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Healthcare · head to head

Ambra Health vs Athenahealth

Ambra Health logo

Ambra Health

Healthcare

Cloud medical image exchange and vendor neutral archive, now part of Intelerad

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Athenahealth logo

Athenahealth

Healthcare

Cloud-based medical practice management

From
$140/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Ambra Health intelerad now owns Ambra and ambrahealth.com redirects to Intelerad client support, so a buyer is committing to the Intelerad portfolio roadmap and should get written positioning on Ambra versus Intelerad own cloud PACS before signing.; Athenahealth high implementation costs ranging up to $50,000+ for enterprise deployments
  • They diverge on capability: Ambra Health covers Image exchange, Athenahealth covers Electronic Health Records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ambra Health and Athenahealth actually diverge.

Attributes where Ambra Health and Athenahealth differ
AttributeAmbra HealthAthenahealth
Starting priceOn request$140/month
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
FoundedUnknown1997

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Ambra Health

  • Image exchange
  • Cloud VNA
  • Zero footprint viewer
  • Patient upload portal
  • Identity reconciliation
  • Clinical trials workflow
  • API and HL7 integration

Only in Athenahealth

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Medical Billing
  • Patient Engagement
  • Telehealth
  • Analytics
  • Labs
  • Pharmacies
  • Clearinghouses

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ambra Health

  • A trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside CT studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked innot Athenahealth
  • An oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practicesnot Athenahealth
  • A clinical research organisation routing de identified trial imaging from many sites to one central reading facilitynot Athenahealth
  • A health system trying to eliminate the CD import desk by giving patients and referring practices a direct upload portalnot Athenahealth

Athenahealth

  • Patient Carenot Ambra Health
  • Medical Recordsnot Ambra Health
  • Practice Managementnot Ambra Health
  • Telehealthnot Ambra Health

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Ambra Health

  • Intelerad now owns Ambra and ambrahealth.com redirects to Intelerad client support, so a buyer is committing to the Intelerad portfolio roadmap and should get written positioning on Ambra versus Intelerad own cloud PACS before signing.
  • Ambra is built for cross organisation exchange, not for high volume in department diagnostic reading, so a radiology group that expects it to replace a departmental PACS finds the reading ergonomics and hanging protocols thinner than a dedicated PACS client.
  • Pricing scales with study volume and stored capacity, so a health system that turns on patient upload broadly sees storage grow from low value outside studies it never intended to retain, and the renewal reflects that.
  • Identity reconciliation of studies arriving with foreign patient identifiers still needs human review at volume, and sites that budget for zero touch matching end up staffing an imaging records queue.
  • Adoption depends on referring practices actually using the portal, and the vendor cannot make that happen, so image exchange projects frequently stall at the outreach and change management step rather than at the technology.

Athenahealth

  • High implementation costs ranging up to $50,000+ for enterprise deployments
  • Pricing tiers not transparently listed, requiring custom quotes

Pricing, plan by plan

Ambra Health

On request
  • Ambra Health$undefined/year
    • Priced by annual study volume and stored capacity
    • Exchange partner connections and upload portals scoped per deployment
    • Zero footprint viewer licensed with the platform

Athenahealth

$140/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Athenahealth review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Ambra Health if

  • You need image exchange.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want cloud vna.
Ambra Health review

Choose Athenahealth if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want medical billing.
Athenahealth review

Questions people ask

Is Ambra Health or Athenahealth better?
Neither clearly leads. Ambra Health starts at On request and Athenahealth at $140/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ambra Health or Athenahealth?
Ambra Health starts at On request and Athenahealth at $140/month.
Does Ambra Health or Athenahealth run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Ambra Health best used for?
Ambra Health is most often used for a trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside ct studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked in, an oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practices, a clinical research organisation routing de identified trial imaging from many sites to one central reading facility, a health system trying to eliminate the cd import desk by giving patients and referring practices a direct upload portal. Of those, a trauma centre that receives transfers from regional hospitals and needs outside ct studies readable before the patient arrives, not after a disc is walked in and an oncology programme collecting outside imaging for multidisciplinary tumour board review from dozens of referring practices are not what Athenahealth is typically brought in for.
What can Ambra Health do that Athenahealth cannot?
Ambra Health covers Image exchange, Cloud VNA, Zero footprint viewer, Patient upload portal. Athenahealth covers Electronic Health Records, Medical Billing, Patient Engagement, Telehealth.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ambra Health: Is Ambra Health still sold under its own name?

Yes. Intelerad still markets Ambra Health as a named product line, but the standalone website redirects to Intelerad, and support and contracting run through Intelerad.

Athenahealth: What platforms does Athenahealth serve?

Athenahealth's athenaOne serves small to medium-sized physician practices and hospitals with integrated clinical, financial, and operational workflows.

Source
Ambra Health: Can Ambra replace our PACS?

For image exchange, archiving and clinical viewing, yes. For high volume diagnostic radiology reading it is generally deployed alongside a departmental PACS rather than instead of one.

Athenahealth: What is the pricing model for athenaOne?

Athenahealth uses customized pricing with percent-based or encounter-based models. Starting price reported at $140/month with implementation costs ranging from $5,000-$20,000 for small businesses.

Source
Ambra Health: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by annual study volume, stored capacity and the scope of exchange connections.

Athenahealth: Does Athenahealth include revenue cycle management?

Yes, athenaOne includes network-driven claims scrubbing with 95%+ first-pass rates, denial management, and A/R optimization.

Source
Ambra Health: Does the viewer require software on referring physician machines?

No. The viewer is zero footprint HTML5, which is the main reason referring practices adopt it at all.

Athenahealth: What patient engagement features does Athenahealth offer?

Athenahealth provides athenaCommunicator for patient portals, automated appointment reminders, online scheduling, telehealth integration, digital intake, and broadcast messaging.

Source
Athenahealth: How many pre-built integrations does Athenahealth have?

Athenahealth's marketplace includes over 250 pre-integrated third-party apps, allowing practices to extend functionality without custom development.

Source
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