Health Center Controlled Network - OCHIN is a nonprofit organization leading equitable health care innovation and is a trusted partner to a growing national provider network. We steward the country's largest collection of community health data and have 25 years of practice-based research and solutions expertise. We provide valuable clinical insights and specialized technologies to help more patients access care, connect care teams, and improve health in rural areas and underserved communities. OCHIN's Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) received its first federal grant in 2012 and has grown to currently serve 113 participating health centers (PHCs). OCHIN's HCCN will build upon the demonstrated success of previous HCCN awards to support PHCs to advance health equity and patient outcomes by optimizing their use of health information technology (HIT), specifically in data management and analytics, interoperability, and data sharing, including de-identified patient-level data in Uniform Data System (UDS+) reporting, adoption and expansion of digital health tools, and policies, practices and pilot projects to ensure the safe, fair, equitable, and informed use of artificial intelligence tools (AI). Activities will focus on the following areas: 1. Analysis and evaluation activities will enhance our understanding of trends, themes, opportunities, and barriers related to the award's goals and objectives. 2. Innovation and implementation of products, services, or functionalities that will benefit all PHCs or a specific group as they work towards the award's goals. 3. Training and technical assistance tailored to meet the individual needs of PHCs, helping them achieve the award's goals and objectives. 4. Tailored support to align with the needs and interests of the PHCs, informed by data collected from health center assessments to co-develop a personalized work plan. Our unique "learning laboratory" approach allows health centers to learn from others with similar challenges and draws on the strengths of innovative PHCs. Our approach includes dedicated consulting and focused cohorts to encourage collaborative thinking and innovative problem-solving to strengthen the circle of community care. These efforts are designed to help PHCs collectively move toward equitable, patient-centered care by improving clinical quality outcomes, enhancing patient-centered tools, and promoting the well-being of providers and staff. OCHIN collaborates with several partners, including HITEQ, Primary Care Associations (PCAs), and other HCCNs nationwide, to enhance and coordinate support systems for all PHCs and maximize our impact. For instance, the Oregon Primary Care Association (OPCA) is included as a sub-recipient under this cooperative agreement to provide high-quality, practical technical assistance and support to our PHCs. OCHIN will contract technical Electronic Health Record (EHR) support for PHCs utilizing EHR systems other than Epic, ensuring parity for all PHCs. Additionally, OCHIN will contract with specialized organizations or vendors to support AI-related pilots to improve PHCs' performance in HCCN Objective 5. OCHIN will gather feedback on project activities, monitor progress, and measure outcomes using quantitative and qualitative methods. This mixed-method approach will support tracking and assessing our progress toward program goals and will identify key themes that can inform our strategies and activities to meet program objectives. OCHIN's HCCN is governed and closely supported by a CEO Steering Committee (a subcommittee of the OCHIN Board of Directors), which ensures that it is majority-controlled by PHCs and majority-owned by Health Center Program (H80) award recipients. The proposed funding will allow OCHIN to provide services to support 105 PHCs in our collaborative, equity-focused network to achieve HRSA's goals through a cost-effective approach that leverages significant economies of scale while serving our member PHCs, their patients, and communities.
