10 Reasons to Upgrade to NextGen 6.2021.1

The NextGen 6.2021.1 is now available and provides several new features to make managing your EHR and Practice Management easier than ever. NextGen offers a comprehensive platform with the most advanced integrated technology to improve the life of patients while making it easier for clinicians to care for them. The following are 10 important reasons to upgrade to NextGen 6.2021.1.

1. Meets Strict Regulatory Requirements

Regulatory requirements at both the federal and local levels are continually changing and growing. It's imperative for clinicians and healthcare facilities to make sure they are strictly following all necessary standards. NextGen 6.2021.1 can help medical professionals manage health records and patient care while meeting all legal requirements. This includes meeting the 21st Century Cures Act. This is important because this legislation provides guidelines to increasingly meet and protect individual and public health.

2. Provides Mobile Advancements

Medical professionals need to work efficiently with a variety of devices. A clinician may bring up medical information on a laptop and later on a phone. It's necessary that all devices are able to quickly and accurately bring up the same information. NextGen 6.2021.1 offers seamless integration of medical information across various devices. This integration of mobile services will enable healthcare providers to access and interact with patient information quickly regardless of the device they use.

3. Improves Interoperability

Interoperability is incredibly important to the future of healthcare integrations and improvements. Interoperability starts with the ability to view and interact with medical information across various platforms. It also includes effectively sharing information among a variety of healthcare providers on different systems. Creating interoperability for healthcare is especially challenging for developers without access to sophisticated APIs. NextGen 6.2021.1 offers healthcare providers excellent integration with their API that enables practitioners to deliver care that is not only efficient, but personalized for each patient.

4. Upgraded Patient Portal

The patient experience platform, formerly Medfusion, is a completely new Patient Portal for NextGen clients that includes the ability for patients to self-schedule with appointment requests. The portal provides a modern and improved patient and clinical experience. The patient portal offers medication refill requests, appointment requests, access to health records, and options to pay bills. It also sends secure notifications to a patient's email. A patient can complete the enrollment process either automatically or manually. NextGen will assist clients in migrating from the legacy Portal to the new PxP.

5. Advanced Cost Estimation

With healthcare costs continuing to rise, estimating and managing costs is crucial for patients. The new Cost Estimation feature in NextGen EPM offers the estimation of costs before patients undergo any services. It can show both cost details for patients and any insurance accountability. Users can find the cost estimation window in a few different places on the platform. The cost estimation shows a percentage of how much a patient would pay in advance for different types of care or treatments. This will allow medical professionals to provide price transparency regarding procedures for their patients as well as allow patients to make better decisions regarding the cost of their healthcare.

6. Multiple Patient Payment Options

There are several payment options on the new Patient Portal now included with the new NextGen 6.2021.1 platform. The following are a few of the new items.

Patients also have the option of viewing statements in the portal. They can log in and view current and past statements. Patients can decide how they receive their statements such as electronic, paper, or both. What options a patient receives depends on what type of statements the practice uses.

7. Upgraded Templates for Staff

Several of the templates have been re-written with the latest Adaptive Content Engine (ACE) technology in the new NextGen version. The update includes giving users the ability to zoom in on the text and expand the font to make it easier to see. It also includes changing panels into cards. Users can expand or collapse cards or view the cards in one or two columns. Each card can have up to three client checkboxes and buttons. This makes it easier to customize cards for clients. These new templates will help medical professionals spend less time struggling with nonclinical work and more time working with and helping patients. While customized templates can make managing patient records and care easier, updating them and training staff may still require hiring consultants to achieve the best results.

8. Enhanced APSO Format

The Assessment, Plan, Subjective, Objective (APSO) format is now much improved. The format allows a physician to quickly view the entire documentation for multiple visits. The most relevant clinical data is now at the top of the document. This APSO document, however, does not replace the master document. Users can access this particular document on demand, in the APSO view bar. NextGen provides statistics that show physicians are spending 28% of their time on nonclinical paperwork. The new APSO format can help medical professionals complete paperwork more efficiently.

9. Improves Virtual Visits

This new feature allows users to request and schedule virtual visits without leaving the EHR. The appointments will show up on the PM appointment book. Clinicians and providers can join the virtual visit within the EHR. The Virtual Visit icon changes to "virtual visit disabled" after the visit is over. The new template provides specific virtual visit options. Labels for virtual visit by video or telephone are also available. There is also a new virtual visit billing panel that includes places to include additional information such as provider visit time and the patient's location.

10. Custom Plan & Assessment Links

New planning and assessment navigation configuration is now part of the system and practice template. This also allows for modifying captions. Users can create custom assessments that are specific to specialties, a particular practice, or provider. The NextGen 6.2021.1 upgrade makes customization for each patient easy for medical professionals to implement.

When you're ready to upgrade to NextGen 6.2021.1, you'll need a company that understands how to implement the software. TempDev can provide project management, training, and development consultants who can help your organization upgrade to and successfully use NextGen 6.2021.1. They have a multidisciplinary team with clinical and technical experts to assist you in a seamless transition. Contact TempDev to schedule a consultation today.