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A Partnership for the Future of Community Health Centers

2 January 2026
Blog
4 minute read

eClinicalWorks

eClinicalWorks and NACHC team up to drive AI adoption and healthcare IT

What do you get when you combined the nation’s leading organization for Community Health Centers with the leading provider of ambulatory healthcare IT services? You get a partnership between the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and eClinicalWorks® that promises to drive wider adoption of tools, including many powered by artificial intelligence.

Broader use of advanced healthcare IT can mean more access to care for the 60 million or more Americans who live in rural areas, helping lead to better medical outcomes while lowering overall medical costs.

Community Health Centers (CHCs) play a vital role as the backbone of primary care across underserved and rural areas of America. Residents of urban and suburban areas often have a variety of medical providers to choose from, including many specialists and hospitals. However, for millions of folks living in remote areas, healthcare options can be limited.

CHCs help address the needs of rural America by delivering affordable, comprehensive, and top-quality medical services in areas that are underserved relative to more densely populated and affluent parts of the country.

Recognizing the transformative potential of technology, NACHC and eClinicalWorks have teamed up to accelerate the adoption of healthcare IT and AI solutions in these critical healthcare settings.

Empowering CHCs through technology

While many of the challenges that CHCs face — from heavy administrative burdens and workforce shortages to managing complex patient needs — are common to all healthcare providers, they often are asked to do their work in resource-limited environments.

When a given specialist is unavailable in a large city, a colleague or affiliated facility may be able to serve a patient. If one clinic’s specialized equipment is unavailable, the patient can usually go to a different facility nearby.

Those are luxuries unavailable to many CHCs, which may be the only source of medical care for thousands of people spread across a large region.

The partnership between NACHC and eClinicalWorks is designed to expand the reach of innovative AI tools that integrate seamlessly into existing clinical workflows. eClinicalWorks’ solutions support a wide range of functions, including:

Streamlining clinical documentation to reduce clinician burnout
Enhancing patient engagement through tailored communication tools
Predicting patient no-shows to optimize scheduling and resource allocation
Improving operational efficiency and accelerating revenue cycle management

By embedding AI into everyday processes, CHCs can focus more on patient care and less on paperwork.

The crucial role of CHCs in underserved communities

As the largest primary care network in the United States, CHCs serve approximately 34 to 52 million patients annually, including one in seven Americans and one in three rural residents. Their workforce of over 330,000 providers and staff deliver integrated, community-centered care across more than 17,000 locations nationwide.

For CHCs, adopting technology isn’t just about modernization — it’s essential to fulfilling their mission of equitable healthcare access. With growing demands and shifting healthcare landscapes, AI and health IT are key enablers that help CHCs remain both trusted community pillars and cutting-edge care providers.

A Structured Framework to Advance AI Adoption

The NACHC-eClinicalWorks partnership is built on four pillars:

Science: Conducting an annual national survey through NACHC’s Dr. John W. Hatch Center for Science to track AI and health IT adoption trends, barriers, and emerging needs within CHCs. These insights will guide future initiatives and policy advocacy.
Education: Developing a variety of learning opportunities — webinars, workshops, and sessions — that bring together diverse stakeholders from patients to frontline clinicians, fostering a broad understanding of AI’s benefits and applications.
Practice: Creating a dedicated online innovation community for CHC technology leaders to share best practices, collaborate, and accelerate implementation of AI tools. eClinicalWorks is also integrating its AI solutions into NACHC Select to ensure affordability and accessibility.
Policy: Using data and feedback from surveys and practice communities to shape health policies that promote ethical, transparent, and responsible use of AI and health IT in CHCs, ensuring these technologies serve both patients and providers effectively.

Real-World Impact and Testimonials

The benefits of AI integration are already evident. Paloma Hernandez, CEO of Urban Health Plan, highlights how eClinicalWorks’ AI-powered no-show prediction has boosted patient visit volumes and reduced missed appointments, allowing reinvestment in patient services that improve outcomes.

Amanda Falick Ascher, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Sun River Health, said AI tools like Sunoh.ai have significantly cut documentation time, enabling providers to focus more on patients and less on paperwork — finishing notes for dozens of patients shortly after clinic hours.

Looking ahead to a high-tech, high-trust future

“Health professionals will not be replaced by AI, but health professionals who don’t use AI risk being left behind,” says Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, President and CEO of NACHC. “This partnership marks a critical step toward ensuring CHCs and their dedicated workforce remain at the forefront of healthcare innovation.”

Girish Navani, CEO and co-founder of eClinicalWorks, echoes that vision: “Together with NACHC, we are committed to delivering scalable, affordable AI solutions that empower physicians and strengthen the future of equitable healthcare.”

As CHCs celebrate over 60 years of community-driven primary care, embracing AI and health IT will be essential to their continued success. Through this collaboration, CHCs will be better equipped to meet the evolving needs of their patients and communities — advancing toward a future where technology and compassion go hand-in-hand.