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Case Study

athenahealth

At a Glance

Improvement in training completion rate, with users excited to complete training as soon as its assigned

Increased user engagement builds a security-first mindset

How athenahealth Strengthens Their Security Posture While Lowering Risk

From its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, athenahealth supports a nationwide network of healthcare providers with a comprehensive suite of integrated electronic health record (EHR), practice and revenue cycle management (RCM), and patient engagement capabilities with embedded AI technologies. These products enable them to efficiently deliver high-quality care.

With so much sensitive medical information at stake, a strong security culture is paramount. Gretchen Anderson, program manager for athenahealth’s security training, education and awareness program, needed a reliable, engaging platform to keep employees actively involved in ongoing security training and foster a security-focused culture.

Industry

Healthcare Technology and Services

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Challenge

Enhancing security awareness while scaling a growing workforce

KnowBe4 Products

The Need for Consistency and Trustworthy Content

The athenahealth team needed training to keep security front and center but struggled with a lack of high-quality content.

“We wanted to be more proactive in our training, education and awareness program,” Anderson says. “We struggled to find content that we could trust and knew was accurate, and it was also difficult getting it out to users to consume in a way that fit into their schedules.”

Previous training platforms made assigning content cumbersome, and tracking was labor intensive. User engagement was an ongoing challenge.

“It was hard to get people to consume the content we assigned to them in a timely manner, and it was hard to motivate people to complete training,” Anderson says.

The team conducted yearly mandatory training, but that wasn’t enough. Anderson wanted a continuous approach that prioritized security culture and used content employees would enjoy.

The key was finding the right platform to facilitate that approach.

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Empowering Employees with Interactive Materials

athenahealth required everyone to complete training, so a top priority was a platform’s ease of use and accessibility.

“Our company chose KnowBe4 because of the accessibility, usability and great support staff, as well as the ease of implementation,” Anderson says.

Improvement in training completion rate, with users excited to complete training as soon as its assigned

KB4-CR-0881-AthenaHealth-Office-800Another win was the content, which Anderson calls “captivating.”

“There are so many great pieces of content,” she adds. “As an end user, you’re excited to get that email because you know that whatever you’re assigned isn’t going to be boring, regardless of whether it’s a game or an e-learning module.”

KnowBe4 offers assessments, which have made life easier for everyone at athenahealth. The Security Awareness Proficiency Assessment and the Security Culture Survey provide an easy snapshot of a user’s security proficiency level and their appetite to learn more. This information helps Anderson’s team craft training that fits the user, and with tools to easily assign training and track completion, follow-up is simple.

“It’s easy to deploy training, and we have a strong understanding of how to use the training results effectively,” Anderson says. “Users know their training is relevant to their role rather than one- size-fits-all training. They’re getting something that is meaningful to them.”

“Partnering with KnowBe4 was definitely the right decision for our team. I would recommend KnowBe4 to anyone who needs a platform for security training. It’s so easy to use, whether you have 10 or 10,000 users.”

Gretchen Anderson, Program Manager,Information Security, athenahealth

Turning Compliance into Cultural Change

KB4-CR-0881-AthenaHealth-Nurse-800Adopting KnowBe4 has shifted the security culture at athenahealth. What was once a checkmark on an annual to-do list has become an example of proactive, ongoing engagement. KnowBe4’s relatable, gamified content keeps users engaged so they absorb the material, enhancing employee awareness of threats and reinforcing the importance of a security mindset.

“Having this platform has helped us to anticipate what types of training people need throughout the year and create more of a security-focused culture,” Anderson says.

User engagement has also climbed. Employees across the organization have contacted Anderson and senior leadership to express how much they appreciate the investment athenahealth makes in their experience and training.

“We’re seeing that everyone, from entry-level positions to the C-suite, is completing training,” Anderson says. Anderson continues to be excited about the new products, services and content added monthly, and how that continuous innovation will help deepen athenahealth’s security awareness.

“Partnering with KnowBe4 was definitely the right decision for our team. I would recommend KnowBe4 to anyone who needs a platform for security training. It’s so easy to use, whether you have 10 or 10,000 users."

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