NextGen Inks EHR Deal With AMANextGen Inks EHR Deal With AMA

The American Medical Association (AMA) has signed an agreement with NextGen Healthcare Information Systems that will offer physicians NexGen's Ambulatory EHR and Practice Management software on a new AMA online platform.

The Horsham, Pa.-based company announced Wednesday that by using the integrated solution, doctors and other clinicians can go online using AMA's portal and link to NextGen's software-as-a-service hosted model where they can access NextGen's EHR and management software.

NextGen Healthcare's subscription-based SaaS provides many capabilities practicing physicians need, including state-of-the-art hosting, implementation, training, maintenance, image scanning, and client support. NextGen executives also note that physician practices will save on the upfront costs of purchasing hardware, software, and services.

"Small and medium-sized practices often don't have the same resources to adopt and implement healthcare IT as larger facilities. Our flexible SaaS model enables these practices to gain the same advantages of healthcare automation as their larger counterparts at a price they can afford," said Ike Ellison, NextGen's senior VP of business development.

Ellison also said that the federal government's recent release of the final rules for meaningful use means that many physicians, now more than ever, need access to a SaaS-based EHR solution.

"This agreement with the American Medical Association will give even more physicians the opportunity to improve their practices through a variety of technologies and services, and ultimately help them obtain meaningful use funding. We're very excited to be a part of the AMA's valuable new platform," Ellison said. NextGen Ambulatory EHR has several features, including clinical templates and workflows for over 26 specialties, ePrescribing that automatically checks prescriptions, and disease management templates that capture discrete data at the point of care to meet clinical reporting requirements for pay-for-performance.

NextGen's Practice Management software comes with its WorkLog Manager tool, a feature that monitors and instantly responds to events occurring in the system by sending tasks in real time to designated clinical staff members.

The AMA platform will enable physicians to access information, products, and services with a single, secure sign-on. The platform, which will launch nationwide by the beginning of 2011, is currently being beta tested in Michigan in collaboration with the Michigan State Medical Society.

"NextGen Healthcare is a leader in maintaining the latest certifications available and we are confident in the company's commitment to helping physicians demonstrate meaningful use of a certified EHR," AMA secretary Steven Stack said in a statement.

Stack also said NextGen has consistently demonstrated a commitment to small and medium-sized practices by delivering tools, clinical encounter forms, and workflow automation tailored to their practice needs.

"By working together, NextGen Healthcare's technology and services will help physicians best leverage electronic health record technology in their practices," Stack said.