Best for: Best For: Large Practices, Billing Services
Best for: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics
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Mobile App: iOS, Android
Rating:3.8
Rating: 3.9
Managing revenue efficiently is a top priority for healthcare organizations, as financial sustainability can make or break any organization. The global revenue cycle management (RCM) market underscores its growing importance, with projections estimating expansion from $148.84 billion in 2024 to $361.86 billion by 2032, reflecting an 11.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
As healthcare organizations increasingly seek solutions that enhance billing accuracy, accelerate reimbursements, and reduce claim denials, Centricity EMR (now athenaIDX) and NextGen emerge as two leading platforms offering comprehensive RCM services.
This guide explores Centricity EMR vs NextGen, comparing their offerings, core features, benefits and drawbacks, pricing, and user feedback to help providers determine the right fit for their practice.
Head-On Comparison
Centricity EMR, now part of athenaIDX, provides extensive revenue cycle management software tailored for large healthcare organizations, hospitals, and billing services. The platform leverages automation and interoperability to reduce administrative burdens, streamline claims processing, and enhance financial visibility across hospital and professional billing environments.
With over five decades of experience, Centricity EMR has demonstrated measurable results for various practices, including a claim rejection rate of less than 1%, a 20% reduction in cost to collect, and a 17% drop in denied claims, helping them maintain financial stability.
NextGen Enterprise EHR provides a versatile RCM solution tailored for mid-size to enterprise-level practices. The platform offers a suite of services, including claims management, payment processing, medical coding, and revenue cycle analytics, all designed to optimize financial performance and reduce administrative burdens.
NextGen's approach combines advanced technology with expert consultation, offering customizable dashboards for actionable financial insights and dedicated client managers with specialty-specific expertise. The software has helped clients achieve notable outcomes, with practices seeing returns of 3x to 10x on their investment in A/R recovery services.
Centricity EMR Vs NextGen: At A Glance
Features
Centricity EMR
NextGen
Automation
✓
✓
A/R Follow-Ups
✓
✓
Claims Management
✓
✓
Gamification
✓
✗
Eligibility Verification
✓
✓
Interoperability
✓
✓
Clearinghouse Services
✓
✓
Comparing Strengths And Weaknesses
Centricity EMR
NextGen
Pros:
Highly intuitive
Simple navigation
Easy to set up
Cons:
Occasional connectivity issues
Quick keys can be improved
Pros:
Users appreciate its configurability
Customizing templates is easy
Up to date on regulations and requirements
Cons:
Customer support could be improved
Users report technical issues with the patient portal
Side By Side Feature Comparison
Automation And Workflow Efficiency
Centricity EMR automates many aspects of revenue cycle management, reducing the need for manual intervention in claims processing, billing, and payment reconciliation. Its automated workflows assist in handling routine accounts receivable (A/R) tasks, allowing staff to focus on complex financial operations. These automation tools enable practices to minimize administrative burdens and optimize financial workflows.
NextGen incorporates automation across key revenue cycle functions, including real-time eligibility verification, automated claims tracking, and electronic remittance advice. These automated processes help reduce claim denials, accelerate payments, and minimize manual intervention in financial operations. The platform’s built-in financial dashboards offer data-driven insights, allowing organizations to monitor and adjust their revenue cycle strategies more effectively.
Winner: Both platforms are evenly matched, offering strong automation features that enhance workflow efficiency.
Interoperability And System Integration
Designed for seamless integration, Centricity EMR works with various EMR and practice management systems, allowing organizations to upgrade their RCM without overhauling existing infrastructure. Its interoperability approach is built on strategic investment and collaboration with leading standards bodies, ensuring compatibility with all major EMRs. This flexibility enables healthcare organizations to enhance their RCM while maintaining their existing EMR systems.
NextGen RCM offers deep integration with its own EMR and PM system, providing a unified experience for managing patient data, claims, and payments. The system also supports integration with third-party platforms, but its strongest advantage lies in the seamless workflow between clinical and financial operations when used within the NextGen ecosystem.
Winner: It’s a tie as both solutions offer strong interoperability and integrations.
Scalability And Practice Growth
Centricity EMR is built for larger practices, offering scalability to support growth and expansion. Its revenue cycle tools allow organizations to manage increasing patient volumes, adopt new reimbursement models, and handle complex financial structures without needing additional administrative staff. This makes it suitable for enterprise-level organizations looking for a scalable RCM solution.
NextGen offers two versions of its RCM services—one for small practices and another for mid-sized to enterprise-level organizations. Its scalable revenue cycle solution is designed to grow alongside healthcare organizations, ensuring practices can expand without disruptions. NextGen also provides a dedicated client manager, assisting organizations in navigating billing complexities and streamlining financial operations as they scale.
Winner: While both platforms offer strong scalability, NextGen’s adaptable financial workflows and dedicated client support make it a more flexible solution for mid-to-enterprise growth.
Clearinghouse Services
Centricity EMR offers a fully integrated, proprietary clearinghouse solution through athenaEDI, designed to enhance revenue cycle efficiency for health systems and hospitals. This all-payer clearinghouse addresses payer issues proactively, accelerating the revenue cycle and boosting staff productivity.
Fully integrated with Centricity EMR, athenaEDI provides advanced analytics and streamlined workflows, reducing collection costs and minimizing errors. By automating routine tasks and offering comprehensive revenue cycle monitoring, athenaEDI enables organizations to achieve better profitability and operational efficiency.
NextGen enhances its revenue cycle management through a third-party clearinghouse partnership with Waystar, integrating a strong clearinghouse solution into the system. This collaboration facilitates a seamless exchange of claim and remittance information, improving the efficiency of the claims process.
The integrated platform aims to prevent denials, increase the speed and volume of collections, and reduce the number of days in accounts receivable. By combining innovative technology with industry-leading expertise, NextGen's clearinghouse services support mid-size to enterprise-level practices in optimizing their revenue cycles and enhancing the provider experience.
Winner: Centricity’s proprietary, fully integrated clearinghouse solution (athenaEDI) offers a more streamlined and controlled approach to claims management, positioning it as a winner.
Customizability And Service Flexibility
Centricity EMR offers a tailored approach to revenue cycle management, recognizing that every healthcare organization has unique financial goals. Instead of a one-size-fits-all model, RCM experts work closely with hospitals and large practices to understand specific needs and implement workflows that align with their objectives.
This hands-on approach ensures that practices benefit from customized billing strategies, payer negotiation support, and revenue cycle optimization tools that drive measurable financial improvements. By integrating its proprietary athenaEDI clearinghouse, Centricity EMR further streamlines claims and collections, enabling healthcare organizations to achieve greater efficiency and financial stability.
NextGen stands out for its modular RCM services, allowing practices to select only the specific components they need rather than committing to an all-in-one package. Practices can customize their RCM solution by choosing services such as claims management, payment processing, credentialing, staff augmentation, revenue cycle analytics, and patient call center support.
This level of flexibility ensures that mid-sized to enterprise-level practices can scale their RCM operations efficiently without paying for unnecessary features. Additionally, NextGen assigns dedicated client managers to help organizations implement and optimize their selected services, ensuring seamless integration with existing workflows.
Winner: While both platforms offer tailored solutions, NextGen’s modular approach and ability to select specific RCM services give it an edge over Centricity EMR.
Pricing Plans For Centricity EMR And NextGen
Centricity EMR follows a performance-based pricing model, where costs are calculated as a percentage of collections. This structure ensures that expenses scale with revenue, providing financial flexibility for practices of all sizes. The platform promotes transparent pricing, with no hidden fees, minimal upfront costs, and no long-term contracts—allowing users to discontinue services without financial penalties.
NextGen offers customized pricing based on the unique requirements of each practice. The software provides flexible plans designed to accommodate various practice sizes and specialties. Pricing factors may include the number of providers, required features, and additional services.
What Users Have To Say
Users appreciate Centricity EMR’s record-keeping system, highlighting its easy navigation and user-friendly interface, which simplifies administrative and billing tasks. Several users report that the platform has helped them expand their accounts receivable operations, leading to lower A/R costs, faster collections, and improved financial efficiency.
While Centricity EMR has been praised for streamlining revenue cycle management, some users noted that integrating maturing accounts into the system took longer than expected. However, once fully implemented, the platform’s automation and billing capabilities provide significant value for practices looking to enhance their financial workflows.
NextGen receives praise for its customizable templates and documents, enabling practices to generate meaningful and actionable reports, which enhances financial oversight and decision-making. Users highlight the system's efficiency and flexibility, noting that it adeptly manages the entire process from patient engagement to billing.
Despite these strengths, some users have reported issues with self-pay processes, mentioning a lack of error-catching mechanisms in this area. Nonetheless, NextGen’s solid RCM tools and responsive customer support continue to make it a valuable choice for practices seeking to optimize their revenue cycle.
Making The Best Choice: Centricity EMR Or NextGen?
Choosing between Centricity EMR and NextGen depends on your practice’s RCM requirements. Centricity EMR offers an all-in-one solution with a built-in clearinghouse, making it ideal for organizations looking for structured automation and seamless payer integration. NextGen provides a more flexible, modular approach, allowing practices to customize their RCM services and scale as needed.
Both platforms streamline financial workflows and improve revenue cycle efficiency, but the best fit depends on your practice’s specific operational and financial needs.
