Boston-based athenahealth is re-imagining the clinical workflow with a major upgrade to its athenaOne electronic health record (EHR) platform introducing what it calls an “AI-native clinical encounter.” At the heart of this transformation are two new capabilities athenaAmbient, an ambient digital scribe embedded in the EHR, and Sage, an AI clinical copilot designed to assist clinicians with real-time insights. 

During a patient visit, athenaAmbient captures the conversation between clinician and patient, automatically drafts clinical notes, diagnoses, prescriptions and orders, and integrates them into the visit record. Meanwhile, Sage can review full patient charts, respond to clinician questions, surface care gaps and help with decision support all without leaving the athenaOne workflow. 

Importantly, athenahealth states that these features will be rolled out as part of standard subscriptions there is no additional charge. User testing is scheduled to begin around February 2026, with broader deployment across its ambulatory-care customer base during the first half of the year. 

The shift reflects a broader industry change: EHR vendors are moving beyond record-keeping systems to intelligent assistants that enhance care delivery. As Bob Segert, Chairman & CEO of athenahealth.

“The future of healthcare technology isn’t about making doctors work the way the system works  it’s about making the system work the way doctors work.” 

While promising, the rollout also raises questions about implementation: clinician trust in ambient AI, data privacy, workflow integration and real-world performance will all be critical to success.