In everyday use, application and value, networks and health care are not bound by state or county lines, bricks and mortar, or legal ownership status. In order to develop a valuable and sustainable Oregon health care network, we must look to how the nation-wide health care network delivery model is being designed and deployed to better understand how our model can support it. This is why we are highly committed to a collaborative advocacy approach at both the state and national levels; encouraging and educating leaders across agencies, state-lines and industry to better understand the “on the ground” needs of Oregon’s health care and education providers.

While the world of health information technology is always moving, and the world of state-wide health networks is new, we have and will continue to research the landscape and share what we learn as a network community surrounding health information technology policies, coordination and best practices that not only support the next generation of health care delivery in Oregon, but nationwide. It is with this collaborative approach that we can uncover how to develop (or undue) policies and funding streams that support OHN, our participants and the entire continuum of care.

Therefore, OHN is proud to have recently received support from the full Oregon delegation for a request to access another $46.2 million of unobligated and/or relinquished Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) funds. These funds would help support existing and future OHN provider participants.  The bi-partisan group of legislators praised OHN’s commitment to health care access and national leadership in telemedicine.

And this is what we believe to be the beginning of our advocacy efforts. With a collaborative and team spirit, OHN continues to advocate in Washington D.C. to educate legislators, the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies on the unique needs of statewide networks like ours, and the needs of Oregon’s health care and education providers. These efforts are designed to reduce the challenges and barriers of our network, encourage collaboration from the federal level down to the state, and identify future funding sources and opportunities. These endeavors will help  support not only OHN’s sustainability, but that of you, our valued participant.

“OHN has embodied the original program’s goal to improve access while demonstrating maximum use and efficiency,” said Congressman Greg Walden in a letter to FCC Chairman Genachowski. Combined with support from Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, calling OHN a leader in the path to a healthy, more prosperous future, our staff continues working every day to be a key contributor to the future of access to telemedicine.

Our continued advocacy work is to ensure that collaboratively we are striving to make the best use of state and federal dollars available to support the future of Oregon’s health care.