Senior Medical Billing Consultant eClinicalWorks & athenahealth (Behavioral Health Preferred)

Overview I am seeking an experienced healthcare revenue cycle consultant who has extensive, real-world experience with both eClinicalWorks and athenahealth. Ideally, you currently work with one or both systems daily as a practice administrator, billing manager, consultant, implementation specialist, or revenue cycle leader. This is not a software implementation project. I am performing due diligence before selecting an EHR/Practice Management platform for a new multi-provider outpatient psychiatry practice. The goal is to understand the real-world strengths, weaknesses, hidden costs, workflow differences, automation capabilities, customer service, and billing implications of each platform from someone who has extensive practical experience. Required Qualifications 5+ years of experience with eClinicalWorks and/or athenahealth Extensive knowledge of: Medical billing Revenue cycle management Insurance claims Clearinghouses Behavioral health workflows Scheduling Reporting Financial operations Current or recent daily use of eClinicalWorks strongly preferred Psychiatry or behavioral health experience is a major plus Consultation Topics 1. Overall Recommendation Which system would you choose? Why? Which is better for outpatient psychiatry? Which is better for long-term growth? Which system has aged better? 2. Customer Service & Ongoing Support Customer service is one of the most important factors in our software decision. I am interested in your real-world experience after implementation, not the sales process. Overall Experience Overall customer service quality (1–10) Responsiveness Knowledge of support staff Ease of getting problems resolved Biggest frustrations Day-to-Day Support Support hours Phone support Live chat Customer Portal Email support After-hours support Emergency support Phone Support Do you generally reach a live representative immediately? Typical hold times Are calls routed overseas? Are most issues resolved during the first call? Typical callback times Customer Portal Typical response time Typical resolution time Ease of tracking tickets Escalation process Quality of follow-up Support Quality Knowledge of first-level support Frequency of escalation Typical turnaround for: "How do I..." questions Billing questions Reporting questions Technical issues Software bugs Account Management Dedicated account manager? Quarterly business reviews? Upgrade assistance? Proactive recommendations? Overall Comparison Compare customer support between eClinicalWorks and athenahealth. Which company provides the better long-term customer support experience? Which would you trust more for a growing practice? 3. Billing, Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) & Financial Reporting (Use the expanded RCM section we previously created, including revenue cycle workflow, contract fee schedules, allowables, reporting, analytics, automation, and overall comparison.) 4. Psychiatry Workflow Medication management Therapy Combined E/M + Psychotherapy billing 99213 99214 99215 90833 90834 90792 Documentation workflow Templates Intake workflow PHQ-9 / GAD-7 Behavioral health features 5. AI Functionality Sunoh AI Ambient listening AI note quality Time savings AI assistants Real-world usefulness Biggest limitations 6. Scheduling Scheduling workflow Waitlists Recurring appointments Open Access Self scheduling Appointment reminders Two-way texting Cancellation workflow Rescheduling workflow 7. Patient Communication Patient Portal Secure messaging Text reminders Two-way texting Intake forms Online check-in Balance reminders Telehealth notifications 8. Telehealth Ease of use Reliability Workflow Documentation integration Hidden costs 9. Hidden Costs Please identify any costs practices commonly overlook: Clearinghouse AI Telehealth Text messaging Patient statements Faxing Open Access Interfaces EPCS Wiley Practice Planners Additional modules Training Upgrades 10. Implementation Typical implementation Training Go-live Data migration Common mistakes 11. Phone System Integration & Call Center Workflow Please discuss how each platform integrates with modern VoIP phone systems. Supported Integrations RingCentral Nextiva Zoom Phone Dialpad GoTo Connect Vonage 8x8 Other recommended systems Workflow Can the software: Automatically identify patients using Caller ID? Pop the patient chart when a call arrives? Open today's appointment? Display upcoming appointments? Create tasks during the call? Document phone calls? Record calls (if desired)? Transfer calls internally? Click-to-call from within the chart? Click-to-text patients? AI & Automation AI call summaries Voicemail transcription Missed-call workflows AI assistants Appointment scheduling directly from incoming calls Reporting Call reports Missed calls Hold times Staff productivity Call recordings Quality assurance Recommendations Which phone system integrates best with eClinicalWorks? Which integrates best with athenahealth? Which would you recommend for a growing outpatient psychiatry practice? Are there any integrations that should be avoided? 12. Integrations Labs Pharmacies Clearinghouses Accounting software Payment processors Outlook / Microsoft 365 Other third-party integrations 13. Performance Speed Reliability Downtime Bugs Browser compatibility Mobile app 14. Favorite Features Top productivity improvements Most valuable features Hidden features Features most practices don't know about 15. Biggest Complaints Biggest frustrations Daily annoyances Workflow limitations Features that need improvement Deliverable I am looking for a 60–90 minute Zoom consultation with someone who has extensive practical experience using these systems—not a salesperson. Please include: Years of experience Current role Systems used Approximate number of practices supported Behavioral health experience Which system you would recommend and why Your hourly consulting rate Final Question If you were opening a brand-new outpatient psychiatry practice today with the goal of scaling from 1 provider to 20+ providers, which EHR, practice management system, AI solution, and phone system would you choose, and why? I am looking for an honest, unbiased assessment based on real-world experience. I am much more interested in practical workflow, customer support, operational efficiency, hidden limitations, and best practices than vendor marketing materials.