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Veterinary · head to head

Instinct Science vs NextGen Healthcare

Instinct Science logo

Instinct Science

Veterinary

Veterinary EMR built for emergency and specialty hospitals, plus Plumbs drug reference

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NextGen Healthcare logo

NextGen Healthcare

Healthcare

Integrated EHR and practice management solutions

From
$150/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Instinct Science no pricing is published at all, so a practice cannot compare it against published competitors without a demo and a sales conversation.; NextGen Healthcare no pricing published on website
  • They diverge on capability: Instinct Science covers Instinct Treatment Plan, NextGen Healthcare covers Electronic Health Records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Instinct Science and NextGen Healthcare actually diverge.

Attributes where Instinct Science and NextGen Healthcare differ
AttributeInstinct ScienceNextGen Healthcare
Starting priceOn request$150/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
CategoryVeterinaryHealthcare
FoundedUnknown1997

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Instinct Science

  • Instinct Treatment Plan
  • Charge capture from treatments
  • Instinct EMR
  • Primary care edition
  • Plumbs drug reference
  • ScribbleVet
  • Standards

Only in NextGen Healthcare

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Practice Management
  • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Telehealth
  • Analytics
  • Labs
  • Pharmacies
  • Clearinghouses

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Instinct Science

  • A twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at dischargenot NextGen Healthcare
  • A specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shiftsnot NextGen Healthcare
  • A hospital losing measurable revenue to missed charge capture on inpatient treatments and fluidsnot NextGen Healthcare
  • A practice that already relies on Plumbs for dosing and wants drug reference and interaction checking inside the record rather than in a separate tabnot NextGen Healthcare

NextGen Healthcare

  • Cloud-based EHR and practice management for ambulatory and specialty practicesnot Instinct Science
  • AI-assisted clinical documentation to reduce after-hours charting timenot Instinct Science

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Instinct Science

  • No pricing is published at all, so a practice cannot compare it against published competitors without a demo and a sales conversation.
  • The design centres on inpatient treatment sheets, so an appointment driven general practice pays for strength in a workflow it barely uses and should evaluate the primary care edition on its own merits rather than the hospital reputation.
  • Retail, inventory and reminder marketing workflows are thinner than in long established general practice systems, so a practice with a significant shop or food business may need workarounds.
  • Plumbs and ScribbleVet are separately licensed even though the same company owns them, so the tidy single vendor story still arrives as more than one line on the invoice.
  • It is a smaller vendor than the corporate owned incumbents, which is an advantage on responsiveness and a risk on acquisition, and veterinary software has consolidated heavily in recent years.

NextGen Healthcare

  • No pricing published on website

Pricing, plan by plan

Instinct Science

On request
  • Instinct EMR$undefined/year
    • Quoted through a demo and sales process, nothing published
    • Priced by practice size and modules taken
    • Plumbs and ScribbleVet are separately licensed products from the same company

NextGen Healthcare

$150/month

No published plan breakdown. See the NextGen Healthcare review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Instinct Science if

  • You need instinct treatment plan.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want charge capture from treatments.
Instinct Science review

Choose NextGen Healthcare if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want practice management.
NextGen Healthcare review

Questions people ask

Is Instinct Science or NextGen Healthcare better?
Neither clearly leads. Instinct Science starts at On request and NextGen Healthcare at $150/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Instinct Science or NextGen Healthcare?
Instinct Science starts at On request and NextGen Healthcare at $150/month.
Does Instinct Science or NextGen Healthcare run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Instinct Science best used for?
Instinct Science is most often used for a twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at discharge, a specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shifts, a hospital losing measurable revenue to missed charge capture on inpatient treatments and fluids, a practice that already relies on plumbs for dosing and wants drug reference and interaction checking inside the record rather than in a separate tab. Of those, a twenty four hour emergency hospital where treatments are ordered on a sheet and currently reconciled to invoices by hand at discharge and a specialty referral centre running multiple services on one hospitalised patient that needs a shared, current treatment plan across shifts are not what NextGen Healthcare is typically brought in for.
What can Instinct Science do that NextGen Healthcare cannot?
Instinct Science covers Instinct Treatment Plan, Charge capture from treatments, Instinct EMR, Primary care edition. NextGen Healthcare covers Electronic Health Records, Practice Management, Revenue Cycle Management, Telehealth.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Instinct Science: Is Instinct only for emergency hospitals?

No, there is a primary care edition, but the product design and its main advantage come from inpatient treatment sheets and hospital workflows.

NextGen Healthcare: How much does NextGen Healthcare cost?

NextGen Healthcare does not publish pricing on its website. The company directs customers to schedule a meeting, request a demo, or chat with sales to receive custom pricing.

Source
Instinct Science: Is pricing published?

No. Everything runs through a demo and a quote.

Instinct Science: Does it include Plumbs?

Instinct Science owns Plumbs, but it is licensed separately rather than bundled into the EMR by default.

Instinct Science: What is the main reason practices switch to it?

Charge capture. Treatments recorded on the digital treatment sheet become charges automatically, which recovers revenue that paper sheets lose.

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