Specialty care is growing rapidly. Over the next 10 years, the number of adult outpatient visits is expected to increase by 18%. This is because care continues to move away from inpatient care and an aging population is driving demand for specialist services. The growth in the physician workforce has not kept pace. The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, with specialty care among the hardest-hit fields.
Simply put, healthcare professionals are required to see more patients with fewer resources in a reimbursement environment that is becoming more complex every year.
None of this is getting easier, but practices that have built the right operational infrastructure are finding a way forward. Companies that have moved away from standalone tools and built models where scheduling, clinical workflow, and billing are truly integrated are impacting their numbers.
From fragmented tools to connected infrastructure
Importantly, these profitable practices are not necessarily the best equipped. They are often the ones who make technology work within, rather than alongside, their daily workflows.
Many have accumulated a collection of point solutions over time, including scheduling software, EHRs, and billing systems that may not communicate with each other. Each tool may work well on its own, but the question is what happens at the seams. Duplicate data entry, communication gaps, and administrative hassles consume clinician and staff time that doesn’t need to be spent.
A properly integrated infrastructure changes that. Incorporating these capabilities into connected systems begins to transform the patient journey. Scheduling, ingestion, documentation, and billing all interact. Patients arrive having completed their intake on their mobile phone. Clinicians begin their care with knowledge of a patient’s medical history, rather than hastily trying to piece together information. Notes are automatically generated and structured. Charges are collected without manual intervention. Each step flows into the next step.
Point solutions, no matter how good they are in and of themselves, cannot deliver that.
What connected infrastructure enables
Our data shows that gains tend to be made where practices feel the most pressure, including clinical time, patient experience, and revenue.
On the clinical side, ambient listening documentation has saved physicians substantial time. It typically takes 45 minutes to 2 hours per clinician each day, which directly translates into 5 to 10 additional patient visits. For practices where front desk staffing is a persistent challenge, digital self-service is absorbing a significant portion of the administrative burden. In some practices, nearly 80% of new patients are using self-scheduling and digital intake tools, reducing pressure on front office teams while protecting patient volumes.
“When we bring NextGen Healthcare’s clinical AI to healthcare settings, physicians typically recover for 45 minutes to 2 hours each day, which directly translates into additional patient visits and significantly reduced burnout, depending on what the practice needs most.” — Srinivas Veramore, President and CEO, NextGen Healthcare
The benefits of patient experience are equally clear. Automated engagement and reminder tools have reduced no-show rates by 40%, and practices running connected systems have cut referral loops in half. When patients are reminded, encouraged, and supported throughout their care journey, they are more likely to come to your office.
We also achieved significant results in terms of profitability. Practices using AI-driven revenue cycle management have seen 45% faster claim resolution, 30% faster denial resolution, and 75% higher pre-submission claim auto-correction rates. In an environment where payers are deploying their own automation to quickly adjudicate and dispute claims, businesses without comparable capabilities will see their cash flow take a hit.
Scale and agility are no longer a trade-off
A consistent assumption in specialty care is that integrated, enterprise-grade technologies belong to large private equity-backed groups with the resources to support complex implementations. The economics of modern AI tools don’t work that way. A well-designed environmental documentation solution is just as effective for a single rheumatologist as it is for a group of 100 physicians. Costs vary based on usage, not organization size.
Independent operations have the ability to move quickly, which larger organizations often lack. Dr. Dodji Modjinou, founder and CEO of Advanced Rheumatology Associates of Nevada, says this is one of the most underrated strengths of independent practice.
“If we need to implement a change, we don’t need an act of Congress to make it happen. We decide and we act. When you add to that agility the right technology, the tools that actually work within your workflow, you’re in a very powerful position.” — Dr. Doji Mojinou, Founder and CEO, Advanced Rheumatology Associates of Nevada
An early adopter of NextGen Healthcare’s clinical AI, Dr. Modjinou reports that he can no longer practice without AI. During the examination, he focuses completely on the patient. Within 30 seconds after the visit ends, his notes are summarized and ready for review.
Start small and prove it works
Most of the tools you need for your practice, no matter your size, are accessible today. The more difficult problem is making them stick.
Clinics that manage it consistently tend to have a few things in common. It means leaders who are personally committed to seeing the change through, clinical staff who are adopted early rather than being handed something new and expected to adapt, and a clear baseline established before implementation to make it easier to measure what has actually changed.
Start small. Pick one workflow that takes time and money to implement, assign a group of clinicians to focus on it, and build on what you learn. If done properly, this type of proof of concept tends to be more persuasive than any vendor’s sales pitch. If your colleagues in the room have been through your own before and after, they are more likely to insist that you need to go further.
“If you demonstrate results and it clearly makes someone’s life easier, they will take advantage of it. Period. End of story.” — Srinivas Veramore, President and CEO, NextGen Healthcare
NextGen Healthcare is a technology partner for a wide range of ambulatory care practices as your business needs evolve. Visit NextGen to learn more.
