Company Founder Sheldon Razin Passes at Age 85

To Our Ambulatory Healthcare Community:

We regretfully announce the passing of NextGen Healthcare’s founder, Sheldon “Shelly” Razin, at age 85. Following an illness, Shelly died peacefully on January 15, 2023, surrounded by family and loved ones. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Janet, his children and grandchildren, and his many friends and former colleagues.

Shelly was an intensely passionate and entrepreneurial innovator. In 1974, he founded Quality Systems, Inc., which later became NextGen Healthcare. He served as Chairman of the Board from our incorporation until his retirement as Chairman and his appointment as Chairman Emeritus in 2015. Shelly was a true visionary. Epic and Cerner, today’s hospital-focused behemoths, didn’t start up until 1979, five years after Shelly saw a need at the intersection of healthcare and IT and set about fulfilling it. By digitizing health records and automating workflows decades before the HiTECH Act mandated the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Shelly helped improve the lives of thousands of employees, tens of thousands of providers and millions of patients. Building on his legacy of innovation, the company’s vison for the future is to leverage innovation to achieve better healthcare outcomes for all.

There will be a private funeral for Shelly in California. Donations in Shelly’s memory may be directed to MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research Psychiatric Research Fund. Gifts may be made at giving.mit.edu/form/?fundId=2743129#, by mail at MIT: 77 Massachusetts Avenue Room 46-3160, Cambridge MA 02139, or by contacting Kara Flyg at MIT at 617-324-0134. May his memory be for a blessing.