Patient Portal Frequently Asked Questions | athenahealth (2024)

What is a patient portal?

A patient portal is a website that provides direct access to the medical information recorded in your patient chart. Many patient portals support additional features, including the ability to pay bills or message physicians or care teams directly.

athenahealth Patient Portals support these features and serve as a single resource for all your information, test results, etc., from all your healthcare providers who use athenahealth products.

Who is athenahealth?

athenahealth is a healthcare software technology company. We create software that enables medical practices to provide exceptional care to you, your family, and your community. Our software enables healthcare providers to support you in various ways, including helping them maintain and share your patient records securely, allowing you to pay healthcare-related bills online, and allowing you to communicate directly with your physician.

How do I create an account to access my athenahealth Patient Portal?

If your healthcare provider uses athenahealth products, there are a few ways you can create an account with us to access your Patient Portal.

Some practices using athenahealth products offer Patient Portal access on the homepage of their website. Just look for the Patient Portal link and click on it to be taken to the Patient Portal welcome page. Once there, click the sign-up link below the Log in with athenahealth button. This will take you to the registration page, where you can create your athenahealth account.

If you’re having issues finding the Patient Portal link on your provider’s website, you can contact their office for the correct URL or to request an email invitation to their Patient Portal.

How do I locate and log in to my athenahealth Patient Portal?

If your healthcare provider’s office uses athenahealth products, you can use the link below to log in to your portal.

Find your portal

If you can’t log in to your portal using the link above, check the homepage of your healthcare provider’s website for a Patient Portal link or a patient section. If you still have issues finding your portal’s Welcome page, contact your provider’s office directly.

How can I reset my password?

To reset the password for your athenahealth account, you must first navigate to the Patient Portal Welcome page. Once there, select the Forgot password link below the Log in with athenahealth button and follow the directions.

If you are having difficulty finding your Patient Portal, please see the How do I locate and log in to my athenahealth Patient Portal section above. If you have issues resetting your password, contact your healthcare provider’s office directly. They may be able to send you a password reset email.

How can I pay my bills?

There are several ways to pay your bills securely. Here are your options:

If you already have an athenahealth account - you can log in to your Patient Portal at any time and make payments toward your balance. If you don’t have an athenahealth account but want to create one, follow the steps outlined in the How do I create an account to access my athenahealth Patient Portal section above.

If you’ve opted to receive text messages or emails from your healthcare provider – one of them likely includes a balance update, bill, or e-statement. Find one of these messages and follow the prompts to make a payment.

If you receive paper statements through the mail from your healthcare provider - you can follow these steps to use that statement to make a payment:

1. Go to payment.athenahealth.com

2. Enter the code from your statement

3. Pay your bill

If your healthcare provider encourages patients to check in early through email or text message - you may be able to make a payment towards your co-pay or balance during this process.

How can I access my test results?

Your test results can be accessed and reviewed through your Patient Portal. Log in to your athenahealth Patient Portal and look for the ‘Test Results’ tab on the left side of the page.

If you are having issues accessing your test results, contact your healthcare provider’s office for help.

How can I confirm my provider has my correct contact information?

You can confirm and edit the contact information your provider has on file for you through your athenahealth Patient Portal by following these steps:

1. Log in to your Patient Portal.

2. Find your name in the top right corner of the homepage and click on the drop-down arrow.

3. Select My Profile.

4. Select the Contact Preferences tab (this may happen automatically).

5. Review your contact information. If it needs to be updated, click Edit and make the necessary changes.

If you have any issues updating your contact information, contact your healthcare provider’s office for help.

How can I sign up to receive text messages from my healthcare provider?

Text messages are an easy way to receive important information and notifications from your healthcare providers, like upcoming appointment alerts and billing notifications. But, before you can receive text messages from your provider, you must first give them permission to contact you that way. To give your healthcare providers permission to text you, you must update your notification preferences in your Patient Portal. Here’s how to do that:

1. Log in to your Patient Portal.

2. In the top right corner of the homepage, click on the drop-down arrow next to your name and select Notification Settings.

3. Check the boxes next to every channel you want to receive updates through. Your options include email, phone, and text messages.

4. Then select the types of update messages you want to receive. These can include Health Notifications, Appointment Reminders, Updates and Announcements, and Billing.

5. If you want to receive text messages, be sure to check the box to agree to the Terms and Conditions before clicking apply.

I am a caregiver. How do I access my family member’s account?

If you are an authorized caregiver who needs help accessing a family member’s account, you will need to contact that family member’s healthcare provider for support.

How do I get technical support for issues with my Patient Portal?

If you are experiencing any technical difficulties with your athenahealth Patient Portal, make sure you are using an internet-enabled device with the most up-to-date version of one of the following browsers: Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari.

If using one of these browsers does not solve your problem, contact your healthcare provider’s office for help.

Can I download my health records to send to another healthcare provider?

Yes, you can. To download your health records from your athenahealth Patient Portal:

1. Log in to your Patient Portal.

2. On the left side of the screen, select My Health.

3. Near the top of the page, select the Health Records tab.

4. Select a window of time and whether you want to download, email, or exchange your records with another provider directly.

Can I share information from my health records with an app I use?

Yes, you should have no difficulties sharing your patient data with a health records app.

If you’ve downloaded an app (often known as a personal health record [PHR] app) or use a website that gathers your health information in one place, that app or website should have an area where you can select your provider or their practice. If the app or website is not owned or offered by your healthcare provider, you will have the opportunity to view and select which data you share with the app.

Can I trust an app with my health data?

We strongly recommend you review the app’s data usage and privacy policies before giving it access to sensitive information. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) provides a useful guide for managing your health record.

I’m having trouble connecting my health information to an app. Can you help?

If you want to share your health information with a personal health record (PHR) app, you need to:

1. Have an athenahealth account

2. Confirm that the app you want to use is registered to work with athenahealth.

You can see which apps are currently registered with athenahealth by visiting our Marketplace website then:

1. Click on the Capabilities drop-down menu

2. Look for the Medical Records/Documentation category and

3. Check the Personal Health Record (PHR) box and review the results.

If the app or website you want to use isn’t listed under the personal health record capability of our Marketplace, you’ll need to contact the app’s creator and request that they register with athenahealth.

If you don’t have an athenahealth account, see the How do I create an account to access my athenahealth Patient Portal section above.

If you can log in but cannot locate your health record through a PHR app or website, contact your healthcare provider. You may need to be invited to your provider’s Patient Portal, or they may have disabled that app for health record access.

Can I decide which areas of my health information a PHR app can access?

Yes, when logging in to a PHR app, you can choose which data you share with the app. No PHR app can access your information unless you log in and grant them access. You can always review and change which data you share with a PHR app. However, revoking consent to access your data only blocks the app’s data access from the time of revocation. The app may still retain previously downloaded health information.

Here's how you can review and change the data you share with a PHR app:

1. Log in to your Patient Portal.

2. In the top right of the screen, click on your name.

3. From the drop-down menu that appears, click Security Settings.

4. Then click on athenahealth Profile.

5. Under Privacy Settings, click Edit.

If you’re a practice or healthcare organization that wants to learn more about the features and services included in our patient engagement solution, please visit our athenaCommunicator page.