athenahealth and b.well Connected Health have introduced a new workflow at the point of care that allows patients to securely share their health information digitally during intake without relying on paper forms, faxes, or multiple portal logins. The companies plan to expand this capability more widely in 2026. This initiative supports the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Health Tech Ecosystem Initiative, which aims to replace manual intake and fragmented data exchange with patient-directed tools, a program also known as Kill the Clipboard.
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Sam Lambson, Vice President of Data and Ecosystem Platform at athenahealth, said the collaboration demonstrates how healthcare technology can empower patients to control their data while removing obstacles for providers. The workflow begins when practices using athenaOne, athenahealth’s AI-enabled cloud platform combining electronic health records, revenue cycle management, and patient engagement tools, allow patients to digitally collect their medical records from multiple sources using apps powered by b.well. Patients can select what information to share and present it via a QR code, which practice staff then scan to securely retrieve and integrate into the patient’s chart. After the visit, appointment summaries are automatically returned to patients through both the athena portal and b.well-powered apps.
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Because b.well integrates with consumer health apps and wearable devices, patients can also include device-generated information such as activity or fitness data alongside clinical records when they consider it relevant. Kristen Valdes, CEO and Founder of b.well, explained that patients should not have to navigate around healthcare systems to share their information. This approach ensures that patients can share only what they want, when they want, while retaining full control over their data.
The partnership reflects a broader push toward interoperability, with both companies joining the CMS Health Tech Ecosystem initiative in July 2025. Both pledged to support Kill the Clipboard and align their platforms with CMS standards, including serving as patient-facing applications for secure data exchange. By combining athenahealth’s single-instance platform with b.well’s patient data aggregation tools, this collaboration creates a seamless, secure, and patient-centered workflow that benefits providers, patients, and technology developers alike. Both companies emphasized that the success of patient-centered interoperability depends on adoption across the healthcare ecosystem and open data sharing approaches.
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