INTEGRIS Health will become part of Risant Health, a nonprofit backed by Kaiser Permanente and headquartered in Washington, D.C., according to a Wednesday press release,
Oklahoma's largest nonprofit health system and one of its biggest private employers will become the third health system to be acquired by Risant Health, pending regulatory approvals. That includes nonprofit health systems Geisinger, based in Pennsylvania, and Cone Health, based in North Carolina.
INTEGRIS Health CEO Timothy Pehrson said in an interview with StateImpact that the health system began conversations with Risant Health about 16 months ago.
“The more we learned about Risant Health, the more we were impressed with what they were doing and the capabilities that they were bringing to the organizations like Geisinger and Cone Health,” Pehrson said.
The organizations signed a definitive agreement Monday, Pehrson said. INTEGRIS Health, which employs 13,000 people, notified staff Wednesday morning.
Interim CEO of Risant Health Dale Maxwell told StateImpact he anticipates the transaction will be complete around the end of the first quarter of next year.
INTEGRIS Health has the state’s largest physician network and features 10 acute hospitals, 10 specialty hospitals, physician clinics and urgent care.
The health system will keep its medical staff, name and leadership team. It will also continue working with other health plans, provider organizations and independent physicians, the release said.
“The great thing about this transaction is that it's not built on cutting jobs; it's built on synergies,” Pehrson said.
Risant Health was created in 2023 to improve health outcomes by increasing access to value-based care and coverage. Value-based care ties the amount healthcare providers earn for services to the results they deliver for patients. The system’s goal is to improve patient outcomes at a lower cost.
Pehrson said INTEGRIS Health has experience with this kind of care. The partnership with Risant Health will bring new tools to support quality.
“That's really what we're about, is ‘How do we touch more individuals and deliver that type of care in Oklahoma?” Maxwell said.
Risant Health reported its two health systems have experienced healthcare delivery improvements. Geisinger Community Medical Center patients are receiving emergent care 60% faster on average than before Risant Health’s Care Without Delay management system was implemented. The press release said this reduced wait times and improved access to timely treatment.
The nonprofit reports that its value-based care guides helped make approximately 490 more specialist appointments available each month at Geisinger.
Risant Health’s ambient clinical assistant also reportedly helped Cone Health Medical Group providers spend almost 14% less time on clinical notes per patient encounter.
“The thing I love about this is they're not taking the clinical decision-making away from the clinicians, the docs and the nurses,” Pehrson said. “They are just enabling them to do that more effectively and efficiently.”
Pehrson added that INTEGRIS Health will take advantage of the scale of purchasing power, lower capital costs and cybersecurity capabilities that come with joining Risant Health.
The State Chamber of Oklahoma welcomed the INTEGRIS Health agreement in a press release Wednesday.
“What makes this partnership particularly exciting is the opportunity to preserve INTEGRIS Health's Oklahoma identity, leadership and deep community roots while gaining access to the capital, innovation, technology and resources of a nationally scaled nonprofit healthcare organization,” said State Chamber President and CEO Chad Warmington.
“For Oklahoma, that combination has the potential to be transformative. A healthier workforce, better health outcomes, and greater access to quality, affordable care are all essential to making Oklahoma more competitive.”
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