Advancing NACHC into the Digital Age

Adopting a Data-Driven, Human-Centered Technology

Approach

While the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) has long partnered on the use of health information technology (HIT) with federal agencies, Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and their Health- Center Controlled Networks (HCCN) and Primary Care Association (PCA) partners, it is now expanding its advocacy role towards content, standards, programs and quality improvement in HIT. NACHC intends to start its approach on internal content and projects but will immediately begin to engage partners to identify a longer-term approach.

1. Moving patients and care teams to the center of technology efforts

   1. Instituting Human-Centered Design Framework (see figure) for NACHC informatics and technology projects
   2. Engaging the FQHCs and HCCN/PCA networks to understand what challenges NACHC may be able to ameliorate 

2. Identifying clinical data elements and measures important to FQHCs

   :  

   1. Increasing transparency and electronic availability of content through an open data dictionary
   2. Acting with content owners to harmonize and improve content
   3. Filling in content gaps and working with regulators and industry to make that content widely available 

3. Building infrastructure to support health centers and HCCN/PCA partners with better data and technology resources

   :

   1. The Data Dictionary will include definitions and eventually mappings for NACHC and external requirements (like federal quality measures and 
      reports)
   2. Analytics resources would be made available to help health centers get current data on their ROI and clinical outcomes
   3. A Testbed and Sandbox will allow partners to get access to NACHC resources like apps, calculators and clinical decision support and to perform 
      testing