NextGen UGM 2019: That's a Wrap!

NextGen UGM is always an engaging conference where NextGen Healthcare, clients, and exhibitors gather together to discuss the ever-changing healthcare space. 

The opening presentation was a thoughtful reflection on the opioid crisis and how coupling provider care with technology can make a positive impact on a patient's life. The discussion focused on incorporating technology into an organization to drive positive patient outcomes, including:

• NextGen EHR with primary care and behavioral health content

• NextGen Population Health for outreach

• NextGen Patient Portal for patient engagement

• NextGen Mobile for transcription of difficult conversations so the physician can stay focused on the patient

NextGen UGM Presentations

The presentations at NextGen UGM keep us informed on both strategic direction and new features and functionality within NextGen EHR & EPM. Some of our favorite presentations were:

1. NextGen Adaptive Content Engine Re-Architecting Update - Seeing the new direction of the Adaptive Content Engine is exciting for every member of our consulting team. Our Project Managers are excited to discuss how the new content will improve workflows, our Implementation Consultants are excited to train users, and our development team is eager to be able create solutions that have never been able to come to fruition before. The SOAP template re-design highlights why moving to the new platform is crucial for improving physician satisfaction. This presentation made us incredibly optimistic about the future of NextGen templates.

2. Family Planning & Women's Health - Partnering with NextGen on building family planning & women's health content in the KBM/Adaptive Content Engine has been one of the highlights of our careers. The ability to create content that has a profound impact on patient care and serving vulnerable populations is why many of us got into healthcare. We were thrilled to participate in discussions about all the new content (including transgender care!) coming for Planned Parenthood affiliates, FQHCs/CHCs, and OBGgyn groups in the next release.

3. Powering Your PCMH Transformation with NextGen - PCMH is a topic we love and work with many clients on certifying for. It was informative to see all the hard work NextGen has put in so that clients are eligible for as many Enterprise Transfer Credits as possible. We also liked hearing about the experience using the reports we partnered with NextGen in developing. 

4. Medfusion Acquisition - There's nothing like a major acquisition announcement dropping during a user group meeting, right? We are excited to see Medfusion integrated into NextGen Healthcare's product lines, it changes the patient portal game for NextGen clients!

NextGen UGM Expo Hall

As a NextGen Preferred Partner, one of our favorite places to be during any NextGen UGM is the Expo Hall, and this year was no exception. We were busy discussing new and ongoing engagements during the Sip-n-Stroll and throughout the event. The hot topics engagements we were consulting this year were around:

• NextGen EPM Reports - Now that the regulatory burden has eased, clients are looking to improve their visibility into both finance and operations with custom SSRS or Crystal Reports.

• Business Intelligence - Whether it's implementing a new BI solution or fixing issues with your existing, everyone was talking BI! 

• Data Conversions/Practice Splits/Practice Merges - Mergers & acquisitions seem to be happening every day in healthcare. There is no better way to successfully onboard a new provider group then by giving them access to all of their data on day one. So whether you're splitting or merging a practice with an existing NextGen database or coming from a different EPM/EHR, we have the tools clients need for a successful transition.

We had a photo booth this year, which we had too much fun taking pictures with some of our favorite clients and colleagues.  

Puppies!

At TempDev, we've had a hard year with the loss of many of our furry friends who have been with us much of our adult lives. It seems as though NextGen knew just what to do to help us heal. They partnered with the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando to bring some much-needed puppy cuddling to the conference! We couldn't help but sneak out to spend whatever time we could with them. 

Client Event at Universal Studios

We have been to quite a few UGMs on this team, and we all think this year's client event was the single-greatest work event we have ever experienced. We have a lot of Potterheads on our team who even made us take the test and divided us into houses. Getting to visit Wizarding World with no lines and free Butterbeer: does life get any sweeter? Only by getting to ride Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure multiple times with a 5 minute (not 3 hour) wait! The NextGen team knocked it out of the park with this client event. Our only issue is the guilt many of us for not experiencing it with our insanely jealous children.

NextGen UGM 2020

Next year we'll be back at the Gaylord in Nashville, TN and are looking forward to seeing what transformations have been made in healthcare by then.