Kaiser Permanente Northwest is the newest member of the Oregon Health Network, a not-for-profit network that created Oregon's first broadband telehealth system.
OHN uses Federal Communications Commission grant money to provide care coordination through health information exchange, telehealth and conference services to Oregon's physicians, allied providers, clinics, health organizations, educators, students and government agencies.
Just last month, OHN was acquired by Portland, Ore.-based not-for-profit OCHIN. With operations in 15 states, OCHIN uses health information technology as a means for improved delivery of healthcare to safety net clinics, small and private practices, and specialists.
“The walls of cost and complexity in patient care and medical education are coming down, and we are pleased to be at the forefront of this transformation,” Abigail Sears, OCHIN's CEO, said in a news release.
OCHIN and OHN's newest addition in this transformation—integrated healthcare organization Kaiser Permanente Northwest—joined on May 1. According to the release, Kaiser Permanente patients and partners will experience improved information exchange, better quality telehealth services and the ability to connect to other providers in the OHN network as Kaiser Permanente makes this move.
“Kaiser Permanente works with many alliance partners and other providers throughout the state of Oregon and southwest Washington,” Dr. Homer Chin, associate medical director at Kaiser Permanente Northwest, said in the release. “With the increased need for high speed, high bandwidth, reliable connectivity, with 24x7 support, and the increasing need to extend our services to a wider community, OHN represented a quality-driven, cost-effective, compelling solution for us.”
“Signing with OHN and working with non-Kaiser Permanente providers and health systems in support of quality patient care everywhere is a cooperative effort that benefits all Oregonians. This makes sense for improving patient care,” Kim Lamb, OHN's executive director and OCHIN's VP of marketing and communications, said in the release.
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