Irvine-based NextGen Healthcare Inc., a provider of software, services, and data analytics to medical, dental groups and other outpatient-related medical care providers, has made an acquisition that gives it added presence in the behavioral health sector.
The company (Nasdaq: NXGN) last month bought Phoenix-based Topaz Information LLC, a longtime software partner of the company that is “dedicated to meeting the needs of behavioral health and social services organizations.”
NextGen, which has a market value of $1.1 billion, is paying $8 million for Topaz; that figure could go up another $2 million based on earnouts over the next 18 months, according to regulatory filings.
Focus Area
Chief Executive Rusty Frantz said to look beyond the numbers when looking at the impact of the deal.
“While this acquisition brings negligible revenue, we see behavioral health and integrated care as key strategic areas for NextGen and this transaction expands our capabilities to deliver our planned growth in this part of the market,” he said last month.
NextGen Healthcare’s integrated platform, when used in conjunction with Topaz’s products, allows for providers to coordinate care among physical and dental records, as well as behavioral health records.
Behavioral health is moving to the forefront of health discussions, Frantz told the Business Journal late last month.
Nearly six in 10 Americans have sought or want to seek mental health services either for themselves or for a loved one, according to studies.
“There’s a tremendous stigma around behavioral health,” Frantz told the Business Journal.
Franz sees opportunity in the area, however.
Behavioral health “is roughly different in every single state. It’s a patchwork cloth of regulations. Each state has a very intimate group that no at all of them knows each other.”
“It takes expertise; it takes passion.”
