NextGen Healthcare is taking a methodical approach to AI and deploying it in places based on customer demand and where it will have maximum positive impact. Right now, that means using ambient clinical voice to generate SOAP notes. The company is also delivering more mobile capability to enable street medicine.
In an exclusive interview with Healthcare IT, David Sides, Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Robert (Bob) Murry, Chief Medical Officer at NextGen Healthcare (NextGen) sat down to explain their AI strategy, their view on AI in healthcare, and their plans to support customers with street medicine programs. We caught up with them at their 2023 User Group Meeting (#NextGenUGM23) in Orlando Florida.
Practical AI in Healthcare
There is a lot of hype around AI in healthcare. It can be difficult to separate myth from reality, especially when it comes to tangible benefits of the technology.
Sides points to the use of AI to craft automated responses to patient inquiries as an example of over-hype: “I think there is a lot of attention being placed on doing simple things with AI technology – like using it to respond to patient emails. I don’t find that very interesting. You could have done that with a well-craft set of templates. You don’t need AI necessarily for that.”
“I’m wary of anything that says it is ‘smart X’,” said Dr. Murry. “It’s not clear that the system they are slapped onto are genuinely smart. It could be useful, but it is hard to tell just from the label. Plus, if it isn’t going to help someone make smarter decisions then what is the point?”
To Sides and Dr. Murry a much more effective application of AI is ambient clinical voice – where an AI-powered application “listens” to the clinical visit and turns the conversation into data that can be used to populate the EHR.
NextGen Ambient Assist
“I think there is real utility in what we are doing with ambient listening,” explained Sides. “When you can remove the EMR from the conversation, you can have a patient-provider discussion face-to-face. This is what both want AND it saves at least 5 minutes for providers each visit. They no longer have to spend their evenings doing documentation.”
Earlier this year, NextGen introduced Ambient Assist their ambient clinical voice solution. The solution is 100% integrated into NextGen and is powered by Nabla’s Copilot AI engine.
The response from NextGen physicians has been very positive so far.
At NextGenUGM23 there were several quotes from happy Ambient Assist users on large posterboards. This was one from Brian Heimer, MD at American Health Network
Dr. Murry attributes Ambient Assist’s early success to the fact that it is completely integrated into the native workflow within NextGen. There is no need to copy and paste the note generated from the ambient system over to the EHR. It’s all baked in and the text appears in the right places in NextGen as soon as the conversation with the patient is over.
That real-time aspect is also key. Since physicians can see their ambient note right away, they can make any corrections or add any non-verbalized comments while the encounter is still fresh in their minds.
“It’s exceeded expectations,” commented Dr. Murry when asked about the initial customer reaction. “It’s mind-blowing how immediately applicable and useful it is. But we have to temper our excitement a little bit. It’s not going to do everything. The technology is still new. It’s not perfect. Over time it will get better.”
Methodical Expansion of AI
NextGen is working on expanding where AI is applied in their EHR platform.
According to Sides and Dr. Murry, the company is planning to add AI to pre-visit workflows – starting with AI generated summaries of medical records that can be used to quickly refresh a clinician’s memory. The company is also looking at how AI can help make the medical data more interactive. Down the road, physicians may be able to ask a question of the system by speaking aloud. For example: “Was Test A ordered for Patient X?” and the system would respond intelligently.
“We are going to take it much further in the next year,” stated Sides. “We’ve been working to add AI to help pre-fill orders or order sets. We are also working on post-visit workflows like billing.”
It is clear that NextGen is leaning into AI, but using a methodical and deliberate approach to implementing it. They are working closely with their customers to identify where the technology should be applied next.
Enabling Street Medicine
One of the most interesting areas that NextGen is focusing on is street medicine, which is exactly what it sounds like.
There are many Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) that use NextGen as their EHR. To help those customers meet their patients where they are, the company has invested a lot in their mobile capabilities. This allows physicians and other FQHC staff to go out into the community to provide care.
Check out this brief interview with Dr. Ebony N. Funches from Venice Family Clinic to learn how they are using NextGen to serve patients in the community.
“I am very proud of the work we are doing in this area,” said Dr. Murry. “We have a lot of tools for clinicians so that they can be fully mobile. Our tools enable them to go out into the community and still be in constant communication with their teams at the practice AND have access to the electronic medical record wherever they are.”
Watch the interview with David Sides and Dr. Bob Murry to learn:
- How they would gently guide a clinician who was hesitant to use AI to generate a note
- What they hope NextGen customers will be saying at the 2024 User Group Meeting
- Whether they believe regulation is needed to ensure the safe use of AI technology
Learn more about NextGen at https://www.nextgen.com/
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NextGen is a sponsor of Healthcare Scene.
