NextGen Healthcare to Support Arkansas Palliative Care’s Delivery Model

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas—NextGen Healthcare, a provider of cloud-based health care technology solutions, has been chosen by Arkansas Palliative Care to enhance billing and data integrity, expand patient access to care and boost staff and provider efficiency. Part of Arkansas Hospice, a nonprofit provider of care, Arkansas Palliative Care offers a wide range of services to help patients manage symptoms of serious or chronic illness, understand treatment options and meet personalized goals of care. 

The organization will leverage offerings comprising the NextGen Closed Loop Experience. These include the core NextGen Enterprise EHR (electronic health record) and NextGen Enterprise PM (practice management) solutions, which NextGen said will strengthen interoperability across programs and support scalability as two new clinics open this summer.

In addition to rounding at several area hospitals, the interdisciplinary care team offers palliative and primary care to senior citizens inside their private residences, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Arkansas Palliative Care also operates the state’s only Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-approved Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model for dementia care that is run entirely in-state.

“We were looking for a healthtech partner that understood our unique needs, as we are not a typical palliative or primary care provider,” said Nikki Taylor, director of palliative and primary care, Arkansas Palliative Care. “Through a comprehensive search, we realized that NextGen Healthcare was exceptionally well-positioned to support the broad scope of our work helping Arkansas residents manage ongoing health care needs. We’re excited to see how these technology investments elevate billing and data integrity and improve the staff experience by automating tedious manual processes.”

Effective Wednesday, Oct. 1, Arkansas Palliative Care and its parent organization, Arkansas Hospice, will become LifeTouch Health. Under the new name, these care providers, as well as primary care and non-medical personal care services, will provide a complete continuum of care under a single umbrella brand for seniors and patients facing life-limiting illness.

“Arkansas Palliative Care is doing vitally important work to help Arkansas residents manage chronic illness and other health care needs,” said Srinivas Velamoor, president and chief operating officer, NextGen Healthcare. “We’re honored to support the organization’s growth at such an exciting time in its history and share their team’s commitment to helping staff, providers and patients achieve better outcomes.”

NextGen Referrals powered by Luma and various revenue cycle management solutions will streamline billing processes by automating referrals and insurance verifications. Meanwhile, NextGen Financial and Operational Analytics will work to improve data integrity and reporting by offering predictive analytics and actionable insights. Providers will utilize NextGen Mobile, which will enable them to access client records and charts from their mobile devices.

With NextGen Patient Engage powered by Luma, patients are able to complete pre-visit intake from their personal devices and the NextGen PxP Portal. NextGen Virtual Visits will expand telehealth services by offering patients 24/7 access to a nurse practitioner—especially meaningful for patients in rural areas.