The 4-Phase Approach

OHN’s direct and indirect role in helping support and built-out the next generation of health care delivery begins with connecting all providers who play a role in the delivery of health care through a reliable, scalable and inevitably national health care network. This health care highway is a means by which, this new health care delivery model will be deployed, experienced, measured, supported and funded for generations to come.

Beyond the quest to increase membership on the network that supports value, viability and long-term sustainability for the organization, OHN will selectively expand or modify its expertise and service offering in the appropriate 12 health IT best practice areas based upon two factors:

1. What we learn from directly from our participants as to what the resources/expertise gaps are that inhibit their full use and benefit of the network. In doing so, we strive to determine if it makes sense for OHN to fulfill it directly, indirectly or a variation of both
2. The availability, or lack thereof, of existing statewide resources to supply these services and resources (other government, non-profit or private sector solution providers)

In a broader context, OHN has identified four business model phases required to effectively transition from an organization that purely deploys a health care network, to a key player in defining future expanded roles and service offerings that support the gradual and systematic use and adoption of the network at the national level.

Phase 1: Build Out of Oregon’s First Statewide Health Care Highway
The fundamental first step was to build-out the core broadband and participant “foot print” of our state and nation’s first statewide health care network (or highway).  This health care highway needed to be designed to serve every type of provider who played any role in the delivery of health care/education to each other. Click here view our network architecture design and model.

Fueled by genuine Oregon volunteer pioneer spirit, multi-industry expertise and broad state agency support, the founders of OHN identified the opportunity of a lifetime back in 2006. The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) was deployed to assist the FCC in determining how to build and support, through funding and policy, a nationwide health care delivery system (broadband infrastructure) that could support the next generation of health care delivery. The FCC planned to use the RHCPP to determine feasibility and effectiveness of rolling out a similar network on a state and regional level. Oregon threw its hat in as the Oregon Health Network and was awarded the 5th largest subsidy of $20.182 million to help us fund the completion of our first phase of deployment as Oregon’s first statewide health care network.

Thanks to this seed funding subsidy, the FCC RHCPP offered a shared cost reimbursement program to eligible providers (urban and rural non-profits) to cover the costly broadband installation and monthly services costs which allowed them to connect to OHN. As a result of this program, OHN will have connected over 240 RHCPP-eligible provider sites (facility end points) to OHN by June, 2012.

Creating  the means by which to effectively share health information in a coordinated and meaningful fashion, expand services, gain much needed access to specialists, best practices and additional resources, OHN will work to transition in 2012-2013 to phase 2.

Phase 2: Extending our reach, use & adoption of the network
Completing phase 1 is a significant and unprecedented milestone at the state and national level. But this is really only where the OHN story and greater purpose begins.

There are two core parallel paths for OHN in phase 2. First, for active OHN participants, OHN is working diligently to better understand the needs and obstacles which prohibit our participants’ ability to experience the full value and benefit of their OHN connection. We will work to do what we can to directly or indirectly meet those needs. Does a clinic need IT networking expertise to better understand how to redirect internet traffic over their OHN circuit connection? Or could OHN help a facility expand their referral partnership by pointing out introductions that could happen between themselves and other OHN providers to begin or expand their telehealth programs? If new hosted service offerings are identified to address them such as OHN’s first telehealth video conferencing solution, OHN will continue to assess and roll out new offerings as appropriate and supported by the OHN community.

Secondly, OHN will begin statewide outreach to all the health care providers who did not or could not benefit from the FCC RHCPP to come on the network in phase 1. OHN will target  radiology clinics and long-term care/skilled nursing/assisted living facilities because of the value they bring to the existing OHN participant base as well as their role or interest in participating in the new coordinated care models. Additionally, OHN will outreach to other existing private networks, such as the Independent Physicians’ Associations, learning how we can connect our networks to one another in a way that best serves the physician practices and continued role and value of the IPAs. As we learn lessons from how to connect to the myriad of existing networks, we will continue to build our knowledge of how OHN can and will connect to inter-state and national networks in an effective and affordable way. A clear understanding of regional and community based political, technical, geographic, health care, economic and workforce based discussions will be a central role for OHN in learning how to do so effectively, efficiently and affordably.

Phase 3: Entering and Expanding the National Health Care Delivery System
Selectively expanding upon momentum built to date is the driving force behind OHN’s strategy and ability to truly serve our vision: quality health care for all regardless of where you are. In phases 1 and 2, OHN has fully leveraged the FCC RHCPP funding to bring on as many hospitals, clinics and community colleges in Oregon to join the network, and simultaneously has secured the required middle mile broadband connectivity and installed base required to create a network of meaning and value. But in phase 3, OHN will directly address its largest and most critical phase to affecting mass adoption of the OHN, and ultimately a new fully integrated national health care delivery system.

In phase 3, OHN is preparing itself to bring on select larger or “systemic” participant types, such as the health insurance payers, pharmacies, and federal/state agencies. Most likely, this phase requires a different value, role and service offering for OHN to implement to lay the groundwork of discussion.  For health care community participants such as these, the direct value and benefit of OHN is less clear. Adjusting or changing course in any way to accommodate or integrate OHN into their systems, processes and infrastructure considerations into OHN are much more significant. Yet their ultimate participation with OHN is absolutely required to achieve the greater health care community’s shared goal of the Triple Aim through integrated delivery systems. Phase 3 is therefore focused upon the selection and compilation of information/data/metrics (outcomes etc) from the OHN installed base, mapped to their business needs,  to create the interest and ultimate market demand to incentivize payers, pharmacies and larger state/federal agencies to change or adjust course in full consideration of OHN.

Phase 4: Actively Integrated into National Health Care Delivery System