Community health centers (CHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are in a tricky position. They are poised to benefit from the innovative data aggregation and analytics platforms available in today’s healthcare marketplace, but don’t have the resources available to implement these solutions.

At the same time, they must also oversee complex operations, drive cash flows, submit monthly reports to ensure continued federal funding, and adapt to Medicaid and performance reporting changes as the healthcare industry transitions to value-based care.

So, what can these organizations – which serve as the primary medical home for over 28 million people – do to align with population health management and value-based care solutions?

The answer: recognize the breadth of what these solutions offer, the prospects for transformational cost savings and performance, and the need to think outside the box to secure these technologies. For starters, these platforms have functionality that includes the ability to:

• Access care coordination tools that drive operational efficiency
• Implement care through work lists and dashboards for preventive care services​
• Seamlessly integrate all EMR and other healthcare data on a single, centralized platform​
• Customize workflows to accommodate local and location-specific needs​
• Identify the most favorable quality measures at the patient, provider, location, and CHC/FQHC levels​

As for thinking outside the box, some possibilities may include collaborating with other like-minded CHCs/FQHCs or state primary care associations, pulling together the resources of multiple organizations, or perhaps leveraging existing partnerships and vendor relationships.

There is no easy way to go it alone, but CHCs/FQHCs that are willing to team up with other organizations are likely to discover creative ways to secure pop health solutions and unlock the potential of value-based care.

HealthEC understands the unique challenges that CHCs/FQHCs face, has extensive partnership experience with such organizations, and is committed to helping them transition to population health management and value-based care. For more information, please contact us!