pavlovacloud Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Does anyone have any tips on how to be efficient on this EMR system? I just started my new job and other than the lack of training, NextGen is the other obstacle I must over come. Next Gen has boxes within boxes and a dozen of individual things to click. To document phone calls you have to start a new document. To do anything, you have to open an individual box. I am spending too long to chart for one patient. During rotations I used Epic quite a few times. On Epic, I can do everything in just one page and take advantage of smart phrases. I use to be able to complete charts on Epic within 15 min right in front of the patient. But right now I can only write the HPI and have to save everything for end of work. Any advice appreciated!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralER/Ortho Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Actually using this dinosaur program as we speak. There aren't a lot of ways to move things any faster unfortunately. I use plan quick texts/templates that I update and personalize for the patient. But other than that....click away my friend. Thankfully NextGen's days are limited for me. Switching to Athena in a few months. I'm not holding my breath that it will be much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogLovingPA Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Sorry, no tips...but I feel your pain. I use NextGen in my part time job and it is so bad I actually carry around a yellow legal notepad and simply do everything pen/pencil during the day and save all my charting for the end. Half the time I use a good old fashioned script pad for orders because I can't figure out how to do it in NextGen. I've never hated an EMR as much as I hate that program. Since I'm only there 1 day a week, I just suffer through it but if I had to do it full time I think I'd lose my mind. RuralER/Ortho - I actually found Athena very intuitive and user friendly. Hopefully you will have the same experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralER/Ortho Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Looking forward to the change. I mean it can't be worse! Yes ordering tests and/or DME stuff is brutally painful. I use this mainly just in our urgent care so ordering is limited. I could not imagine using this in an IM/FP office. Sorry, I'm really of no help OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolute Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I don't think it is possible to be efficient using next gen. A few years ago I helped cover the clinic due to a provider leaving. Said clinic was, at the time affiliated with the hospital I work at and used next gen. I remember thinking(about next gen) all I do is click box... after box..... after box. What a pain in the .... index finger. Thankfully I only covered 4-5 shifts/month for a few months. After they hired the new PA I was thinking man I'm glad that's over next gen sucks and I hope I never have to use it again..... famous last words. Several months later admin. announces that they have contracted with next gen for the hospital EMR as well.... F!@K me!!!! FYI if you think the clinic version of next gen is bad you should try the inpt. version. then, as if that wasn't bad enough the hospital didn't buy the ED module. So they have been using the inpt module for the ED as well. As you might imagine that has worked out well. So anyway I feel your pain. Sorry for the rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigander Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I used NextGen in a previous job and I hated it so much that I ask in interviews what EMR they use. I pulled out of an interview process partly because they were considering getting NextGen and seeing 4 patients an hour using NG would have killed me. It was so embarrassing to tell interviewers that it took me forever to see patients because of my EMR but yes, I could literally see 2-3 times as many patients with Epic as I could with NG. I was in a geriatrics position so I had the luxury of time and complex patients and since I worked in facilities, "meaningful use" didn't really matter. My work-around was to develop Word documents and to use them as dictations to put into NG. That way the history of assessment/plan were kept from visit to visit. Otherwise, silly things like lung nodules and cancer diagnoses and why I stopped certain medications got lost in the NG fog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavlovacloud Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 It's been 2 weeks. I'm still forgetting to click the "send" button to fax my meds and the 3 buttons you have to click in order to send labs. So many buttons!!! I noticed the experienced docs who see 20+ patients only write a 1-2 sentence HPI! I like details though. I usually write a paragraph....maybe 2 if they have more complaints. But I'm scared of when I start seeing more patients. Anyone know how much this system cost compared to Epic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralER/Ortho Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Epic is the most expensive EMR typically. Also they have size limits in that they only work with large systems. I don't know how your clinic is set up but if your are a smaller private practice, Epic isn't interested. Thats my understanding at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigander Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I was told that NextGen costs something ridiculous like $7000 per provider per month. I have no idea how much Epic is. There are some templates for HPIs that you can use. Some that are built-in and you can build your own. The built-in ones tend to have a lot of click boxes and then they are worded oddly. Ordering labs is one of the most cumbersome processes. I always forgot to click the right diagnosis for the right lab and then hitting "order". I'm pretty sure the front desk staff got a million orders for each patient I saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavlovacloud Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 7k/provider sounds crazy. My company is looking to hire ~20 more providers in the next year or so. We have multiple clinics all over the area. Rumor has it that they might consider getting Epic in the distant future but no idea how long that will take since they've fallen so deep in the NextGen gutter. Next Gen is apparently updating some features on their system, can't wait to feel lost again! I can completely relate, Michigander! Having to pick the proper assessment for every lab or diagnostic test is a pain. I am sure my pharm is annoyed at me. Sometimes I orders meds one at a time since I'm not sure how to order it all together when some rx appear in the temporary box, and sometimes the active box...and sometimes instead of ordering new, I'm trying to renew....Yep sound confusing! Kudos to persisting through with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolute Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Sorry, no tips...but I feel your pain. I use NextGen in my part time job and it is so bad I actually carry around a yellow legal notepad and simply do everything pen/pencil during the day and save all my charting for the end. Half the time I use a good old fashioned script pad for orders because I can't figure out how to do it in NextGen. I've never hated an EMR as much as I hate that program. Since I'm only there 1 day a week, I just suffer through it but if I had to do it full time I think I'd lose my mind. I feel your pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigander Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 7k/provider sounds crazy. My company is looking to hire ~20 more providers in the next year or so. We have multiple clinics all over the area. Rumor has it that they might consider getting Epic in the distant future but no idea how long that will take since they've fallen so deep in the NextGen gutter. Next Gen is apparently updating some features on their system, can't wait to feel lost again! I can completely relate, Michigander! Having to pick the proper assessment for every lab or diagnostic test is a pain. I am sure my pharm is annoyed at me. Sometimes I orders meds one at a time since I'm not sure how to order it all together when some rx appear in the temporary box, and sometimes the active box...and sometimes instead of ordering new, I'm trying to renew....Yep sound confusing! Kudos to persisting through with it! There is a way to refill multiple prescriptions at a time but I could never remember it so I always did one at a time. When I got a nursing home patient with something like 15 refills, I think I cried. One problem with doing handwritten prescriptions is that you won't fulfill "meaningful use" for EMR generated prescriptions. Some of the people in my office got dinged because their prescriptions were <50% electronic. Don't give me too much credit, I didn't persist through it, I left that job a few weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolute Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I was told that NextGen costs something ridiculous like $7000 per provider per month. I have no idea how much Epic is. I have been told multiple times in med staff meetings( most recently 2 weeks ago) the hospital is paying 15K/month for next gen. I have no way of knowing if that is accurate. but have no reason to drought it either. In my experience, next gen is not very user friendly, I would not recommend it. Further more I will not, in the future work for any employer that uses it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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