Probably best to go with a cloud-based solution
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use Nextgen Practice Management Solutions as a "legacy" patient billing software (PM software). We currently use three different practice management software platforms—all of which are used for different ranges of "dates of service". The last patient we saw in Nextgen was in 2016. However, we still use the software often. Nextgen is used to schedule patients, bill services, manage A/R (sub-ledger), house scanned documents, etc.
Pros
- Scheduling patients always felt very intuitive. We do not use the feature often, but we have the capability of copying and pasting appointments throughout the template.
- When transitioning between the PM and EHR module, the software is great about keeping the same patient active in either window.
- If a practice desires a product which is housed on-premise (on a company-owned server), Nextgen will satisfy that need/desire.
Cons
- The software requires annoying/disruptive updates.
- The software is housed on our own server. We have found that cloud-based solutions are much more convenient.
- At times, the system is a bit "slow."
- The canned reporting/BI tool is not as malleable as many of the other solutions we have used and/or trialed.
- We were able to achieve cost-savings through some other systems.
Likelihood to Recommend
To start, Nextgen PM is NOT well-suited for companies who are looking for a could-based product—you will be required to house this software on your own server (this will force that company to maintain their own infrastructure). The solution is great for a company looking for a PM/EHR combo that communicates well with each other. The two modules are owned by the same company and does not require a costly API/bridge to be built between the two programs.
