality of care."
The Accelerator will accept applications to its program on a rolling basis, with an expected residency period of eight to 12 months for each portfolio company.
For more information about the MDP Accelerator, including details on eligibility criteria and to submit an application, please visit: http://www.athenahealth.com/mdp-accelerator.
About athenahealth, Inc.
athenahealth is a leading provider of cloud-based services for electronic health records (EHR), revenue cycle management and medical billing, patient engagement, care coordination, and population health management, as well as Epocrates and other point-of-care mobile apps. We connect care and drive meaningful, measurable results for more than 55,000 health care providers in medical practices and health systems nationwide. For more information, please visit www.athenahealth.com.