Athenahealth connects patient records to Anthropic’s Claude

Athenahealth’s athenaPatient MCP server uses the Model Context Protocol to connect Claude directly with the company’s athenaOne platform.[2] Patients authenticate using their athenahealth portal credentials and select the information Claude may access.[2] Athenahealth says those portal credentials are not shared with Claude.[2] Paul Brient, athenahealth’s product chief, said information is encrypted in transit and patients can revoke access at any time.[2] The connection therefore depends on a patient choosing to authorize access, rather than making records available automatically.[2][3]

In the U.S., Claude Pro and Max users can add the athenaPatient MCP connector through Claude settings.[2] ZDNet reports that Claude Pro costs $20 per month and Claude Max costs $100 per month.[3] Those plan prices do not mean every athenahealth patient’s records will be shared: patients must opt in, and not all Pro or Max users must do so.[3] With permission, Claude can reference lab results, medications, vital signs, conditions, diagnostic reports, immunizations, visit history, allergies, procedures and care plans.[2]

Claude can explain a lab result, review a recent visit or create charts of lab values and vital signs such as blood pressure and heart rate.[4] Anthropic’s connector listing says Claude helps users understand existing records but does not diagnose conditions or make clinical decisions.[4] Athenahealth describes the connector as a way to support more informed, personalized health conversations.[1] The company says patients can bring their records into Claude to explore questions and prepare for conversations with their care teams.[2] These stated uses focus on understanding records and preparing questions, not replacing clinical judgment.[4][2]

Athenahealth built athenaPatient MCP to connect with general-purpose AI assistants rather than build those capabilities entirely within its patient app, and said it did not want to create additional work for clinicians.[2] Claude is the first connection enabled for athenaPatient MCP, but Athenahealth says it does not intend it to be the only one.[2] The company plans to expand access to other models, though Brient gave no details about additional integrations.[2] Athenahealth serves over 20% of the U.S. population and provides EHR, revenue-cycle and patient-engagement solutions to small and independent practices.[3][2]