Merge Healthcare, a  provider of clinical systems, last month announced a strategic partnership with NextGen Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems Inc, and a provider of integrated clinical, connectivity, and financial solutions. According to the announcement, the companies “forged this new partnership to address significant challenges facing healthcare organizations, such as provider relations and inefficiencies in the medical image ordering process.”
Merge and NextGen will link their interoperability platforms, enabling NextGen Share customers to seamlessly send electronic imaging orders and receive imaging reports from Merge iConnect Network customers. The combined solution will facilitate the successful transmission of orders and encourage patients to follow through on imaging appointments. Merge’s advanced interoperability solution for the exchange of medical imaging data will also enable NextGen clients to further streamline workflow, reduce costs, and meet Meaningful Use (MU) requirements, the company says.