Portland, Ore.-based OCHIN and Cincinnati-based OSIS, two nonprofit organizations with combined health IT operations that support more than 39,000 providers serving over 9.3 million patients at community health centers nationwide, have entered into a formal partnership.
Although OSIS will become a wholly owned subsidiary of OCHIN, the organizations stressed that their brands, operations, governance structures, and nonprofit statuses will continue to be independent. OCHIN will remain focused on Epic operations and collaborative members, and OSIS will continue to support NextGen for its members and participating health centers.
Both established nearly 25 years ago, OCHIN and OSIS said they are committed to meeting members where they are, on their respective EHR platform of choice.
OCHIN’s Epic-based network now reaches more than 6.3 million patients through more than 34,000 providers at over 2,000 healthcare delivery sites nationwide. These include rural hospitals, rural health clinics, community health centers, tribal health organizations, school-based clinics, correctional facilities, behavioral health providers, dental clinics, public health departments, and HIV/AIDS care organizations.
One of NextGen Healthcare’s largest customers, OSIS manage over 136 health centers, where its solutions and analytics tools support medical, dental, and behavioral health services.
While some current OSIS members may have interest in transitioning from their NextGen EHR to OCHIN Epic, others will remain on OSIS NextGen or will be free to select a different platform and vendor if they choose based on their specific needs. Through this partnership, OSIS members will have access to additional service offerings not currently available, such as workforce support.
Another goal of the partnership is generating operational savings and production efficiencies through improved third-party contract pricing negotiations and cost advantages derived from economies of scale. Harnessing this collective strength is essential to optimize and advocate for community health centers that today are tasked with delivering both high-quality and high-volume care despite inadequate funding, OCHIN said.
The partnership also offers the opportunity to bring greater community health center representation to national health equity research and advocacy by augmenting the OCHIN-led ADVANCE Clinical Research Network and voluntarily contributing to practice-based research and innovation powered by the largest collection of de-identified community health data in the country.
“At the heart of the new OCHIN and OSIS partnership is a shared belief that today’s healthcare system requires innovative approaches to connecting and transforming access to care,” said Abby Sears, president and CEO of OCHIN, in a statement. “By standing together and joining forces, OCHIN and OSIS can make an even greater and more enduring impact for the providers, patients, and communities we serve.”
OCHIN will continue to support rural hospitals following its 2023 expansion into acute care.
“OSIS and OCHIN have simultaneously been working to tackle the same issues that impact our Community Health Center Community. This new partnership allows us to remain independent but share resources for more efficient problem solving across the country,” said Jeff Lowrance, CEO of OSIS, in a statement. “I look forward to continued growth for both our organizations and the ability to strengthen our mission in alleviating the burden that IT initiatives can add to safety-net organizations. We will continue to make a difference for those who need it the most.”
