When Jim Harrison joined Onpoint Health Data in 2008 as president and CEO, the “small, scrappy nonprofit” – as he fondly refers to it – was punching well above its weight, delivering innovative health data and analytic services in Maine, primarily, and beginning to venture into nearby states. Nearly 20 years later, Onpoint has expanded from coast to coast, serving clients in 17 states now, while maintaining the same level of creativity, technical expertise, and commitment to excellence that have been hallmarks of the work from the beginning.

Today, Onpoint supports state governments, purchasers, providers, and policymakers with trusted data management and award-winning analytic solutions. From its offices in downtown Portland, Maine, the organization leverages its leading-edge platforms – Data Harbor and Data Navigator – to deliver reliable data integration, access, and reporting for half of the nation’s all-payer claims databases (APCDs) and numerous other data warehousing and analytic initiatives.

Although much has changed since its founding in 1976, Onpoint’s original mission of delivering independent, reliable, and insightful health data solutions to clients nationwide has remained at the heart of the organization.

To commemorate Onpoint’s 50th anniversary, Jim offered some reflections on the organization’s history of innovation, the team’s continued growth, and the company’s ongoing work to help its clients make meaningful change in how healthcare is delivered.

Q: What was Onpoint like when you first joined in 2008?

Jim: When I joined the Maine Health Information Center – our name at the time – we were a small, scrappy nonprofit with a can-do spirit doing innovative, impactful work in Maine and New Hampshire, primarily. We’d built an innovative all-payer claims database (APCD) solution for the state of Maine, which was followed by similar deployments for both New Hampshire and Vermont. Recognizing the value of these statewide APCDs for understanding what was happening in healthcare, we began investing in a scalable solution that would enable us to deliver similar solutions for other states needing data to evaluate the health of the population and the performance of its healthcare system.

Q: How has Onpoint evolved since your start nearly 20 years ago?

Jim: Shortly after I joined in 2008, we relocated to Portland to be right in the heart of Maine’s technology and innovation hub. We knew that we needed to grow our team to achieve our vision, so we moved to where the talent already was – or could be enticed to move!

That same year, we had our first win outside of Northern New England: Minnesota. It was a big challenge for us: A population of more than 5 million – more than any of our previous state clients – testing our ability to scale systems rapidly while maintaining strict privacy and security safeguards. Minnesota made a big bet on a small but innovative nonprofit with deep expertise in healthcare data – a win that helped us demonstrate our capability and capacity to deliver in much larger markets.

Our growth across the country over the subsequent 10 years set us up to take on our biggest state client to date: California. The California win really raised our profile and underscored our organization’s expertise and track record as a leader in health data management and analytics.

Today, we’re serving clients across 17 states, including government agencies, purchasers, health improvement collaboratives, and other initiatives with diverse analytic needs – all of which require timely, integrated, enriched, and reliable data.

Q: As Onpoint expanded, what was the biggest growing pain you recall?

Jim: Soon after I joined the company, we appeared on the front page of one of Minnesota’s leading Twin Cities newspapers – in a surprising way. Being a relatively small company hosting Minnesota’s sensitive data from afar, interested parties came out in full force to voice their concerns, saying there was no way that their data was going to reside in Maine. A kindergarten class was even photographed holding signs showing the state of Maine with a slash through it! It was kind of a wake-up call that what got us this far wouldn’t get us where we needed to be from a growth and mission impact perspective.

We quickly came to the conclusion that we needed to rebrand the organization to more clearly represent our mission, our capabilities, and our ability to compete effectively with the large national commercial vendors. Needless to say, we rebranded as Onpoint Health Data the following year.

Q: What’s one of the biggest changes you’ve seen in recent years?

Jim: The pace of technological change has been incredible with the shift to the cloud and accessibility to the latest tools and technology. We’re able to scale infrastructure infinitely, process data more quickly, and leverage powerful tools for managing big data.

The advent of AI is opening new doors across the organization and for our clients, enabling us to deliver services more efficiently and cost effectively – from software development and testing to analysis and reporting. We’re able to put complex data in the hands of those without deep technical skills, so they can work with and synthesize data more quickly and independently.

And while we’re really just getting started leveraging AI and can see the amazing potential it holds, we are also focused intently on establishing the necessary guardrails to ensure data privacy and security safeguards are maintained.

Q: What are you most proud of?

Jim: I’m very proud of the outstanding team we’ve built and the growth we’ve experienced. When I joined in 2008, we were a team of less than 20 – today we’re nearly 100 strong with an amazing team of highly skilled engineers, analysts, researchers, and other professionals. We keep raising the bar for ourselves from an innovation, expertise, and service-level standpoint, and that’s recognized by our clients.

I’m very proud that our Maine-based team is supporting clients in 17 states and securely managing data for over 130 million covered lives.

What also gives me pride is thinking about how the data we deliver makes an impact on people’s lives. If you’re a consumer in the state of Indiana, you have a website that will provide you with timely information about the cost of a procedure or the quality of a provider. If you’re a policymaker in Washington State, you have data to assess how policy changes – for example, a crackdown on surprise billing – are having an impact. If you’re leading a healthcare reform initiative in Vermont, you know whether that program is having its intended impact – and how to shift gears based on the data. Empowering decision-makers with reliable information is Onpoint’s mission, and I’m proud that our team continues to keep that front and center in the work we’re doing.

Q: What sets Onpoint apart from others in the industry?

Jim: Onpoint is an independent nonprofit, and that makes a difference. Everything we earn is reinvested in our organization, our services, and our people – all to serve our clients by providing reliable data and actionable analysis. We’re also led by an outstanding national Board of thought leaders, researchers, and executives in healthcare who are deeply committed to our mission.

We specialize in delivering tailored data solutions to clients across the country. Each client – whether a state agency or large employer or quality improvement initiative – has its own policy goals and reform agenda, and our job is to make sure that they have the data and analytics they need to inform and address their specific needs.

Also, our commitment to working collaboratively with clients and their stakeholders – and being transparent about the methods – really builds trust that is missing with black-boxed solutions.

Q: What factors have helped Onpoint succeed?

Jim: I think it starts with our mission. We’ve worked very hard to maintain an entrepreneurial, can-do culture while leaning into our mission of delivering independent data that helps our clients and their communities make informed decisions.

That means we meet deadlines, we hit deliverables, we innovate, and we continuously strive to improve. At the same time, we have a set of values that calls on our team to make sure we deliver the highest quality products and expend the resources necessary to deliver for our clients.

Our team goes the extra mile because we’re motivated to make an impact, and that shows in our daily work. Our clients see our staff as knowledgeable, flexible, and willing to go above and beyond.

Q: What does the future of Onpoint look like to you?

Jim: Onpoint’s future is very bright. We’ll continue to adapt to emerging needs, leverage new technologies, innovate to maintain our leadership role. We’ll invest in new capabilities and deliver products that are designed to meet market needs. The future will demand our ongoing commitment to deliver more timely and reliable data and support more diverse and granular uses of health data. Success for us will require that same can-do, customer-first culture – one that attracts staff who want to make an impact and are willing to go the extra mile to do so.

We’re still going to be called on to bring disparate data together, breaking down silos and making sense of it all. Ultimately, clients want to understand the full story about what’s happening in healthcare, which is our strong suit.

Onpoint has a 50-year track record of bringing deep expertise and technology to inform decisions and help our clients make an impact. That’s our mission. I am absolutely optimistic that with the talent we have, the culture we’ve built, the expertise we’ve developed, and the technology that’s available, we will continue to maintain our edge and serve our mission in the years to come.

For more information about Jim, connect with or follow him on LinkedIn!