A new partnership aims to bring sustainability and innovation to providers in underserved communities and safe institutions.
OCHIN, which partners with national provider networks and boasts the largest collection of community health data in the country, and OSIS, which claims to represent the largest network of NextGen Health Centers in the country, will collaborate to bring more electronic health record platform options to providers and improve access reliability for 30% of patients at health centers in the United States.
WHY IT MATTERS
Shortages of technical staff and rising operating costs require efficient digital systems to deliver high-quality healthcare.
OCHIN and OSIS based in Portland, Oregon understand this and are working hard.
In announcing the partnership Tuesday, the organizations said they are helping address workforce shortages by tapping into the talent and technical expertise available at both organizations to fill critical roles.
OCHIN and OSIS are working together to “create a greater and lasting impact for the providers, patients and communities we serve,” said Abby Sears, president and CEO of OCHIN, in a statement.
Together, these two national nonprofits serve more than 39,000 providers and more than 9.3 million patients. While OSIS focuses on supporting NextGen Healthcare’s EHR, EPM, and EDR technology for Community Health Centers across the country, OCHIN provides clinical insights and tailored technologies to expand patient access and improve interoperability in rural and underserved communities.
The organizations will remain independent but will work together to share resources to address problems across both networks and drive operational savings through collaborative innovation, they said.
“OSIS and OCHIN have worked together to address issues affecting our Community Health Center,” Jeff Lowrance, CEO of OSIS, said in a statement.
In addition to supporting members’ day-to-day operations by reducing technology burden and better connecting care teams, OCHIN and OSIS said their partnership also aims to increase the representation of health centers in national health equity research and advocacy.
THE BIGGER TREND
Partnerships through organizations and accelerators are helping to address the current challenge of finding and retaining digitally skilled technical workers to maintain and protect complex healthcare data and networks.
Despite the growing demand for health IT, research last year by analytics firm GlobalData highlighted a persistent tech skills shortage.
Among survey respondents, 43% said lack of skills and specialized talent was the main obstacle, 40% added lack of financial resources and 36% said organizational fragmentation was an additional obstacle.
ON PROFILE
“At the core of the new partnership between OCHIN and OSIS is the shared belief that today’s healthcare system requires innovative approaches to connect and transform access to care,” Sears said in a statement.
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
