User Guide — athenaTelehealth

1. Start the virtual visit for the scheduled appointment.
2. Click on the Participants button in the visit toolbar.
3. In the Participants panel, go to the Waiting Room section.
4. Click Message at the bottom of the Waiting Room section.
5. A chat window will appear labeled Message to Waiting Room Participants.
6. Type your message (for example: "We’ll be with you shortly. Thank you for your patience.").
7. When ready to share your message, you can:
   • Press Enter on your keyboard.
   • Click Send.

Note
This message is visible to all participants currently in the Waiting Room. You cannot message individual patients separately.

Workflow Scenario — A patient is in the virtual waiting room and ready to be seen

1. Observe on the schedule, in check in, or in intake and exam that the patient is online.
2. Start the virtual visit for the scheduled appointment.
3. When the patient is in the Waiting Room, you will see a message to Admit them.
   

When you have multiple practice users joining the visit

• If the patient is showing as online, and you (an medical assistant, nurse, or doctor) join the call, pause and wait to be prompted to admit the patient. You may also go to the participant panel and wait for the patient to appear and admit them from there.

• Only one host is allowed in a visit. The first practice user to join from athenaOne is the host. When they leave the visit, the patient is returned to the waiting room. When the provider joins, the provider becomes the host and can admit the patient.

  • If a practice user other than the provider is the host when the provider joins the visit, the practice user must admit the provider into the visit before they leave the visit and make the provider the host.

Workflow Scenario — Admit from participants panel

1. Observe on the schedule, in check in, or in intake and exam that the patient is online.
2. Start the virtual visit for the scheduled appointment.
3. In the visit toolbar, click Participants.
4. In the Participants panel, locate the patient under Waiting Room.
5. Verify the patient and click Admit next to their name. They will be joined to the visit.
   

 

Workflow Scenario — Admit all participants

1. Observe on the schedule, in check in, or in intake and exam that the patient is online.
2. Start the virtual visit for the scheduled appointment.
3. In the visit toolbar, click Participants.
4. In the Participants panel, locate the patients under Waiting Room.
5. Verify the patients and click Admit All above their names. They will be joined to the visit.
   

 

 

Workflow scenario — The visit is complete, or the patient needs to be removed:

1. Open the Participants panel.
2. Hover over the patient’s name.
3. Click More (three dots).
4. Click Remove.
   

Note
Removing a patient will disconnect them from the session. They will need re-admittance to rejoin.

Workflow scenario — You need to pause the session temporarily (for example: to consult with a colleague)

1. In the visit toolbar, click Participants.
2. Hover over the patient’s name.
3. Click More.
4. Select Put in Waiting Room.
   

While in waiting room

• They see a message: The host will admit you, when they're ready.

To resume

1. Go back to Participants.
2. Click Admit next to the patient’s name.

Note
Only the host or co-host can place someone on hold. The Telehealth usage report includes information time spent on hold in the waiting room.

1. Start the virtual visit for the scheduled appointment.
   

   Note
   When a participant joins the call, a pop-up notification indicates which participant has entered the waiting room. There may be multiple participants in the waiting room.

2. You can: 

   • Tap Admit to join all waiting room participants to the visit.

   • Tap View to see a list of all waiting room participants and tap Admit next to each individual patient that you want to join to the visit.

1. Tap Participants.

2. Select the participant from the call list.

3. Tap Remove. If a patient is removed from the call, they will be able to rejoin the call.

4. Tap Remove again to confirm.

1. Tap Participants.

2. Select the participant from the call list.

3. Tap Hold to suspend their audio and video.

4. To resume, select the participant and tap Resume.

The group appointment types you create allow your staff to schedule multiple patients for the same online appointment slot. As a clinic manager or administrator, you’ll need to create these appointment types before your practice can add online group appointments to a provider’s schedule.

Important
You must have the Schedule admin permission to perform these tasks.

Create appointment type for telehealth group sessions

1. On the main menu, click Settings. Under ADMIN, click Schedule.

2. In the left navigation menu that opens, locate PRACTICE LINKS > Scheduling. Click Appointment Types.

3. In Appointment Types, click Add new.

4. Enter the following

   1. Name — Enter the full name for the appointment type, up to 20 characters. In this example, a clinic administrator is creating an appointment type for “Group Seasonal Depression."

      Best practice
      We recommend including the word Group in the name to help staff further identify the appointment type.
      

   2. Short Name — Enter an abbreviated name or acronym for the appointment type, up to four characters.
   3. Duration — Enter the duration in minutes.
   4. Appointment Type Class — Telehealth Distant Site Visit
      
   5. Schedule color (Optional) — Click Select. Select a color to apply to appointments of that type. While optional, using colors for different appointment types can help your staff identify specific appointments more quickly.
   6. Group Session — Under Scheduling:
      • Locate Group Session.
      • Select Yes. This enables staff to add multiple patients to appointments of this type.
   7. Display Name — Enter a name for the appointment type that patients will see in the appointment section of the patient portal.
      
      

For more information refer to Create Appointment Types for Group Sessions in O-help.

Any specialty can schedule a group telehealth session, however the ability to use the group session document template is only for the Behavioral Health specialty.

For more information refer to Add Group Scheduling Templates or Manage Group Session Template Drafts in O-help.

To add a group session template

1. Access the Schedule Builder Dashboard. In the dashboard, click Add Template.
2. In Add Template, click Create New Template.
3. Select a color and enter a name for the template. We recommend including the word ‘group’ in the name to further identify a group session.
4. In Apply to, select the provider’s group, their department, and the provider.
5. Click Group session template to enable it.
6. In Apply on, define starting and ending dates. This determines when the template's time slots will appear on the provider’s calendar for scheduling.

   Note 
   To quickly define a date range, select options from the Pre-calculated dates menu. In this example, selecting Next Month automatically enters the first day of the following month as the start date and the last day of the following month as the expiration date. If the provider holds sessions on holidays, click Schedule on holidays. If left deselected, the template won’t include appointment types on holidays.

7. In Frequency, select how often the provider will facilitate the group session. Options vary depending on the frequency selected. In this example, the frequency is every Monday and Wednesday.
8. In Build Schedule, select the Appointment type and enter the Start time. athenaOne automatically calculates the ending time based on the appointment type’s length and the start time entered.

   When you define a start time for a session, a preview of what will appear in the provider’s schedule opens to the right. Adjust the template settings as needed.

   In Build Schedule, define the session capacity and open or closed status for group sessions.
   • Capacity — Required for group scheduling templates. Enter the maximum number of patients your staff can schedule for a group session, up to 50 patients. For more information, see Capacity in Quick Reference: Schedule Builder Template Fields.
   • Open session — Indicates that scheduling staff can book patients at any point within a series of sessions. If deselected (a closed session), it indicates to staff that new patients should not be added to a future session after first session has started. Refer to Open Session in Quick Reference: Schedule Builder Template Fields for more information.

     Note 
     Closed session slots include a C icon to indicate the provider's preference only. athenaOne won't prevent you from scheduling patients for the session after the session or session series has begun.
     

      

9. To include additional appointment types to the provider’s template, click Add appointment type. In the added section, select the appointment type and configure the appointment details. You can continue to add appointment types to the scheduling template as needed.

    

   Note
   Click Add Time Range to create multiple time slots for the same appointment type within the provider’s schedule.
   
   To preview scheduled slots before saving, return to the Apply on section of template settings and click Preview. A calendar view with the template occurrences appears.
   

10. Click Save and Apply. A confirmation message appears with the following information:
    • Appointments that will need to be rescheduled — Lists the number of existing appointments impacted by the template's start times, duration, and appointment types selected. You can either click Back and modify templates to avoid rescheduling or click Continue. Displaced appointments will appear under Claims > Workflow Dashboard in the Appts to Reschedule column for rescheduling.
    • Sessions that will be created — Lists the total number of new sessions added to the template. If this number looks incorrect, click Cancel and check settings in Apply on and Build Schedule before continuing.
    • Sessions that will be updated — Lists the number of existing sessions that have the same start time and duration but have a new appointment type applied.
    • Sessions that will be removed — Lists the number of existing sessions that will be removed if changes are applied.

    When ready, click Continue.

    Note 
    If you modify the date and time of a group template so it overlaps other templates, a warning message appears under Start time and Repeat until fields, prompting you to adjust the time range. You will be prevented from saving and applying the group template until you correct any time slot overlaps.
    
    If you're not ready to apply the template to a provider's schedule, click Save as Draft instead of Save and Apply. For information on template drafts, see Manage template drafts. Also see Save and delete options for additional actions.

11. At the top of the template settings panel, click Navigate back to Dashboard. The new group session template appears in the dashboard.

You must book patients for group sessions via Appointment Schedule.

For more information refer to Book Patients for Group Sessions in O-help.

Reschedule group sessions appointments

You can reschedule appointments for group sessions via Appointment Schedule.

 

For more information refer to Reschedule Group Session Appointments in O-help.

Cancel group sessions appointments

You can cancel appointments for group sessions via Appointment Schedule.

 

For more information refer to Cancel Group Session Appointments in O-help.

As group session participants appear online, access your Inbox or the Appointment Schedule calendar and check each of them in.

For more information refer to Check Patients in and Start Group Sessions in O-help.

Select one patient and enter intake or exam and join the visit.

The provider then becomes the host of the visit.

When you document in the encounter, the athenaTelehealth visit length will be available to add to the note.

The visit length will be the same for all patients in the visit.

For more information on the documentation of Behavioral Health group sessions, refer to Document Group Sessions.

• Schedule an athenaTelehealth appointment (I.e., an appointment with the Telehealth Distant Site Visit appointment type class).
  Important: Regardless of how you or your patient schedule an telehealth appointment, you can choose to use the athenaTelehealth service for the appointment. The only requirements are that:
  • It's an appointment with the Telehealth Distant Site Visit appointment type class; and,
  • If you're using the athenaTelehealth service in test mode, you select Generate athenaTelehealth video link option to enable the athenaTelehealth service for the appointment.
• Choose to use athenaTelehealth for the appointment
  See To generate an athenaTelehealth testing session for more information.
• Patients have the option to self-schedule their own athenaTelehealth appointments from both the consumer scheduling application and the Patient Portal.
  • Consumer scheduling application — The following image is an example of the desktop scheduling experience.
    
  • Patient Portal — The following image is an example of the desktop scheduling experience.
    
• Easily spot athenaTelehealth appointments in your schedule through the video icon that indicates that the appointment is for an online visit.

• Send Link to Patient — Click this button to send your patient an on-demand ReminderCall message. This workflow opens a new window that allows you to select or enter the contact information that receives the link, which is any email address or phone number that has Patient Portal access for the patient.
• Decide whether to use an audio call or video conferencing.
• View if a patient is online.
  
• Start the online visit from check-in.
  
• See a patient information banner.

• Join the call
  
• Adjust the patient's video as needed to complete the Exam
• Share your screen
  
• Choose to conduct this part of the online visit In the athenaOne app

There is not an option to use video conferencing from Checkout stage, but you can use the link in the Check-in stage instead.

1. Before the day and time of their athenaTelehealth online visit your patient receives a link to join the scheduled online visit.
2. On the day and time of the visit, they click their athenaTelehealth online visit link.
   The online visit workflow appears with the "Get ready for your visit" page of the virtual waiting room displayed.
3. The patient can click the Esp icon before entering the required self-identification information.
   The content of the online visit workflow translates to Spanish.
   Note: The patient can click the Eng icon to translate the content of the online visit workflow to English.

Patients can schedule their own athenaTelehealth appointments in the consumer scheduling app and the Patient Portal.

When an athenaTelehealth appointment is within three hours from the time it is scheduled or rescheduled, the patient receives an automatic confirmation message.

The patient link to the athenaTelehealth visit is included in the email along with the link to the pre-appointment device check workflow, but you can also manually send your patient these links.

Please ensure that providers and practice staff instruct patients to test their settings through the pre-appointment device check workflow prior to their visit.

We recommend that providers and patients click the link to the pre-appointment device check web application and perform the workflow to ensure that their intended device and browser for the athenaTelehealth session will work on the day of their visit. This feature reduces the amount of time clinical staff has to spend helping patients troubleshoot issues on the day of the visit, which helps maintain your schedule.

Patients can:

• Access the workflow through a web browser on desktop and mobile devices.
• Start the pre-appointment device check workflow by clicking the link to the application whenever they want, the link is available before and on the day of the appointment.
• Choose to complete either an English-language workflow or a Spanish-language workflow.

The athenaTelehealth experience for patients works through your web browser. Patients do not need to download an app to their device or log on to their Patient Portal account. athenaTelehealth enables HIPAA compliance.

Before the visit and check-in

1. Consent to athenaTelehealth appointments for their encounters.
   Important: Acknowledge universal consent language for athenaTelehealth Appointments for each encounter.
2. Schedule athenaTelehealth appointments online at their own convenience.
3. Receive the following message for standard athenaTelehealth appointments.
4. Receive the URL link to the athenaTelehealth visit via their preferred contact method (text or email) or directly from practice staff if needed.

In the virtual waiting room

• Join a private virtual waiting room.
  Note: The patient enters a virtual waiting room until a practice user joins the session, at which point the patient enters the call. The virtual waiting room expires after one hour (60 minutes) and the patient must reenter the waiting room.
• Select English or Spanish as the text language.
• Enter their name to display it in the athenaTelehealth session.
• Get alerted if they are using an unsupported browser or the application is unable to interact with their camera and/or microphone.
• Allow athenaTelehealth access to their device's camera and microphone for video and audio to connect with the athenaTelehealth application.
• Read a message stating that the call will begin when their provider or a practice staff member joins the call. Your patient can also verify the appointment details on this screen to confirm that they've joined the right session.
  Note: Your patient joins the call automatically as soon as you do.
• Preview and manage their device settings in the virtual waiting room.
• Mute their microphone.
• Choose to use their front-facing or back-facing camera on mobile devices.

Join the athenaTelehealth online visit

• The online visit starts when the provider or a member of your practice staff joins the online visit.
• See a "Thank you!" screen when they leave the athenaTelehealth session.
  Note: The screen tells the patient that they can close the window. If you are done with the visit and no other practice users are joining, make sure that the patient understands they can leave the session as well. If another practice user is joining, inform the patient to stay present on the session.

Confirmation message

• Details about the appointment

• Option to add to calendar

• Link to start device check — To ensure their device will work during the visit

• Reminder to join the session 5-10 minutes before the scheduled time

• Link to join the telehealth visit

• Reminder to use the latest version of your web browser

• Reminder to allow access to your camera and microphone

• Link to check out our FAQ (for online appointments)

Reminder email

• Details about the appointment

• Option to add to calendar

• Select an option to let the practice know if you can make it

• Reminder to join the session 5-10 minutes before the scheduled time

• Link to join the telehealth visit

• Link to check out our FAQ (for online appointments)

Reminder SMS text

• Details about the appointment

• Reminder to join the session 5-10 minutes before the scheduled time

• Link to join the telehealth visit

Automatically

If a patient's communication preferences allow them to receive autogenerated SMS text messages and emails, they automatically receive a confirmation message, reminder email, and text message with:

• Link to join the telehealth visit

• Link to start device check — To ensure their device will work during the visit

Manually

You can also manually send the links for joining the athenaTelehealth visit and completing the pre-appointment device check to the patient prior to their appointment.

You can send these links from both athenaOne and the athenaOne app as either an:

• SMS text message

• Email

Important: Texting the same number multiple times in a row may cause the mobile carrier to treat the message as junk and not deliver it.

In athenaOne

You can send links to patients on the following pages:

• Check-in

• Appointments

In the athenaOne app

You can send links to patients on the following pages:

• Appointments

For more information about sending links manually in athenaOne, see:

• To send the athenaTelehealth visit link to the patient

• To send the pre-appointment device check link to the patient

If you use the standard ReminderCall settings, patients who have agreed to receive autogenerated email and SMS text messages typically receive the following messages. Each message includes the link to the patient's athenaTelehealth visit.

• Confirmation message: Sent after the athenaTelehealth appointment is scheduled

• Reminder email: Sent 2 days before the athenaTelehealth appointment

• Reminder texts:

  • Sent 2 days before the athenaTelehealth appointment

  • Sent 15 minutes before the athenaTelehealth appointment

Note: SMS text messages are available only to practices using athenaCommunicator.

If an athenaTelehealth appointment is scheduled or rescheduled to occur today in ≤3 hours

 

• Confirmation message: Sent after the athenaTelehealth appointment is scheduled

• Reminder text: Sent 15 minutes before the athenaTelehealth appointment

Can customize

On the ReminderCall Settings page in athenaOne, you can customize:

• When messages are sent

• What types of messages are sent
  

Important: Your changes will affect other types of appointments.

Cannot customize

You cannot customize:

• Wording of messages

• Look of messages

Patients receive ReminderCall emails and texts in Spanish based on their preferred language on the Quickview.

You can generate a report to view any email or text message sent to patients via the ReminderCall service. These reports include any athenaTelehealth-related messages and links sent to the patient manually.

Reports you can run

• Patient Communication Activity report — Shows messages for any patient.

• Patient Communication History report — Shows messages for an individual patient.

Tip: Be sure to select ReminderCall as the Service and Detailed as the Report type.

For more information, see To view ReminderCall messages sent to patients.

Status of online visit

One of the following statuses appears near the top of the page:

• You're set up — Appears if the patient joined the online visit early.

• Your visit should start soon — Appears at the time the appointment is scheduled to begin.
  Note: If six minutes pass, an information alert appears at the top of the page with a message to reassure the patient that the care team can see that they are online.

• We apologize for the delay — Appears if it is 15 minutes past the time the appointment was scheduled to begin or if a member of the care team sent an update to the patient indicating that they are running late.

Message from the care team

A message provides the patient with instructions or informs them that their care team is running late.

Note: You cannot edit this message or write your own message and send it to a patient.

Pro tip

A tip appears below the message from the care team to help the patient improve their online visit experience. For example, the tip may ask the patient if they are in a private place or suggest how they might improve their internet connection.

If you are running a little late, you can let the patient know of the delay sooner than the automated messages would relay this information by sending an update to the patient.

The status and message shown in the virtual waiting room then change to the "We apologize for the delay" status and the "Your care team is running a little late" message.

Note: If you do not send an update, these message still appear at 15 minutes past the scheduled appointment time.

These capabilities are also available in the athenaOne app.

To alert a patient in the virtual waiting room that you are running late

 

Important: After a member of your staff joins the online visit, the patient is no longer in the virtual waiting room and, therefore, cannot see any messages alerting them that their care team is running late. In such cases, we recommend that a staff member join the call to provide the patient with updates.

 

1. Display your schedule as follows on either of these pages:

   • Clinician home page — Click the athenaOne logo in the top left corner.
     Tip: To set the Clinician home page as your default, click your username and under USER HOMEPAGE, select Clinician.

   • Today's schedule — Click in the status bar at the bottom right of the page.

2. Click .

3. Click Send Running Late Status.

4. Optional: Review the message that the patient will see.
   Note: You cannot change the wording of the message.

5. Click Send Status.
   athenaTelehealth updates the message displayed to the patient in the virtual waiting room to indicate that you are running late.
   Notes:

   • The message can take up to one minute to be displayed.

   • The patient hears an audio tone to alert them of this change.
     Exception: The patient will not hear an audio tone if they are using an iOS device.

   • The patient cannot send you a message in response.

   • If a member of your staff joins the online visit before you do, the status of the appointment updates to "In progress," and you cannot send an update to the patient.

To check whether an update was sent to a patient

1. Display your schedule as follows on either of these pages:

   • Clinician home page — Click the athenaOne logo in the top left corner.
     Tip: To set the Clinician home page as your default, click your username and under USER HOMEPAGE, select Clinician.

   • Today's schedule — Click in the status bar at the bottom right of the page.

2. Click .
   If a member of the care team already sent a update to the patient, a message appears showing who sent the update and when it was sent.

The athenaTelehealth patient experience is available for any video-enabled desktop or mobile device through a Web browser.

For the mobile experience, patients can use the Chrome browser on Android devices or the Safari browser on iPhone devices.

Your patient must allow the athenaTelehealth app access to their device's camera and microphone.

Practices are responsible for:

• Obtaining all necessary patient consents required to provide athenaTelehealth services.
• Determining if the patient consent language used by athenahealth meets your local regulations. Please see athenaTelehealth Terms of Use and Informed Patient Consent on the Success Community for more information.

Note: Your practice may need to disable IP-based filtering for your practice users. If your practice uses domain name-based filtering, please add the "chime.aws" domain name to that filter.

Before you can use the athenaTelehealth feature, the feature must be enabled for your practice and you must:

• Ensure that your device and network settings, the computer and VPN that the provider uses to connect to athenaOne, can access athenaTelehealth. You can perform this test on the Test Datacenter Connectivity page.
• Ensure that you have the ReminderCall service enabled.
  Note: For patients to automatically receive the URL link via their preferred contact method, ReminderCall must be enabled.
  
• Disable the mail merge functionality that groups ReminderCall messages for appointments scheduled on the same day, so that patients receive each telehealth URL. For more information see ReminderCall Settings.
• On the Appointment Types page, edit or create at least one appointment type to have the Appointment type class field set to Telehealth Distant Site Visit.
• Update existing appointments to a telehealth-specific appointment type.

Note: On the Manage Appointments page, you can change the appointment type of booked appointments and reschedule every appointment with the same details in the same timeslot. The patient receives updated ReminderCall confirmation messages. This feature allows you to send your patients the URL even if their appointment is within the next few days.

Test your connection to athenaTelehealth

 

Please test the provider's ability to connect to athenaTelehealth prior to using athenaTelehealth.

1. In athenaOne, display the Test Datacenter Connectivity page:
   On the Main Menu, click Settings >Practice Manager. In the left menu,under Practice Links — Troubleshooting, click Connectivity Test Page
   
2. Check that athenaTelehealth has a connectivity status of OK.
3. If the status is NOT OK, ensure that your firewall is open to *.chime.aws, and then recheck the status on this page.

To generate an athenaTelehealth testing session

 

The athenaTelehealth functionality is enabled for testing and training purposes for all departments at your practice. This lets you experience the full workflow for test appointments without enabling the functionality for all applicable appointments.

 

If you would like to test the patient messaging capabilities, you should also perform a test of the full workflow. We recommend that you enter your email address and then schedule the appointment for at least 24 hours from the time of the test. If you would like to test SMS text messages, add your mobile phone number and make sure that the Consent to text option is enabled on the patient Quickview. Testing patient messaging is optional.

• Why perform this test? To familiarize yourself with the athenaTelehealth functionality and train staff.
• Who performs this test? Any member of the practice staff can generate a testing session.
  Note: You can generate an unlimited number of testing sessions. This provides you with the flexibility of demonstrating the functionality and training staff together during a training session or individually at their convenience. You can also try using the service for some patient appointments before deciding whether to use the service more broadly.
• When to perform this test? After athenahealth enables the athenaTelehealth service for your practice in test mode, before using the service for a patient appointment.

Create a test athenaTelehealth session

The Generate athenaTelehealth video link option, which is intended for testing purposes, is only available when scheduling an online visit for existing appointments.

1. Schedule an appointment with the Telehealth Distant Site Visit appointment type class.
   
2. Select the Generate athenaTelehealth video link option.
   Note:Appointment note — This field is filled automatically when you select an appointment with the Telehealth Distant Site Visit appointment type. This fields says "athenaOne Telehealth Test."
3. Go to the Check-in page to access the patient URL and test the patient experience of a virtual encounter.
   Note: Alternatively, like the patient, you can wait for the email or SMS text message to arrive.
4. Appointment information — Click copy link in the Patient video link field to view the patient's link to the athenaTelehealth session.
5. Follow the steps to check the patient in and initiate the athenaTelehealth session for the provider.

To fully enable athenaTelehealth functionality for all departments at your organization, create a Success Community case and select athenaTelehealth, found in the Additional Services section of the Create a Case workflow.

After you open or start the online visit, you'll see controls to:

To Join or leave the call

 

More than four people can join a call at any given time.

 

In athenaOne

 

Click the following buttons to:

• — Join the call
• — Leave the call

 

In the athenaOne app

 

• — Join the call
• — Leave the call
  

Adjust your audio, video, and display

 

In the athenaOne app

 

During the athenaTelehealth visit, tap the following icons to:

• — Change your audio source
  Note: After you connect your device to earbuds or earphones, this icon appears and the athenaOne app automatically begins using the associated speaker and microphone. This icon lets you switch between using the iPhone or iPad speaker and microphone and the earbuds or earphones speaker and microphone.
  
• — Show the patient's video
  Note: The number of participants in the call is listed next to this icon.
  
• — Hide the patient's video
• — Turn your video on and off (when green, your video is enabled; when black and crossed out, your video is disabled)
• — Turn your audio on and off (when green, your audio is enabled; when black and crossed out, your audio is muted)
• — Reduce video
• — Enlarge video
  Note: The number of participants in the call appears next to the Enlarge video icon.
  
• — Tap and hold and then drag to move the patient's video or the online visit status bar.

Note: In the athenaOne app, you cannot document Intake or close and sign an encounter.

 

In athenaOne

 

After you click go to Audio & Video Settings, you can:

• Click Test your speakers to initiate a sound test and adjust the volume of your speakers as needed.
• Microphone — Change your audio source and check your audio preview.
• Camera — Change your video source and check your video preview.
• Report a Technical Issue — Both practice staff and the patient can click this link while previewing their video and during the athenaTelehealth visit to report issues to athenahealth.

You can also click these icons to:

• — Access the audio and video settings.
• — Turn your audio on and off.
• — Turn your video on and off.
• — Minimize video.
• — Enlarge video.
• — Reduce video.
• — Click and hold and then drag to move the video.

Regardless of the type of device the patient uses to join the athenaTelehealth visit, patients see controls to:

Join or leave the call

 

More than four people can join the call at any given time.

 

Patients can click the following buttons to:

• — Join the call.
  Note: To access this button, patients can click the link they received in the confirmation and reminder emails or the Join telehealth call link on the Patient Portal.
  
  
• — Leave the call.

Adjust patient audio and video settings

 

Patients will see the following controls to test their speakers and change their audio and video source only after they click go to Audio & Video Settings.

• Click Test your speakers to initiate a sound test and adjust the volume of your speakers as needed.

• Microphone — Change your audio source and check your audio preview.

• Camera — Change your video source and check your video preview.

• Report a Technical Issue — Both practice staff and the patient can click this link while previewing their video and during the athenaTelehealth visit to report issues to athenahealth.

After a member of the practice staff joins the call, the patient will also see these controls:

• — Access the audio and video settings.
• — Turn your audio on and off.
• — Turn your video on and off.

Your screen share options change based on which browser you use: 

• Google Chrome — You can share your entire screen, an application window, or a Chrome tab.
• Microsoft Edge — You can share your entire screen, an application window, or an Edge tab.
• Safari — You can only share the athenaOne screen you're currently on. 

1. With the athenaTelehealth online visit in-progress, click screen share.
   The Share your screen window opens.
   
2. Select one the following options:
   1. Your entire screen — Select this option to share the entirety of your screen, including the taskbar at the bottom of the display (Chrome and Edge).
      
   2. Application window — Select this option to share the entire browser window in which you're displaying athenaOne.
      
   3. Chrome/Edge tab — Select this option to share the entire browser tab in which you're displaying athenaOne.
      Note: In a Chrome browser, you can check the Share audio option to include the sound from the tab you want to display.
      
3. Click Share.
   The shared screen appears as the main video in the athenaTelehealth online visit.
4. To stop screen sharing you can:
   1. Click the screen share icon again.
      Note: The screen share icon has a blue box around it to show when it's on.
   2. Click the bar at the bottom of the screen that says "Stop Sharing."
   3. End the online visit.

You can drag and drop the participant's video to different places on the screen for maximum viewing efficiency.

To adjust the frame size of the participant video

1. With the athenaTelehealth online visit in progress, click the minimize window icon.
   
2. Click the Actions icon .
   
3. Select Fit to frame to adjust to the full-frame view.
   Black bars appear above and below the selected participant video player window.
   
4. To go back to the zoomed-in view, click the Actions icon , then click Fill frame.
   The video player zooms in on the participant.

To pin a participant video

 

If there are multiple participants in the video call, you can pin one of the participants' video to the top, largest screen.

1. With the athenaTelehealth online visit in-progress, identify the video player window you want to pin.
2. Click the Actions icon .
   
3. Select Pin video.

During the athenaTelehealth online visit, you can see indicators that show signal strength and muted audio of providers, patients, and other participants.

• Providers and practice staff see — A visual indicator when any participants mute their microphone. They see a call quality indicator to show their own connection performance and other participant's too.

• Patients see — A call quality indicator next to their name to show changes in their connection performance. They also see a call quality indicator for their family or caregiver and practice participants.

Note: Only providers and practice staff participants can see the muted audio indicator.

You can monitor whether the patient muted their audio during the online visit.

You can see the muted audio indicator for yourself and all other participants on the call:

Note: The mute icon appears next to the patient's name. The provider's option to mute the microphone is in the actions bar.

Patients do not see the muted audio indicator.

Note: Providers, patients, and other participants can see the signal strength indicator.

You can monitor your connection to the online visit and the connection of the patient and other participants via the signal strength indicator.

This indicator provides real-time information about the quality of your own connection, and that of other, like the signal strength indicator found on a cell phone.

The indicator is represented by three bars either in the title banner of the online visit window or next to a participant’s name.

This indicator helps participants understand the quality of all of the connections and take appropriate action to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted online visit experience.

Note: Providers, patients, and other participants can see the signal strength indicator.

The signal strength indicator consists of three bars, each representing a different level of signal strength and connection quality.

Up to three bars appear on the signal strength indicator:

• Three bars — Indicates a high-quality connection with low or no data loss. With three bars, you are likely to have a smooth online visit experience with minimal disruptions.

• Two bars — Suggests a degraded connection with some data loss. With two bars, you may experience occasional disruptions or delays during the online visit.

• One bar — Indicates a serious connection issue with significant data loss. With one bar, you may face difficulties participating effectively in the online visit due to frequent disruptions, delays, or even call drops.

Tip: The actions that may improve signal strength are applicable to both providers and patients. You can share these tips with your patients to help them boost their connection to the online visit.

The signal strength indicator is a valuable tool that you can use to monitor your connection quality in real-time.

If you find that your signal strength indicator is showing a lower number of bars, we recommend the following tips to improve your connection. Follow these suggestions to enhance your connection and ensure a more reliable and effective online visit.

Additionally, if you notice other participants with a lower signal strength, you can advise them to take action to improve their connection following the same actions.

If you encounter persistent connection issues, we recommend to reaching out to your internet service provider or mobile network operator for further assistance.

Note: The signal strength indicator is an approximation based on data loss and may not reflect other factors that can affect the overall call quality, such as latency issues or video performance.

The athenaTelehealth application automatically disables the Chat window when:

• The patient is alone in the online visit without a member of your practice staff.

• The patient is with family members or caretakers without a member of your practice staff.

When the patient clicks the chat icon in the online visit without a member of your practice staff present:

• No messages appear if none were sent and the patient cannot enter new messages.

• Messages appear if they were sent previously (for example the practice staff member sent one and left the call) and the patient cannot enter new messages.

If a practice staff member sent a message and leaves the call, the patient:

• Sees a notification in the online visit.
  
  

• Can click Reply to be taken to the Chat window but cannot enter a message.

Once a practice staff member joins (or rejoins) the call:

• The patient can enter a new message in the chat window.

• The patient can respond to previously sent messages in the chat window.

1. From the Consumer Scheduling application: On the Main Menu, click APPOINTMENTS.
2. Click Find Appointments.
   The Search page appears.
   
3. Patient Type — Select Existing if you're a returning patient or select New if your scheduling a visit with this practice for the first time.
4. Specialty — Select the type of provider you'd like to see.
5. Reason for visit — Select the reason you're scheduling an appointment with a provider.
6. [Month YYYY] — Select a date for your appointment.
   Note: After you select a provider, their availability displays in the calendar section indicated as a green circle background behind the number value of the date.
   
7. Appointment method – Select In Person or Online.
   Note: Please select Online for athenaTelehealth appointments.
8. Provider — Select the provider you want to find an available appointment with.
9. Location — For In Person visits, select the location of the practice you want to find an appointment at.
   
   Filter results appear on the right side of the page.
10. Select an available time for your appointment.
    Note: For online visits, you'll see a provider icon with a smaller green camera icon next to it indicating that these available appointments are athenaTelehealth appointments.
    The Schedule Appointment page appears.
11. Fill in the required patient information fields.
    Note: The Location field displays "Online athenaTelehealth)" in the Appointment Details section.
12. Click Next.
    
    The Review Appointment page appears.
13. Ensure the information you entered is accurate.
14. Click I'm not a robot and complete the reCAPTCHA test.
15. Click the checkbox to agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
16. Click Schedule Appointment.
    Note: Click Previous to update the appointment details before booking the appointment.
    The Appointment Scheduled page appears.
    
17. Click Add to calendar to add the appointment to either Outlook, Google, or IOS calendar applications.
    An .ics file downloads.
    Note: Currently when you download the .ics file for IOS calendar, you'll see a link to the consumer scheduling application where you scheduled the appointment. The URL to the online visit appears at the top of the .ics file.

1. From the Consumer Scheduling application: On the Main Menu, tap APPOINTMENTS.
2. Tap Find Appointments.
   
   The Search page appears.
3. Patient Type — Select Existing if you're a returning patient or select New if your scheduling a visit with this practice for the first time.
4. Specialty — Select the type of provider you'd like to see.
5. Reason for visit — Select the reason you're scheduling an appointment with a provider.
   Note: You can set an "At Home" status for telehealth encounters that occur in a non-telehealth department. For more information see, At Home Status for Telehealth Encounters in Non-Telehealth Departments in O-help.
6. Tap Show appointments.
   Filter results appear.
   
7. Tap the Online tab to see available athenaTelehealth appointments.
   Note: When you tap the search icon, the In person and Online options appear in a Filter section on the Search page.
8. Tap the calendar icon to select a date.
   The calendar section appears.
9. Day, Month ## — Select a date for your appointment.
10. Select an available time for your appointment.
    Note: For online visits, you'll see a provider icon with a smaller green camera icon next to it indicating that these available appointments are athenaTelehealth appointments.
    The Schedule Appointment page appears.
11. Fill in the required patient information fields.
    Note: The Location field displays "Online (athenaTelehealth)" in the Appointment Details section.
12. Tap Next.
    The Review Appointment page appears.
13. Ensure the information you entered is accurate.
14. Tap I'm not a robot and complete the reCAPTCHA test.
15. Tap the checkbox to agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
16. Tap Schedule Appointment.
    Note: Click Previous to update the appointment details before booking the appointment.
    The Appointment Scheduled page appears.
17. Tap Add to calendar to add the appointment to either Outlook, Google, or IOS calendar applications.
    An .ics file downloads.
    Note: Currently when you download the .ics file for IOS calendar, you'll see a link to the consumer scheduling application where you scheduled the appointment. The URL to the online visit appears at the top of the .ics file.

1. From the Patient Portal home page: Click Manage Appointments or the APPOINTMENTS tab on the left side of the page.
2. Click Find Appointments.
   The Search page appears.
   
3. Specialty — Select the type of provider you'd like to see.
4. Reason for visit — Select the reason you're scheduling an appointment with a provider.
5. [Month YYYY] — Select a date for your appointment.
   Note: After you select a provider, their availability displays in the calendar section indicated as a green circle background behind the number value of the date.
   
6. Appointment method — Select In Person or Online.
   Note: Please select Online for athenaTelehealth appointments.
7. Provider — Select the provider you want to find an available appointment with.
8. Location — For In Person visits, select the location of the practice you want to find an appointment at.
   Filter results appear on the right side of the page.
9. Select an available time for your appointment.
   Note: For online visits, you'll see a provider icon with a smaller green camera icon next to it indicating that these available appointments are athenaTelehealth appointments.
   The Review Appointment page appears.
10. Review the required patient information fields.
    Note: The Location field displays "Online (athenaTelehealth)" in the Appointment Details section.
11. Click Schedule Appointment to book the appointment.
    Note: Click Previous to update the appointment details before booking the appointment.
    The Appointment Scheduled page appears.
    
12. Click Add to calendar to add the appointment to either Outlook, Google, or IOS calendar applications.
    An .ics file downloads.
    

1. From the Patient Portal home page: Tap Manage Appointments or the APPOINTMENTS tab on the left side of the screen.
2. Tap Find Appointments.
   The Search page appears.
3. Specialty — Select the type of provider you'd like to see.
4. Reason for visit — Select the reason you're scheduling an appointment with a provider.
5. Tap Show appointments.
   Filter results appear.
6. Tap the Online tab to see available athenaTelehealth appointments.
   Note: When you tap the search icon, the In person and Online options appear in a Filter section on the Search page.
7. Tap the calendar icon to select a date.
   The calendar section appears.
8. Day, Month ## — Select a date for your appointment.
9. Select an available time for your appointment.
   Note: For online visits, you'll see a provider icon with a smaller green camera icon next to it indicating that these available appointments are athenaTelehealth appointments.
   The Schedule Appointment page appears.
10. Review the required patient information fields.
    Note: The Location field displays "Online (athenaTelehealth)" in the Appointment Details section.
    
11. Tap Schedule Appointment to book the appointment.
    Note: Click Previous to update the appointment details before booking the appointment.
    The Appointment Scheduled page appears.
    
12. Tap Add to calendar to add the appointment to either Outlook, Google, or IOS calendar applications.
    An .ics file downloads.

Let your patients know that they can find the link to the pre-appointment device check workflow in their appointment confirmation message. We also recommend that your patients visit and review the troubleshooting web app before their athenaTelehealth visit to avoid technical issues on the day or at the time of the visit. The athenaTelehealth pre-appointment device check link works the moment your patient receives an appointment confirmation message.

Workflow scenario

1. Your patient, Jane, just scheduled an appointment for a virtual visit with you, her primary care provider (PCP). Per the athenahealth recommendation, you instructed her to open a link to a pre-appointment device check web application to test her device settings and browser compatibility when she receives an appointment confirmation message with appointment information and links for the appointment. You tell her that when she clicks the Pre-appointment device check link, a message should appear, "Great, you're on a supported browser."
   Important: This message displays once you're on a supported browser. Otherwise, instructions appear indicating that your browser is not supported and state how to switch to a supported browser. Then, a reminder appears to restart the device check workflow once you're on a supported browser.
2. Jane receives an email from your practice with information about her upcoming appointment and a link to her virtual visit.
3. Jane sees the link to the athenaTelehealth session intended for use on the day and at the time of her appointment and the link her PCP instructed her to click when she receives the message.
4. Jane clicks the link to a device check web application.
   
   The pre-appointment device check web application appears in a browser window.

Pre-appointment device check workflow for a patient

1. When Jane opens the link to the troubleshooting web application, the app automatically checks the web browser she opened for compatibility. She is on a supported browser so she sees the following message, "Great, you're on a supported browser."
2. Jane notices options for English-language or Spanish-language text.
3. She selects the Eng icon for English-language.
4. Jane clicks the "Start device check" or "Got it, let's start button".
5. Speaker Test — The audio output automatically defaults to the device. Jane clicks the downward arrow and selects an alternate audio output device, her headphones.
   
   A test sound initiates.
6. Jane clicks Yes, I hear it.
   
   Important: If she does not hear the test sound, she can click No, I don't and a set of device-specific troubleshooting steps display at the bottom of the page.
7. Microphone test — Jane clicks the downward arrow and selects her headphones with a built-in microphone.
8. She tests the microphone and sees the audio bar move.
9. She clicks Yes, I see it.
   
   Important: If she does not see the audio bar move, she can click No, I don't and a set of device-specific troubleshooting steps display at the bottom of the page.
10. Camera test — The setting automatically defaults to her device's built-in camera. Jane clicks the downward arrow and selects her usb-attached webcam.
11. Jane sees herself in the window.
12. She clicks Yes, I see myself.
    Important: If she does not see herself, she can click No, I don't and a set of device-specific troubleshooting steps display at the bottom of the page.
    The next page appears with a message saying, "Good job! You're all set. We look forward to seeing you at you appointment time. You may close this window."
13. Jane closes the window.
    Note: Your patient can click Still got questions? Visit our FAQ to display the full Telehealth FAQ & Troubleshooting page.