athenaAmbient FAQs (Beta)

athenaClinicals, athenaOne Mobile and desktop

Important
athenaAmbient is only available to clinicians participating in the following testing: athenaAmbient — Our Embedded Ambient Solution Included with athenaOne — Beta.

Eligibility

Can athenaAmbient be used for all specialties?

athenaAmbient is currently optimized for:

• Family medicine

• Internal medicine

• General practice

• Nurse practitioner - generalist

• Functional medicine

• Family practice

We plan to optimize athenaAmbient for additional specialties in a future release. For now, we recommend using athenaAmbient in only these specialties for the most accurate results.

Who can use athenaAmbient?

You must have the Provider role in athenaOne and be a primary provider on the Providers page to access this functionality. At this time, athenaAmbient is available to PCPs in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine only.

Can I switch from Ambient Notes to athenaAmbient?

Yes. The Ambient Solutions - User Management page allows practice administrators to control which clinicians are using each ambient model. Practice administrators can activate (and deactivate) Ambient Notes users, switch ambient models for a user, and view a user's Ambient Notes configuration history on this admin page.

Consent

When a patient gives consent, how do we record or keep a record of that?

Obtaining consent for athenaAmbient is the responsibility of the practice and provider. Please consult with your practice’s legal counsel and compliance professional to assess what disclosures, authorizations, consents (patient, parental, or otherwise), and acknowledgments may be required and how your practice will keep a record of this information.

Technology and Equipment

Will athenaAmbient work on Android mobile devices?

No. If you want to use a mobile device to start a recording, keep in mind that athenaAmbient currently supports iOS mobile devices only (for more details, see Requirements for athenaOne Mobile on iOS Devices). We plan to add the ability to initiate an athenaAmbient recording from an Android mobile device in a future release.

General Capabilities

What languages are supported by athenaAmbient?

Currently, athenaAmbient supports conversations in English only. For multilingual conversations, a translator is required during the athenaAmbient recording.

How does athenaAmbient handle duplicate structured diagnoses?

If a clinician manually adds a diagnosis to the patient chart, for example, during chart prep and then the same diagnosis is discussed and captured in an ambient recording during the patient encounter, athenaAmbient identifies it as the same diagnosis and only adds information that differs as a diagnosis note appended to the existing diagnosis that the clinician had entered manually.

Does athenaAmbient work with athenaTelehealth?

No. athenaTelehealth does not support athenaAmbient at this time.

Recording Specifications

Is there a minimum length for recordings?

Yes. To ensure a draft note is created:

• Recordings must be at least 20 seconds long before pausing or ending the recording.

• Recordings shorter than 20 seconds may not generate a draft note.

Can I record the same visit using more than one device?

Yes. You can start recording on one device (such as your iPhone) and continue on another device (such as your computer). If you create multiple recordings for an encounter, the summarized encounter notes are generated by combining the recordings.

 

Tip
Be sure not to select Finish & Save Draft Note (in athenaOne Mobile) or Save & End (in athenaOne desktop) until you finish recording on all devices.

Can I record on my iPhone and review the note on my computer?

Yes.

• If you haven’t selected Finish & Save Draft Note on athenaOne Mobile, you’ll see the AI summary in the Preview & Transcript on athenaOne desktop (you may need to refresh).

• If you have already selected Finish & Save Draft Note on athenaOne Mobile, the draft note will appear in the encounter documentation on athenaOne desktop, where you can edit and finalize the note.

Do I need an active internet connection to start a recording with athenaAmbient?

Yes. You must have an internet connection to start a recording with athenaAmbient. For more details, see Best practices.

Recording Workflow Interruptions

What happens if another app is using audio when I try to record?

If another app is using audio (for example, a phone call or podcast), you’ll see the Audio Interruption Detected message, and you won’t be able to start recording until the app stops using audio. The message will instruct you to close other apps using audio so you can proceed with athenaAmbient.

Will recording continue if my phone locks?

Yes. Recording will continue if your phone locks.

• Your phone won’t lock automatically if you stay on the athenaAmbient recording screen.

• If you switch to another app that doesn’t use audio, your phone may lock — but recording will continue.

What happens if I receive a phone call while recording?

• If you don’t answer the call, the recording continues.

• If you answer the call, the recording pauses. You can resume recording once the call ends.

What happens if I lose internet connection while recording?

If you lose an internet connection while recording, you will see a notification that the:

• Internet connection is unavailable (displayed on athenaOne Mobile)

• Summary generation has failed (displayed on athenaOne desktop)

On desktop:

• Recording continues briefly (up to 30 seconds) after connectivity is lost.

• The next time you go to the encounter after your internet connection is restored, the draft note will generate automatically.

On mobile:

If you see a no-internet message:

• Keep the athenaOne Mobile app open.

• Don’t close the athenaOne Mobile app, even if you switch to another app.

• Once your internet connection is restored, return to the athenaOne Mobile app. The draft note will generate automatically.

If the app was closed before the draft note was created:

1. Reopen the athenaOne Mobile app and confirm you’re connected to the internet.

2. Start another recording for the same visit by tapping Start Ambient.

   Note
   Your recordings will be combined into a single draft note.

What happens if I close the screen while the draft note is generating on the athenaOne Mobile app?

If you close the Summary Generating screen after tapping Finish & Save Draft Note or Preview Draft Note, the draft note will still be created — but it won’t be added to the chart automatically. You can go to either the Appointments screen or the Ambient Summary on the Exam tab to proceed and add the draft note to the chart.

 

To proceed from Appointments:

1. Tap Schedule in the bottom navigation bar.

2. Next to the encounter, tap the ambient status.

   The What would you like to do? window appears.

3. Select an action.

   Note
   The actions available depend on the ambient status.

To proceed from Exam:

1. Go to the patient’s Exam tab.

2. Tap Ambient Summary.

3. Select Send Summary to Chart.

What should I do if the app freezes after the countdown?

If the app appears frozen:

1. Close or force-quit the athenaOne Mobile app.

2. Reopen the app.

3. Go to Schedule.

4. Tap Start Ambient to try again.

What happens if my computer logs me out of athenaOne while recording on desktop?

• Recording will continue.

• When you sign back in to athenaOne desktop, you’ll see the recording is still in progress.

Draft note

How long does it take to generate a draft note?

Draft note generation time varies based on:

• The length of your recording

• Your internet connection

Longer recordings or slower connections may take a bit more time to process.

Why is my draft note taking a long time to generate?

Slower draft note generation is usually related to network performance.

 

For the best experience:

• Use a stable Wi-Fi connection (see related Best Practices)

• Ensure adequate upload speed

Minimum recommended network requirements:

• Upload speed of at least 1 Mbps (5 Mbps recommended)

• Reasonable network latency for consistent performance