August 14, 2024
Central to OCHIN’s consultative model of support for community-based health care organizations is our Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN). As the largest network of its kind in the nation, OCHIN’s HCCN helps 113 participating health centers (PHCs)—which collectively serve over 4 million patients across 13 states—optimize their use of health information technology to foster continuous quality improvement, enhance the care experience for both patients and providers, and drive health equity.
OCHIN’s HCCN doesn’t just support health centers on OCHIN’s Epic EHR platform. PHCs use six different EHRs, and our HCCN provides support that is relevant to all health centers, regardless of the technology they use. This includes partnering with third parties to provide specialized workflows and guidance for various EHRs, offering EHR-agnostic best practices and toolkits, and fostering collaboration among health centers using similar tools.
On August 1, OCHIN’s HCCN kicked off year 3 of its 2022–2025 HRSA-funded program cycle. Looking back on impacts from year 2, which wrapped up in July, OCHIN’s HCCN and participating health centers have much to be proud of in their collaborative pursuit of excellence.
Below, Becca Brookes, HCCN manager on OCHIN’s Operational Excellence team, discusses four key areas where OCHIN HCCN’s consultative support has helped health centers connect and transform care.
Enhancing culturally responsive care through digital health literacy
New efforts to enhance digital literacy among health center patients help ensure patients can access and understand information shared by their care teams—in patient portals or educational materials about their health conditions, for example—so they can stay informed about their health and engaged in their own care for better outcomes.
A new toolkit focused on implementing culturally responsive digital tools with patients and emphasizing digital health literacy was created to help health centers consider the diverse literacy levels of their patients, Brookes said. It aids them in meeting patients where they are, enabling better use of digital health tools and improved health outcomes.
OCHIN’s HCCN also offered health centers direct technical assistance focused on digital health literacy, such as webinars, to support this often-overlooked component of health equity.
“Health care is moving into the digital space, and if we think about it, it’s a two-sided relationship—the patient needs to be engaging just as much as the health center and the provider,” Brookes said. “If we’re not able to meet patients where they are… and if we don’t make sure they can use and understand any digital health tools they may have—whether it’s a patient portal, a remote monitoring device like a blood pressure cuff, or other tools—we can’t assume that people know how to use these tools. They are integral to keeping them up to speed with where health care is going in the long run.”
Supporting the transition to value-based pay
OCHIN’s HCCN also provides numerous resources and tailored consultation to help health centers use data more effectively in their transition to value-based pay (VBP). Payment models that reimburse providers for how care benefits their patients, rather than the volume of care delivered, support more equitable, high-quality, whole-patient care that leads to better patient outcomes, lower costs, and enhanced sustainability for community-based health care organizations.
The HCCN’s unique “learning laboratory” approach delivers dedicated consulting while fostering collaborative thinking and innovative problem-solving, allowing health centers to learn from others facing similar challenges and strengthening the circle of community care.
By offering a webinar series, learning collaborative, VBP innovators group, “Volume to Value” podcasts, and case studies, subject matter experts from OCHIN and participating health centers shared guidance on the complex aspects of value-based pay, such as coding. This allowed them to learn from each other’s successes and challenges along their VBP journey.
“This body of work is so valuable because it focuses on real-life health centers that are working through and figuring out how to implement value-based pay models and strategies,” Brookes said. “It really emphasizes the collaborative spirit of OCHIN’s HCCN and how we can learn from each other.”
"There’s so much power in the collaborative aspect of a dedicated group of HCCN members who are innovating in the value-based pay space, trying new things, and blazing the trail to help lift others. These impacts will multiply as we go into the next year and continue towards a value-based pay world.”
Safeguarding patient data from ever-increasing threats
To help health centers enhance their cybersecurity and protect patient privacy amid ongoing cyberattacks that often target health care organizations, OCHIN’s HCCN also provides no-cost security risk assessments for many participants.
“In today’s world, cybersecurity is a huge priority, and threats are everywhere, especially for health centers that may have fewer resources to manage this on their own,” Brookes said. “HCCN support in the cybersecurity space is crucial, and ensuring business continuity regardless of the circumstances is increasingly important.”
Enhancing focus on social risk factors
In addition to expanding its targeted one-on-one consultation, OCHIN’s HCCN is enhancing its focus on social risk factors in year 3 of the program. By identifying patients’ individual barriers to achieving their full health potential—due to systemic inequity in access to things like food, housing, education, transportation, and employment—and connecting them with community resources to help address their unmet needs, health centers can better support the whole patient for better health and well-being.
The program provides activities to equip care teams with strategies to screen for and address patients’ needs beyond traditional health care—an important aspect of value-based pay structures, Brookes said. These activities will ensure that first, if a patient has a need, the health center identifies it; and second, the need is addressed.
“I really hope health centers use these strategies to improve closing the loop on referrals, and we can start looking at patient data and seeing real changes in this space. It really can impact people’s lives, which is exciting,” she said.
She explained that OCHIN’s HCCN creates a robust landscape by supporting 10 different objectives, allowing members to select their priorities and available activities based on what matters to them. Members benefit from the support of OCHIN’s subject matter experts, resources, and toolkits to achieve their goals, while also having autonomy to choose which objectives to pursue.
“For many health centers with smaller teams or limited time and resources, that extra boost and support from the HCCN can help them make improvements with less effort,” she said. “Another benefit is the collaboration aspect, which includes receiving support from other health centers and learning from each other.”
Explore more about OCHIN’s HCCN and how you can take advantage of no-cost technical assistance and consultation to drive improvements in your health center and promote equity in your community.
This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3,040,817.00. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
