Iowa Community Health Centers to Jointly Install OCHIN Epic EHR
To keep pace with the shift to value-based care and to enhance interoperability, 11 of Iowa’s community health centers are collectively implementing the OCHIN Epic electronic health record (EHR) in 2023.
OCHIN offers community health centers a fully hosted instance of Epic practice management and EHR solutions. The Portland, Ore.-based nonprofit organization now serves nearly 1,000 community health sites across the country.
The implementation project will be managed by INConcertCare (INCC), a sister organization of the Iowa Primary Care Association, in collaboration with OCHIN.
The Iowa Primary Care Association noted that this nearly statewide collaboration is a new national model, providing a centralized EHR solution to connect community health centers in both rural and urban areas of the state.
“This move will enhance how Iowa’s community health centers and our integrated network connect with other systems, share data, make informed decisions, and collaborate with other partners. In short, we will amplify our collective impact,” said Aaron Todd, CEO of the Iowa Primary Care Association, INCC, and IowaHealth+, in a statement. “As we collectively work toward achieving our vision of health equity for all, having robust data at our fingertips will help power our work to maximize patient outcomes and reduce overall costs to the healthcare system.”
Through the INCC network, these 11 Iowa community health centers will scale resources to support an integrated care system. At community health centers, patients can access comprehensive and integrated medical, oral health, behavioral health, and pharmacy services, often under one roof.
“This integrated EHR platform is going to positively impact the way our network provides care, allowing for enhanced patient care coordination and data aggregation,” said Renae Kruckenberg, INCC Board Chair and CEO of Community Health Center of Fort Dodge, in a statement. “This collaborative effort will allow for centralized learning and standardization of workflows that enable and facilitate the move to value-based care, scalability, and cost effectiveness of a myriad of services.”
“We are honored to join forces with the Iowa PCA and INConcertCare to expand care access and positively impact lives through the collective knowledge and expertise of all three organizations,” said Abby Sears, CEO and president of OCHIN, in a statement. “By working together to connect and strengthen the health care network in Iowa, we can ensure more equitable access to primary care for the long-term.”
The 11 community health centers are:
• All Care Health Center: Council Bluffs
• Community Health Care: Davenport; Clinton; Muscatine; Moline, IL; East Moline, IL; Rock Island, IL
• Community Health Center of Fort Dodge: Fort Dodge; Dayton; Mason City
• Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa: West Burlington; Keokuk; Columbus City; Hamilton, IL
• Crescent Community Health Center: Dubuque
• Infinity Health: Leon; Lamoni; Albia; Centerville; Chariton; Corydon; Mt. Ayr; Knoxville; Osceola; Princeton, MO; Bethany, MO
• Peoples Community Health Clinic: Waterloo; Clarksville
• Primary Health Care, Inc.: Des Moines; Ames; Marshalltown
• River Hills Community Health Center: Ottumwa; Centerville; Richland; Oskaloosa; Sigourney; Fairfield
• Siouxland Community Health Center: Sioux City; South Sioux City, NE
• United Community Health Center: Storm Lake
