NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced an agreement with Gardner Family Health Network to deploy NextGen® Ambulatory EHR and NextGen® Practice Management, as well as the QSI Dental System. Gardner is the 42nd health center in California to partner with NextGen Healthcare.
“Gardner's forward-thinking approach to enhancing quality of care can serve as a model for other CHCs to follow.”
Through Gardner's five locations, Healthcare for the Homeless mobile unit, and nearly 50 providers, the federally qualified health center (FQHC) provides comprehensive primary care and behavioral health services to 35,000 patients in low- and moderate-income Santa Clara County communities. The agreement with NextGen Healthcare will give all Gardner providers access to leading technology that helps support the organization's quality of care mission. NextGen Practice Management is scheduled to be implemented across the Gardner enterprise by late June and with the first health center slated to be "live" on NextGen Ambulatory EHR by the end of 2010.
"During the past decade, we have worked to create a leading system of care in Silicon Valley and the use of NextGen marks another step in that evolution," said Reymundo Espinoza, MPH, CEO for Gardner Family Health Network. "We're situated in the heart of technology, but our industry lags in using it to advance the quality of the services we deliver. Gardner aims to becoming a showcase of innovation for our region and looks forward to partnering with NextGen Healthcare in this regard."
With several new FQHC clients signed during the first quarter of 2010, including six in California, NextGen Healthcare now has 200 FQHCs in its client base. When combined with tribal and rural health centers, the company provides integrated NextGen Ambulatory EHR and Practice Management systems and QSI's dental record software to more than 300 health centers in 43 states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to Gardner, some of NextGen Healthcare's newest CHC clients include: Marin Community Clinics, Novato, Calif.; Riggs Community Health Center, Lafayette, Ind.; The Effort, Inc., Sacramento, Calif.; and Venice Family Clinic, Venice, Calif.
For a FQHC like Gardner that has multiple locations and referral sources, NextGen Ambulatory EHR and the QSI Dental System provide the integrated platform needed to create a single record that follows a patient throughout the care process. In addition, the solution enables users to capture clinical values as discrete data elements. These elements can then be used for detailed, population-based analysis with the goal of improving outcomes and treatment regimens.
NextGen Practice Management helps automate complex CHC billing requirements by supporting standard HIPAA transaction sets and providing capabilities needed for encounter billing to UGS and Medicaid programs, including automatic claim splits for carve-out services.
"The fact that NextGen Healthcare could provide a 'one-stop shop' for our technology and interoperability needs was particularly appealing," said Ignacio Perez, CFO for Gardner Family Health Network. "We also believe that technology is only as good as the people that support it. During the evaluation process, we formed a valuable partnership with a number of individuals at NextGen Healthcare. The team's professionalism, responsiveness and success stories in the California CHC market proved they have the resources and infrastructure to help make our technology initiative successful."
"The CHC market benefits from specialized service, training, and experience at NextGen Healthcare—including a dedicated Director of Community Health and Indian Health; active participation in government CHC initiatives and industry associations; and customized implementation and training methods geared to CHCs," said Scott Decker, president of NextGen Healthcare. "Gardner's forward-thinking approach to enhancing quality of care can serve as a model for other CHCs to follow."
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