athenahealth Launches Next-Gen AI-Driven EHR, athenaClinicals, to Enhance Clinician Experience in Ambulatory Care
The reimagined athenaOne platform, launching this fall, will feature new capabilities, including the industry’s first clinically inferred diagnoses.
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)- athenahealth, a leading provider of network-enabled healthcare software and services, today announced enhancements to its athenaClinicals EHR aimed at streamlining clinical workflows, automating routine tasks, and providing personalized insights to support more patient-centered care. These updates are part of the continued rollout of new features in the AI-native athenaOne platform ahead of the company’s Thrive customer event in November 2025.
“Advancements in AI are transforming how technology supports healthcare, and we’re partnering with our customers to develop, test, and roll out solutions that help future-proof their practices,” said Bob Segert, chairman and CEO of athenahealth. “That includes rethinking clinical workflows to cut down on administrative burdens and allow clinicians to focus more on patient care.”
The next-generation, AI-native athenaClinicals offers a smarter, more adaptive clinical experience. It introduces new capabilities alongside existing AI-driven features—such as athenahealth’s Ambient Notes—to enhance chart reviews, automate documentation, support clinical decisions, and streamline care coordination. Designed with flexibility in mind, the platform allows clinicians to adopt AI tools at their own pace, making integration into daily workflows entirely optional.
“While EHRs are essential tools in healthcare, they can often disrupt the patient-provider connection,” said Paul Brient, chief product and operations officer at athenahealth. “This new wave of innovation allows us to redesign workflows the way they should be—turning the EHR into a smart, supportive clinical partner that respects each clinician’s preferences, pace, and autonomy.”
At the core of this enhanced experience is athenaOne’s new adaptive intelligence layer, which integrates purpose-built engines, large language models, and machine learning with a robust ambulatory care dataset. This dataset aggregates millions of data points from a wide range of sources—including practices, hospitals, public health registries, payers, data aggregators, and other EHR systems—to deliver relevant, real-time insights within the clinical workflow.
The next-generation athenaClinicals will introduce a range of new capabilities, several of which are already in Alpha testing and expected to become widely available in the coming months.
Clinically Inferred Diagnoses – Launching in Alpha testing this fall, this industry-first feature within athenaOne uses AI to identify and suggest potential diagnoses directly within the clinical workflow. These AI-generated recommendations are supported by evidence drawn from lab results, imaging, vitals, and clinical notes—helping clinicians make accurate, informed decisions.
Chart Assist – Now in Alpha testing, Chart Assist is an AI-powered assistant embedded in the athenaOne workflow. It uses generative AI and draws on athenaOne’s intelligence layer to answer clinician questions and summarize relevant patient information, streamlining visit preparation and documentation.
“This is a big win for both patient care and provider well-being. With athenaOne Clinicals summarizing key changes across visits, I no longer have to sift through pages of notes—I can spend that time with the patient instead. It’s like having a clinical ‘CliffsNotes’ tool that still lets me dig deeper when something doesn’t make sense. In a busy psychiatry practice, where patient histories are often complex and layered, this feature helps ensure I catch important updates while staying focused during the visit.”
– Michelle Gilreath, Owner/PMHNP-BC, Mindwell
Next Generation ChartSync: HIE Document Ingestion and Summarization – Now in Beta testing, the enhanced version of athenaOne’s ChartSync builds on its intelligent interoperability capabilities, which already automatically process 94% of incoming medication data from external sources like pharmacies, hospitals, and other ambulatory practices. The new upgrade uses AI to read and summarize Health Information Exchange (HIE) documents—such as hospital discharge summaries—providing clinicians with a clear overview of changes in a patient’s health since their last visit.
“This is incredibly valuable for ensuring we have the most up-to-date information when a patient arrives for their appointment. It helps us gather records from various outside sources, avoid duplicate orders, accurately reconcile medications—especially since patients often don’t bring them in—and address any new issues or diagnoses. Adding HIE document summarization gives us a more complete view of the patient, helping us deliver even better care.”
– Tracy Witz, Practice Manager, Waisbren Medicine
Ambient-Sourced Suggested Diagnosis – Set to enter Alpha testing this fall for Ambient Notes users, this new feature captures key points from clinical visits using ambient listening technology and automatically suggests relevant diagnoses to be added directly to the patient’s chart, rather than just within a single visit note.
Powered by athenaOne’s adaptive intelligence layer, these capabilities will be fully integrated into athenaOne and offered to all athenahealth customers at no extra cost. This allows customers to access advanced AI technology without needing to invest in multiple third-party add-ons.
About athenahealth
Since 1997, athenahealth has been simplifying complexity for ambulatory healthcare practices and the patients they serve. The company empowers providers to achieve better care and business outcomes through innovative solutions in clinical, financial, and patient engagement. By connecting practices, health systems, payers, partners, and patients, athenahealth fosters a thriving ecosystem that supports accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for everyone. Learn more at www.athenahealth.com
