At Anderson Hills Pediatrics, we know that technology should make life easier. Not more stressful. Over the past several months, many of you have shared feedback about our self-check-in process through Athena, and we want you to know: we’ve been listening.
Our team has been working directly with Athena to improve the experience for you. We’re fortunate to have a direct line of communication to their patient engagement team, allowing us to share feedback and advocate for updates that better serve pediatric practices like ours. Changes are already underway, and more improvements are coming soon.
We know there have been some growing pains, but we truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to make your experience faster, easier, and more family-friendly.
Here Are a Few Helpful Tips:
Complete all steps when checking in via the text link or patient portal
Many parents click the text reminder and confirm their appointment, but don’t realize there are additional steps to follow. Please be sure to scroll through and complete all sections, including any forms, consents, or questionnaires. This ensures your child’s check-in is complete before arrival and helps us get you to your visit faster.
Demographic information
At each visit, you’ll be asked to review and complete the demographics section for the patient (often your child). The good news is that much of this information now feeds directly from our Athena, so the process should be quick to complete.
We understand that some fields may not feel relevant, like marital status for an infant! Unfortunately, certain standardized fields can’t be removed from the form, but we appreciate your patience in filling them out.
You may also notice that questions about gender identity are no longer included, as we recognize these do not apply to most of our patients’ ages. If your child or teen prefers to be addressed by a specific name or pronoun, please share that with our team during check-in so we can ensure they feel comfortable and respected.
Finally, please remember to enter information for the patient (likely your child) rather than the parent. We know this section can be confusing, and we’ve updated the instructions to help make it clearer moving forward.
Forms and consents have been simplified
We’ve reviewed every form and now only ask you to complete information that’s truly necessary. You’ll be prompted to sign new forms when required.
With that in mind, please let our clinical team know if there have been any changes to the patient’s family history, medical or surgical history, or allergies during your appointment, especially if these changes occurred at medical offices outside of our practice, as we do not automatically receive records from all facilities.
Each child must be checked in separately
We know it would be easier to check in all your children at once, but because each child’s Protected Health Information (PHI) must remain confidential and accurate, the system requires separate check-ins. This ensures your child’s information, medical history, and consents stay correctly linked to their individual medical record, protecting their privacy and ensuring safe, personalized care.
Our goal is to provide you with exceptional care, even in the check-in process. Lastly, if you would prefer to complete all your registration via paper, please let a member of our front desk team know upon arrival.
Thank you for growing with us, and for trusting Anderson Hills Pediatrics with your family’s care.