CORHIO and Health Current Merger Progress Update

With the new year upon us, we wanted to take a moment to provide a status update on the progress of the merger activities.

In late September 2020, CORHIO and Health Current announced that both organizations entered formal discussions to strategically align their organizations to better serve the healthcare data needs in Colorado and Arizona, while preparing for future consolidation in the health information exchange (HIE) landscape. The vision behind joining of CORHIO and Health Current is to form a new regional organization has the potential to create the largest health data utility in the West.

The Executive Leadership Teams of both organizations tapped the expertise of an external merger consultant and legal counsel to assist with the due diligence process. The process involved a thorough evaluation of structural, financial, and cultural alignment risks and opportunities. This analysis, combined with extensive management interviews, resulted in recommendations for an approach to integrating the two organizations.

Additionally, the transition planning process is underway with leaders in each organization collaborating with their counterparts to synthesize their respective departments: Human Resources, Finance, Technology Services/Operations, Outreach, Consulting, Marketing Communications, and Privacy, Security and Compliance.

Throughout the merger process, all recommendations will be guided with input from a newly formed Board Transition Committee, comprised of stakeholders from both states. Member organizations represented on the committee include:

• Public Partners
• Community Health Center
• Hospital Association
• Health System
• Health Plan
• Integrated Health Clinic
• Laboratory
• State Medicaid Agency

The due diligence process has validated many of the strategic reasons why the merger is underway, most notably, the strong alignment of values and culture. “In exploring what makes everyone at CORHIO and Health Current tick, one of the things that rises to the top is a shared commitment to the mission and the work that we do, and the culture of how we do the work,” said Morgan Honea, CORHIO CEO. “Not only are we incredibly proud of the work that we do, we find it meaningful in addressing some of the hardest problems in healthcare, and we are intentional in the way that we do the work, and the culture in which we work in,” he added.

The current timeline calls for final approval by the Board Transition Committee by the second quarter of 2021. In the meantime, the teams continue to march forward together to create a more dynamic, powerful and unified organization. “I am extremely grateful for all of the work that our staff has put into this merger. It's an incredibly exciting opportunity,” said Melissa Kotrys, Health Current CEO. “We are really thrilled with the progress we've made to date and look forward to the exciting things ahead for us on the horizon,” she added.

DOWNLOAD: CORHIO & Health Current Merger – FAQs