Nextech is a complete healthcare technology solution for specialty providers. And since 1997, Nextech has been focused on delivering innovative solutions and services that drive efficiency, fuel growth, and enhance the patient care experience. Nextech services over 16,000 physicians and over 60,000 office staff members in the clinical specialties of dermatology, med spa, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and plastic surgery. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Nextech’s VP of Platform, Data, and AI, Kevin Lemieux, to learn more about the company.
Kevin Lemieux’s Background
What is Kevin Lemieux’s background? Lemieux said:
“I was fortunate to grow up with an international perspective woven into my family culture. My children were all born on different continents, which primed us as global citizens. Since then, my personal and professional life has been shaped by pushing boundaries and gaining new experiences and perspectives. I’m a computer engineer by training and trade. My career in this field began over two decades ago, driven by my interest in the intersection of business problems, how to solve with technology, and inspiring great people.”
“Since my early professional days, I’ve been a lifelong learner and recently deepened my skills in data science and engineering, and continued to seek ways to use and adapt technology to better serve people. Diverse experiences have been some of my best teachers.”
“My work experience includes companies across the spectrum of size and industry. On the larger end, I worked at Intuit and Constant Contact. I’ve also worked at several small tech companies and learned new skills and workflows at each organization. All the companies I’ve worked for have taught me something about myself and what’s needed to build systems and solutions that have a real impact on the end user.”
“In October 2023, I came to Nextech, yet another new industry for me—healthcare. I’ve always been curious about the healthcare space, and now, I’m excited to be a part of it. This industry is ripe for innovation. My team and I have been hard at work integrating AI in meaningful ways into the workflows of our solutions. This feels like a unique blend of my career’s work, bridging my love for people with the need for effective, responsible, and accurate technology.”
Responsibilities At Nextech
What are your primary responsibilities at Nextech? Lemieux shared:
“My primary responsibilities as VP of Platform, Data, and AI are focused on the development and improvement of common services that enable our engineers to accelerate development of our suite of practice management and electronic health record (EHR) solutions. My team and I are constantly seeking ways to improve the overall developer experience and create beautiful and effective end user experiences.”
“I work across our integrated payments, reporting solutions, and data management teams to ensure that the underlying technology stitched across our solutions provides a consistent, intuitive, and efficient experience. We want to eliminate pain points for our providers so they can focus on patient care.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Lemieux reflected:
“Nextech is a collaborative, supportive environment. I’ve really enjoyed working with my team to solve problems in new ways. Our work is underpinned by a spirit of innovation and creativity, and we can see how better-engineered solutions directly impact our clients.”
“Since joining, I’ve felt a high level of teamwork and collaboration across the organization. New ideas are met with enthusiasm and willingness to try, which is foundational to our ability to innovate, especially as we build our AI capabilities.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Lemieux explained:
“Nextech offers practice management, EHR, and revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions specifically designed for specialty physician practices, retail medicine, and med spas. Most recently, we’ve been developing and deploying three AI tools: the virtual assistant, AI scribe, and AI support.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Lemieux and the team faced in building the company? Lemieux acknowledged:
“A challenge many healthcare organizations face is using technology in siloed, disparate systems. This industry requires readily available, accurate data. However, we know many providers and patients face the challenges of inconsistency—lacking information before, during, and after doctor’s appointments.”
“My peers, team, and I are working on creating a more universal, consistent experience for the providers and staff that use our systems every day. Eliminating steps and pain points for providers to access and find key information improves the overall care experience.”
“Specifically, we are streamlining our authentication and asset storage systems to allow staff to move swiftly between our different solutions. Throughout my career, I’ve learned the best engineers are those who stay close to the end users. If we can understand the challenges faced by the person who uses this technology all day, every day, we can fine-tune a solution to their needs, allowing them to focus on the patient.”
Evolution Of Nextech’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Lemieux noted:
“Nextech has been in the industry for over 20 years. We have the right expertise, mindset, and people to meet the evolving needs in the health tech space.”
“As with most technology companies, AI is a big focus of ours right now. We’re hoping to release a few AI integrations this year. Our goals are set on constant improvement as we take customer feedback to heart and create better models from there. We’ve launched a few solutions, and we’re experimenting with new ideas to build upon our existing and future technology.”
“Nextech has remained steadfast in the ethical principles of evolving technology, which is personally important to me. Especially with AI, it’s paramount that we’re grounded in responsible, accurate, and secure development and deployments.”
“AI has potential on the clinical and administrative sides of practice management. We are releasing tools such as virtual assistants to provide prospective patients with answers to routine questions, integrations within the EHR to offer up accurate, real-time patient information, and clinical documentation tools to improve the accuracy of data capture and entry. These possibilities are exciting, yet we are attentive to the considerations needed to optimize AI for security, accuracy, and efficiency.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Lemieux cited:
“Building on the topic of AI, we’re proud of the technology we’ve brought to the market. Our solutions pave the way for better clinical care, practice management, and ultimately, patient experiences and outcomes.”
“The deployment of virtual assistants, AI scribes for clinical documentation, and AI support to streamline and reduce staff routine tasks are important steps forward on the path of innovation. My team and I continue to fine-tune these technologies to deliver a best-in-class experience to our clients and, in turn, the patient.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Lemieux assessed:
“As a data and computer engineer, I value technology as a service for solving problems. There is always room for technology to step in and support an individual or organization in creating a solution to the problems they face.”
“When we consider practice management and patient experience, we see many opportunities for technology to reduce repetitious, burdensome tasks for everyone involved. If these solutions are designed and implemented properly, the market touches every specialty practice, retail medicine facility, and med spa.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Lemieux affirmed:
“Nextech offers a holistic, interoperable system that couples practice management with a tailored EHR solution. My team and I work to ensure staff can seamlessly flow through the technology, accessing all necessary information without multiple authentication processes or searching for disparate files.”
“Our system’s transparency and consistency give Nextech a significant edge in the market as a unique, all-in-one solution for specialty healthcare providers.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Lemieux concluded:
“Our goal is to help providers spend less time looking at a computer screen and more time having meaningful patient interactions. Innovation is top of mind, and my team and I anticipate new, creative ways to solve problems and improve the user experience for our clients. We continue to integrate AI strategically into our solutions as its capabilities evolve. We plan to roll out more tools and enhancements to help our users receive the information they need right when they need it. Looking to the future, we will continue to help our customers provide a white-glove customer experience that keeps patients engaged and satisfied with their care.”
