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Healthcare & Medical · head to head

Athenahealth vs Bear Notes

Athenahealth logo

Athenahealth

Healthcare & Medical

Cloud-based medical practice management

From
$140/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bear Notes logo

Bear Notes

Productivity

Beautiful note-taking app for Apple devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bear Notes has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Athenahealth high implementation costs ranging up to $50,000+ for enterprise deployments; Bear Notes apple only: Bear runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad with no Windows, Android or web app
  • They diverge on capability: Athenahealth covers Electronic Health Records, Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Athenahealth and Bear Notes actually diverge.

Attributes where Athenahealth and Bear Notes differ
AttributeAthenahealthBear Notes
Starting price$140/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidMacOS, IOS, IPadOS
CategoryHealthcare & MedicalProductivity
Founded19972015

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Athenahealth

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

Only in Bear Notes

  • Markdown-based notes
  • Powerful tag system
  • Rich text formatting
  • Image support
  • iCloud sync
  • Dark and light themes
  • Encryption support
  • Backup and restore

What people use each for

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

Athenahealth

  • Patient Carenot Bear Notes
  • Medical Recordsnot Bear Notes
  • Practice Managementnot Bear Notes
  • Telehealthnot Bear Notes

Bear Notes

  • Markdown note taking on Apple devicesnot Athenahealth
  • Organising notes with nested hashtags rather than foldersnot Athenahealth
  • Exporting notes to PDF, DOCX, HTML or ePubnot Athenahealth

Where each one falls short

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

Athenahealth

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

Bear Notes

  • Apple only: Bear runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad with no Windows, Android or web app
  • Sync across devices requires Bear Pro and works through iCloud only
  • The free version is limited to 3 export formats, 3 themes and 1 app icon
  • OCR search inside images and PDFs is Pro only
  • Note encryption is Pro only
  • The Pro trial lasts 7 days

Pricing, plan by plan

Athenahealth

$140/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Athenahealth review.

Bear Notes

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Note creation and organization
    • Tags
    • Local sync
  • Premium$1.99/month
    • iCloud sync
    • Themes
    • Markdown export

Which should you pick?

Choose Athenahealth if

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

Choose Bear Notes if

  • You need markdown-based notes.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS.
  • You also want powerful tag system.
Bear Notes review

Questions people ask

Is Athenahealth or Bear Notes better?
Neither clearly leads. Athenahealth starts at $140/month and Bear Notes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Athenahealth or Bear Notes?
Bear Notes has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $140/month for Athenahealth and Free for Bear Notes.
Does Athenahealth or Bear Notes run on more platforms?
Athenahealth runs on Web, iOS, Android. Bear Notes runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS.
Can I use Bear Notes for free?
Yes. Bear Notes has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Athenahealth starts at $140/month.
What is Athenahealth best used for?
Athenahealth is most often used for patient care, medical records, practice management, telehealth. Of those, patient care and medical records are not what Bear Notes is typically brought in for.
What can Athenahealth do that Bear Notes cannot?
Athenahealth covers Electronic Health Records, Medical Billing, Patient Engagement, Telehealth. Bear Notes covers Markdown-based notes, Powerful tag system, Rich text formatting, Image support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
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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Related pages

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