athenahealth snapshot
- Founded: 1997 by Jonathan Bush and Todd Park
- Headquarters: Watertown, Massachusetts
- Medical providers on athenaNet: more than 160,000
- Total employees: 6,615
Our beginnings
athenahealth didn’t start as a cloud-based services provider for medical practices. We actually began in 1997 as a medical practice and birthing center in California called athena women’s health and the Birthplace. Founders Jonathan Bush and Todd Park quickly recognized that they were spending an enormous amount of effort just trying to get paid for their services. When they couldn’t find a solution to their problem, they developed their own. What emerged was the origin of the cloud-based services athenahealth is known for today. With our proven combination of cloud-based software, networked knowledge and back office services, we are focused on creating a national health information backbone that helps health care work as it should.
Our culture
We still have the same disruptive, entrepreneurial spirit today, and endeavor to preserve our culture as we grow.
- We offer perks like an organic café and barista bar, employee sports teams and clubs, seasonal outdoor programming, indoor and outdoor games, a casual dress code, employee garden, dogs, and discounted gym memberships
- We encourage professional curiosity and endless growth opportunities
- Best of all, we strive to be caregivers’ most trusted service, helping them do well doing the right thing
Our innovative energy
athenahealth is dedicated to bringing to life an experience for employees that connects the physical work atmosphere with our company’s business goals. For example, we are currently constructing a series of suspended catwalk paths and ramps through our office space that symbolize our goal of creating a national health information backbone. Our creative workspaces reflect and support our flexible, casual, and fun atmosphere. A vital part of our culture is its transparency. How many organizations do you know where every employee is officially classified as an “insider,” with the ability to openly challenge their leaders? We encourage new ideas—and expect them to be constructively debated! We operate at a fast pace within a flat hierarchy, with meetings held behind glass walls so everyone can see the ongoing collaborative teamwork. At athenahealth, every “athenista” is expected to act as both teacher and learner. Let’s face it: U.S. health care is broken, and it needs heroes. We’re saving healthcare one medical caregiver at a time and challenging an industry.