NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, announced today the unveiling of NextGen® Share, a new interoperability platform. NextGen Share will enable providers to safely, securely, accurately and quickly exchange clinical data and provide referrals without leaving their Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. It will offer providers a critical tool for delivering accountable, coordinated care, managing population health and making evidence-based clinical decisions; all important elements of healthcare reform initiatives. NextGen Share is the first joint solution from NextGen Healthcare and Mirth since Quality Systems, Inc., the parent company of NextGen Healthcare, acquired Mirth Corporation in September of this year.
The new interoperability solution was introduced today to nearly 5,000 clients attending the annual NextGen Healthcare Users Group Meeting (UGM) in Las Vegas, NV during the morning general session kickoff. NextGen Share is based on Mirth’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) solution, a proven interoperability solution used in more than 10,000 settings worldwide.
“Mirth’s reputation as one of the most adopted, open and globally trusted interconnectivity platforms is a natural fit for NextGen’s established network of providers,” said Steven T. Plochocki, president and chief executive officer at Quality Systems, Inc. (QSI). “NextGen Share affords our client base an unprecedented level of data exchange that will allow our providers, patients and healthcare facilities to participate fully in a collaborative and connected care environment.”
The initial phase of NextGen Share will permit NextGen Healthcare providers to safely and securely share patient data, consultations and referrals with other providers using the NextGen Healthcare platform.
“It’s the first phase of a broad enterprise interoperability initiative to supply clients with advanced, scalable data exchange capabilities,” noted Steve Puckett, chief technology officer for QSI. “In this first phase, NextGen Share will allow providers to locate other NextGen providers across their community and the country to send real-time, secure provider-to-provider email, closed-loop referrals within the network, and exchange C-CDA records securely between network participants.”
Stephen Plochocki said that analytics based on aggregated, vendor-agnostic data is a focal point of new reimbursement models driving healthcare reform. “The anticipated outcome is the delivery of better levels of care quality to patients because our providers can place valuable data in the hands of hospital, physician, laboratory, pharmaceutical and radiology staff as well as other clinicians to power safer, more efficient, and more proactive care delivery.”
The harmonization of data across vendor platforms and across communities of care is critical to new phases of healthcare transformation and accountable care delivery, including successful reporting and attestation to earn Meaningful Use Stage 2 and Stage 3 incentive revenue. Harmonized data can connect disparate health IT systems so providers can reap the benefits of controlled data flow, decreased costs and reduced errors. Extensive interoperability like that of NextGen Share can make patient encounter data available in the patient record, helping to improve care collaboration, quality and safety.