Ingram Micro and NextGen Healthcare Team Up on Electronic Healthcare Records
The new agreement rounds out Ingram Micro’s IT healthcare solutions portfolio and provides a complete solution for VARs interested in opportunities in the healthcare vertical.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based distributor Ingram Micro Inc. has announced a new relationship with NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. NextGen Healthcare provides electronic health record (EHR) and practice management systems, connectivity solutions, and revenue cycle management services for hospitals, health systems, and physician practices of all sizes, including more than 25 medical specialties.
“We discovered early on that an EHR takes on different characteristics and has to look different if you’re in an OB/GYN, cardiologist, dental office, or ophthalmologist, so we wanted a package that would cover a broad spectrum of the market,” says Bob Laclede, vice president, business development, Ingram Micro U.S. “We also wanted a package with two different implementation styles–put it on a server in the office, or put it in the cloud using a SaaS-type model.”
It was also important to Ingram Micro that the EHR provider understand the channel–how to set pricing so VARs have margin, how to prevent conflict from the company’s direct sales force and other VARs, and how to provide field support. “NextGen has 60 people in the field, and its compensation plan operates such that whether it’s a direct sale or a sale by the neighborhood VAR, the VAR gets paid for it,” says Laclede. So there is no channel conflict with the NextGen sales force or NextGen’s resellers.
Ingram Micro will work with NextGen Healthcare to proactively recruit, train, and support new partners focused on providing healthcare information technology solutions. This U.S. distribution relationship, which includes NextGen EPM (Enterprise Practice Management), NextGen EHR, NextGen Community Health Solution (CHS), and other NextGen and Quality Systems Inc. solutions, complements Ingram Micro’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) economic stimulus effort within the IMStimulus program, and enhances the solutions portfolio offered within Ingram Micro’s existing IMHealth program. Since 2006, Ingram Micro has provided a portfolio of in-demand healthcare solutions focused on intake, patient care, mobility applications, and universal infrastructure.
The distributor will also provide flexible financing and leasing options to help solution providers acquire NextGen solutions, increase their margin opportunity, and minimize their expenditures. The financing options are intended to help partners and end users take advantage of ARRA stimulus payments for healthcare IT adoption.
