AI Receptionist for athenahealth (athenaOne) Practices

By The Zaya Health team

athenaOne keeps your clinical, billing, and scheduling work in one cloud platform. Your phones, though, still depend on whoever happens to be free when they ring. Zaya is an AI voice receptionist, built by physicians, that picks up every call on the first ring, holds a natural conversation instead of a phone menu, verifies the caller, and takes care of scheduling requests 24 hours a day.

The result: fewer voicemails to return, fewer empty slots, and a front desk that can give its full attention to the patients in the room.

Book a demo to see Zaya handle real athenahealth call scenarios.

How Zaya connects to athenahealth

Zaya connects to athenahealth through its own proprietary integration software. Zaya works alongside athenahealth as your practice already uses it, so your team keeps its existing schedule, templates, and workflows. We set up and test the connection for your practice during onboarding, so there is nothing for your staff to build.

What Zaya does inside athenahealth

Book appointments. Zaya searches open slots by department, provider, and appointment reason, offers the caller a few concrete times, and books the one they choose into athenaOne. Appointments are booked directly in the live schedule.
Reschedule. Zaya locates the patient's upcoming appointment, finds an equivalent opening, and moves the visit so the old slot returns to the schedule.
Cancel. After confirming which visit the caller means, Zaya cancels it and captures the reason if your practice tracks one.
Verify the patient. Before discussing or changing anything, Zaya verifies the caller by name and date of birth.
Messages. Refill requests, billing questions, and callback requests are captured in a structured summary. Messages can go directly into athenahealth as telephone encounters, be emailed to staff, or be viewed in a protected, secure portal.

After every change, Zaya confirms the details with the patient and can send an SMS confirmation.

Common front-desk problems for athenahealth practices

Appointment reasons that only staff understand. Practices often build dozens of appointment reasons and types. Choosing the wrong one means the wrong slot length or the wrong provider. Zaya uses the reasons and rules mapped during setup, every time.
Phones that compete with check-in. In smaller athenaOne practices, the same person checks in patients, collects copays, and answers the phone. Something always waits. Zaya takes the phone side.
Patients who won't use the portal. Online scheduling helps, but a large share of patients still call to book, change, or cancel. Zaya gives them a fast path at any hour.
Unreturned voicemails. Messages left at lunch or after hours turn into a callback list that eats the next morning. Zaya resolves routine requests during the original call.
Cancellations that never get backfilled. When a cancellation comes in by voicemail, the slot often sits empty. When Zaya cancels in real time, the time opens immediately.
Multi-location complexity. Practices with several departments in athenaOne need callers routed to the right location and provider. Zaya asks the right questions to get there.

Setup steps

Map your workflows. We review your call types, visit types, provider rules, and how your team wants messages delivered.
Connect athenahealth. Zaya's integration software is connected to athenahealth and your phone line, then we test patient verification, scheduling, and message routing.
Go live. Zaya starts answering calls on the coverage you choose, such as after hours, overflow, or every call. Setup typically takes about two weeks from kickoff to go-live.
Tune and expand. Your team reviews call summaries, and we adjust call handling as your needs change.

Built by physicians

Zaya was built by physicians who know how a busy clinic phone line really works: triage, privacy, and the scheduling rules that live in a front-desk team's heads. That clinical perspective shapes how Zaya handles calls for athenahealth practices.

Specialties

athenaOne serves a broad mix of ambulatory practices, so Zaya adapts its conversations to your specialty:

Family medicine and internal medicine: sick visits, physicals, and chronic disease follow-ups.
Pediatrics: parents booking well-child and same-day sick visits.
OB/GYN and women's health: annual exams and prenatal visit scheduling, with clinical questions routed to staff.
Orthopedics and other specialists: new-patient referrals, post-op follow-ups, and visit types with specific durations.
Behavioral health: recurring sessions and sensitive conversations handled with care.

HIPAA and privacy

Zaya signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with every client and has HIPAA safeguards in place. Callers are verified by name and date of birth before any appointment details are discussed or changed, and messages can be viewed by staff in a protected, secure portal.

Zaya supports administrative communication and scheduling. It does not provide medical advice. Callers with a medical emergency should dial 911.

FAQ

Does Zaya integrate with athenahealth?

Yes. Zaya connects to athenahealth through its own proprietary integration software and works alongside athenahealth to verify patients by name and date of birth, check the live schedule, and book, reschedule, or cancel appointments.