Automatic Patient Sync lets the Freed Chrome extension read the patient from the chart you already have open in Athenahealth, so you don't have to type the patient's name for every visit — and Freed can keep the note tied to the right chart.
How does it work?
When a patient's chart is open in Athenahealth, Freed reads the patient banner at the top of the chart and offers that patient as the patient for your visit. Freed re-checks as you move around Athena, so switching to a different chart updates the detected patient automatically.
Automatic Patient Sync is on by default for athenahealth and runs through the Freed Chrome extension. There is nothing to switch on.
What Freed reads from Athena
From the Athena patient banner | How Freed uses it |
Patient first and last name | Suggested as the patient for your visit |
Date of birth | Saved to the patient's record in Freed when Athena shows one |
Athena chart number (the # value) | Links the Freed patient to that Athena chart, so the same chart is recognized on future visits |
🔒 Automatic Patient Sync reads only the patient banner of the chart you already have open. It does not search Athena, pull the rest of the chart, or write anything back to Athena.
Where you'll see it
The patient banner in the Freed extension. The top of the Freed panel shows the detected patient as first initial, last name, and date of birth — for example, J. Smith · DOB: 04/12/1978. If no chart is open, it reads No patient detected.
The patient field for your visit. The detected patient is pinned to the top of the patient list and labeled Detected from EHR. If that patient already exists in Freed, selecting them links the visit to their existing record. If they don't, you'll see Add new patient (Detected from EHR) — choosing it creates the patient with the name and date of birth already filled in, with no extra form to complete.
The link to the Athena chart. When you add a patient this way, Freed stores that patient's Athena chart number on their Freed record, so Freed recognizes the same chart the next time you open it.
How to use it
Open the patient's chart in Athenahealth.
Click the Freed extension icon and check that the banner shows the patient you expect.
Open the patient field for the visit. The detected patient appears at the top of the list, marked Detected from EHR.
Select them, then record the visit as usual.
Freed re-checks the chart as you move around Athena, so switching to a different patient updates the detected patient automatically.
If Automatic Patient Sync isn't working
It says "No patient detected"
Confirm a patient chart is actually open in Athena, with the patient banner visible at the top.
Give it a moment. Freed waits for Athena's patient banner to finish loading, which can take a couple of seconds after opening a chart.
Close and reopen the Freed extension to run detection again.
Make sure your Freed Chrome extension is up to date.
Automatic Patient Sync runs through the Chrome extension only. It isn't available in the Freed web app on its own, or in the iOS and Android apps.
The date of birth is missing
Athena doesn't always show a date of birth in the patient banner. When it's missing, Freed still detects the patient's name and chart number — you can add the date of birth by editing the patient in Freed. See Structured patient data: first name, last name, and date of birth.
The detected patient is the wrong one
The banner reflects whichever chart is currently open in Athena. If it's showing a previous patient, navigate to the correct chart and reopen the Freed extension. The detected patient is always a suggestion — you can type or select a different patient in the patient field at any time.
Related articles
EHR push for Athenahealth — transfer your finished note into the Athena chart.
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