NextGen Reviews

“easy five stars!!”

Pros

The system is very easy for patients and their families to use which really helps reduce friction during care. I also appreciate how the practice can create or modify things as needed so it can fit the way you operate.

Cons

Software upgrades don't always land instantly and there's a lot going on behind the scenes when managing the interface. Having a solid IT team lined up for upgrade timing and support makes a big difference.

“earns its worth”

Pros

This app feels genuinely user friendly and adaptive to work with. We did look at a few other programs but we ended up sticking with this one and we're happy with it.

Cons

No real complaints on my end. NextGen meets our billing needs for the most part and training new users has been simple.

“A complete and utter disaster!!!!!!!”

Pros

I am going to be frank I left the practice largely because NextGen was so awful. The one positive I can honestly name is how thrilled I was to stop having to use it. All of the providers where I worked absolutely despised NextGen. Billing staff seemed like the only ones who thought it worked well. From that, you can tell the software felt built to suit billing needs more than clinical workflows. That impression stuck with me throughout my time there.

Cons

There were far too many clicks to accomplish even basic tasks. The layout is built from nested, fixed-size windows that you cannot resize and switching between the ordering screen, ICD-10 lookup, chart notes and previous notes is clumsy and restrictive. Every time I moved between tabs, the system nagged me with a save prompt, even when no edits were made which became a constant, pointless interruption. Notes bloat quickly as I regularly saw five-page notes for something as simple as a UTI or URI, making chart review unnecessarily slow. Encounters automatically lock after seven days, so when I needed to work on older charts, messages or lab results, I had to close everything, sign out and sign back in just to unlock that encounter, breaking my workflow. There is no simple message center as you are forced to create an Encounter and enter a Telephone Message. Replying is nothing like email, messages are not threaded and they live inside Encounters that lock after a week. Trying to find older communications is practically impossible because the system dumps a list of every Telephone Message ever created for that patient. The anticoagulation flowsheet was another headache as pages of INRs and doses not in chronological order, making trends nearly impossible to follow. On top of this it froze or crashed multiple times per week without warning, regularly disrupting patient care and clinic flow. Customer support felt non-existent. As an FQHC, it refused to deal with us directly and forced us to go through a third party, OSIS, who had no authority to change the product. Every customization request was met with working as designed. And because the system couldn't handle basic primary care needs like tracking routine health maintenance, our clinic had to add extra plug-ins which only slowed the program down further and created more crashes. It got so inefficient that our workplace hired scribes for every clinician and even then, everyone still brought home an extra one to two hours of documentation each night. The design felt like it prioritized billing and documentation over helping clinicians provide care and that constant friction really wore people down.

“Inflexible and limiting system”

Pros

What I like about NextGen is how easy it is to tailor the system to our specific workflows.

Cons

I find that it tends to rely on clicking checkboxes rather than free-text entry to determine visit codes which feels limiting.

“extremely clunky workflow”

Pros

I can quickly view the prior visit date and visit type at a glance.

Cons

Ease of use. I find it not very user friendly. The program demands a patient's chief complaint to equal the diagnosis decided by the physician at visit end. As a user I must go back to the beginning of the patient's visit and create a chief complaint for each diagnosis.

“Smooth integration for patient flow”

Pros

At the front desk, I can make notes in a patient�s chart while checking in other people, which helps keep things running smoothly.

Cons

I find that several key features are buried behind multiple clicks instead of being available with a single quick button which costs me precious seconds when everything moves fast. The user interface hasn't evolved in years and could use a refresh and the mobile experience falls short as it's not as smooth or capable as it should be for my on-the-go needs.

“user-friendly interface”

Pros

I use this detail-oriented EHR since it presents a very user-friendly interface that actively guides me through documentation review prompts.

Cons

Regarding the report tab, I wish the system would highlight files attached within the main document view so they take me straight to the reporting tab rather than opening as separate windows.

“Efficient for notes, dictation and billing”

Pros

Updating and transferring notes from a previous visit is pretty easy and I have had no trouble moving information forward. I use dictation tools with it and they integrate smoothly. The platform includes a billing module that allows me to review claims I have submitted and I can also check the revenue that's been collected quickly and easily.

Cons

I don't use the click-through interface for every organ system because it slows me down compared with having a ready-made template. Instead, I built my own templates for each part of the SOAP note and they work perfectly inside the type free hand area.

“Reliable for faxing and e-prescriptions”

Pros

One thing I really appreciate about using NextGen is that I can fax orders to other offices directly through the computer when I don't want to use a physical fax machine. I also have the ability to transmit prescriptions electronically to the pharmacy which saves time and cuts down on paperwork.

Cons

I haven't experienced any real drawbacks with NextGen over the past five years. As the system has been reliable for me. The only minor issue I have noticed occasionally is that it can run slowly at times but that hasn't caused any major problems.

“Simple navigation with helpful training”

Pros

I find navigation simple and the training videos informative.

Cons

For the EHR patient intake, I'd prefer being able to tab through sections like allergy, meds, history.

“strong security”

Pros

With this system, I gained a thorough insight into every patient's records and felt reassured that cybersecurity measures were being upheld.

Cons

I did encounter some hiccups with how records were stored and I also faced difficulties when attempting to integrate other applications.

“Highly configurable screens and queries”

Pros

I love how configurable it is. I can create customized screens and templates to fit our specific workflows and I am able to access the database to write and run custom queries and reports.

Cons

In my experience, the design and database are due for a complete rewrite. We really need a modern architecture. Also, we should have a true thin-client front end instead of relying on a thick client running through a remote desktop.

“Convenient combined ehr and billing”

Pros

I appreciate the fact that the platform combines EHR and billing into one system. Not having to manage two separate systems has been really convenient for my workflow. The onboarding went smoothly and the trainers were excellent and supportive throughout the process.

Cons

For me, the reporting tools are pretty disappointing. They're clunky and hard to use and the preset reports don't usually give me the information I need. Building a custom report is also a frustrating process, so overall the reports section feels very weak.

“Simple and standardized patient charting”

Pros

I really like how simple NextGen Office is to use. The patient chart follows the standard SOAP note structure which makes documentation pretty easy.

Cons

Sometimes we experience lag in the system, so we end up waiting to finish documentation.

“Highly flexible”

Pros

As a developer, I appreciate that the flexibility and on-premise installation allow our team to tailor the software to our exact specifications. It's one of the few EMR systems that lets us do that.

Cons

A major drawback I have noticed is the steep learning curve. Across the years there have been many different versions, with significant changes between them. Tracking down the right documentation for the exact version often feels tedious and eats up a lot of time.

“Clear and organized payment visibility”

Pros

I can easily see payments as they come in. As everything's displayed clearly and in an organized fashion.

Cons

For me, payments take a little too long to post.

“Powerful and tailorable for any specialty”

Pros

I have found NextGen EHR to be a powerful platform that fits virtually any medical specialty. Being able to tailor templates and documents to meet our specific requirements is truly beneficial for everyone involved. The active NextGen user community also offers helpful, practical support when I need it.

Cons

Like many EMR/practice management vendors, NextGen seems constantly focused on revenue generation. One clear example is that they charge fees for establishing interfaces with other third-party solutions which can add up for practices.

“packed with excellent features”

Pros

I find that it lets me move between programs which makes it much simpler for providers to revise their work overall. I appreciate that NextGen invested in Televideo and Telehealth well before COVID hit and OTTO was a truly fantastic application. The updated patient portal is really excellent as well.

Cons

I have noticed that instead of adopting a more modern GUI, NextGen hasn't overhauled its interface. It has remained unchanged for quite a long time. I think it should switch to a web-based layout with tabs to make navigation simpler and management easier. Better cross-functionality with other modules would be highly beneficial.

“offers top tier US-based support”

Pros

Whenever I reach out to support, I am talking with someone based in the United States who really understands how the system operates and can quickly answer my questions or resolve issues without dragging things out.

Cons

From my perspective, the payment-posting workflow definitely needs attention as there are hardly any workarounds and despite having two decades of billing experience across multiple platforms, it still took me well over a year to feel comfortable with it. The connection between the practice management PM and EHR modules could be much smoother and I'd like to see tasking added directly to the claims screen. Also, the scheduler should make it obvious who is checked in on the PM side at a glance without having to click each name and printing views from the scheduler ought to be far easier.

“Simple training and excellent support”

Pros

The training was simple, with helpful videos and downloadable handouts, so I never had to look anywhere else. Also their customer support was excellent. The interface feels very user friendly too, works well on a Mac and getting telemedicine up and running was extremely simple.

Cons

We would prefer a smoother way to push and sync our patient information into the state health registry, since integrating that data currently isn't as easy as we'd like.