Thursday, November 07, 2019
NextGen Healthcare, Inc., a leading provider of ambulatory-focused technology solutions, today announced the company has entered into a partnership with the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) and Darena Solutions to provide a technology solution that will allow for expanded options for Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) reporting and data analytics to podiatrists on the NextGen® Office platform. The powerful combination of NextGen Office EHR, the APMA Registry and Darena Solutions’ APMA MIPS app enables the exchange of patient data, simplifies MIPS reporting and provides APMA with data to advocate on behalf of its members.
Through this partnership, podiatrists will enjoy benefits such as:
This partnership unites the APMA Registry, the APMA MIPS app developed by Darena Solutions, and NextGen Office.
“The APMA Registry and MIPS app were designed to help APMA member podiatrists thrive within MIPS,” said James R. Christina, DPM, APMA executive director and CEO. “The app allows members to report their data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under MIPS and also to track and benchmark their MIPS scores throughout the year,” Dr. Christina said. “The registry serves as a critical data repository to help fuel the practice of evidence-based podiatric medicine and surgery.”
While the partnership will allow for the seamless transmission of data and will make MIPS reporting easier for podiatrists who have opted into the program, starting with the 2020 performance year, the solution will provide users a way to track and analyze their data that will provide a great deal of value above just MIPS reporting. In the future, APMA hopes to use the data to do clinical research to improve patient outcomes and demonstrate the value of care provided by podiatrists.
“APMA’s decision to integrate NextGen Office to ease member access to the APMA Registry demonstrates the clear value of our best-in-class technology. We value this partnership with APMA and Darena Solutions and look forward to further demonstrating our commitment to podiatry practice success by supporting positive patient outcomes,” said John S. Beck, Chief Solutions Officer and Executive Vice President for NextGen Healthcare.
Of APMA’s 12,500-plus members, more than 1,500 are using the registry, and nearly 150 are NextGen Office users. Participating podiatrists use the registry to improve practice and participate in the government’s value-based reimbursement program. Collectively, APMA members saved more than $1 million in potential penalties for the 2018 reporting year—and savings are predicted to increase for performance year 2019, when MIPS-eligible member podiatrists who do not meet MIPS requirements face penalties of $6,300 or more.
“There is a lot of confusion among providers about data collection, analysis, submission process and the audit requirements for MIPS. This collaboration will ensure that APMA members using NextGen Office can meet and exceed MIPS requirements with minimal effort,” said Pawan Jindal, MD, founder of Darena Solutions. “We look forward to building upon this foundation in future collaborations with APMA and NextGen Healthcare, moving beyond MIPS and enabling streamlined clinical and research workflows.”
