The quest to improve patient experiences is bringing together primary care, specialists and hospitals in new ways. For NextGen Healthcare, the underlying challenge to be solved is interoperability among applications.

Michael Lovett, NextGen executive vice-president, says hospitals are thinking about long-term sustainability, and turning to strategies that tie patient engagement with digital health management. A priority is to develop strategies that will keep an eye on the most at-risk patients, checking in with them when they’re outside traditional care settings.

At HIMSS15, NextGen will be showing its suite of products encompassing solutions to provide flexibility and interoperability across its systems. The lineup includes NextGen Care, a care management platform, NextGen Share, a secure messaging platform, and the NextGen EHR iOS7 app.

Using the products together, clinicians can find each other, share diagnoses and compose referrals, as needed, all within the standard EHR workflow. The system keeps track of the interactions, maintaining data that can help with meaningful use attestations.

Released this year, the system has an “open and interoperable platform” that enables “vendor, partner and client communications as well as enhancements and toolsets without the impediment of disparate systems and proprietary technology silos.”

Lovett has also hinted that announcements may be coming from NextGen sister company Mirth, an interoperability and interconnectivity provider. 

“Who knows?” Lovett mused, “we may have some surprises up our sleeve.”