Get critical insights on patient digital engagement

Patient at home viewing her medical records through patient portal
Christy Maerz, athenahealth
Christy Maerz
February 21, 2025
2 min read

Discover key findings on patient use of digital tools and more from athenahealth's patient engagement research

Integral to a practice’s longevity and success, patient engagement is taking center stage in the future of healthcare. Many clinicians today know that the key to the most sustainable wellness plan lies in getting that buy-in from the patient. Patients that feel empowered in their care and have trust with their care team are more likely to have improved health outcomes.1 Engagement across digital tools and platforms like apps, patient portals, text, and email is also shown to strengthen the patient-provider relationship. These, in turn, can lead to healthier patients and better care outcomes in the long term. Today, digital patient engagement has become an important barometer of practice health, especially in the age of value-based care, with many practices looking for new ways to measure patient engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

Practices using athenaOne can measure and track patient engagement by using the Patient Digital Engagement Index (PDEI), a method of measurement that is completely unique to athenahealth. This metric helps clinicians and practice managers track patient use of digital tools that interact with our EHR, including our Marketplace partners, using three core digital activity categories that comprise the overall PDEI score: access to care, financial activity, and healthcare information.

In a recent study, we looked at PDEI data from over 6,300 practices on the athenahealth network between 2021-2024, as well as data from a survey of 1,000 patients across the U.S. This study revealed new insights and fundamental findings on how practices on the network are engaging patients across digital platforms, and where some practices are falling behind when it comes to using digital tools.

Our insights from this research are detailed in the articles below, with themes that explore patient use of digital tools, patient engagement in women’s health, key tips and tricks to drive patient satisfaction, and more. Click on any of the cards to dive in.

Measuring the impact of digital patient engagement

Measuring the impact of digital patient engagement

 Use PDEI research to bolster patient engagement

Use PDEI research to bolster patient engagement

   
How Patients Use Digital Healthcare Tools

How patients use digital healthcare tools

 How women engage with digital tools in healthcare

How women engage with digital tools in healthcare 

 

To learn more about the state of patient engagement in healthcare, download our white paper. If you’ve enjoyed the valuable insights from this data and would like to see the Patient Digital Engagement Index in action, click here to request a demo of athenaOne.

athenahealth ResearchPatient EngagementElectronic Health RecordOptimize Practice SchedulingCollecting Patient BalancesPatient CommunicationPatient SatisfactionGrowing My PracticeHealthcare Trends

1. NIH. (September 16, 2022). Impact of Patient Engagement on Healthcare Quality: A Scoping Preview. Retrieved February 10, 2025, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9483965/

More athenahealth Research Resources

A woman at home viewing her medical records through patient portal
  • Christy Maerz
  • February 21, 2025
  • 7 min read
athenahealth Research

How women engage with digital tools in healthcare 

Findings to help practices understand generational differences in patient digital tool usage among women.
Read more

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