What ECHO-Chicago does

ECHO-Chicago is a nonprofit healthcare telementoring program affiliated with University of Chicago Medicine, founded in 2010 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It operates the ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) model to deliver case-based learning via high-grade videoconferencing (Zoom) to community-based healthcare providers who lack ready access to specialist expertise. The program serves clinicians, community health workers, nurses, pharmacists, behavioral health specialists, and public health practitioners across 30+ topic areas including hepatitis C, complex pediatric asthma, behavioral health integration, serious mental illness, geriatrics, and community health worker training. Participants register through a RedCAP online survey and attend weekly recurring sessions, committing to 75% attendance and at least one case presentation.

The organization is led by a small staff of 5-9 personnel under Executive Director Karen Lee, M.S. and Director Dr. Daniel Johnson, M.D., working under the governance umbrella of UChicago Medicine's Biological Sciences Division. Since inception, ECHO-Chicago has trained over 5,000 providers spanning Chicagoland, Illinois, the broader United States, and internationally—including a 2023 partnership with Tongji University School of Medicine to establish the first ECHO Hub in China, funded by the Cyrus Tang Foundation. The business model is grant-funded: services are provided entirely free to participants, with revenue drawn from federal grants (HRSA, OMH, AHRQ), private foundations, and institutional support from UChicago Medicine. Major funding partners include the Health Resources and Services Administration (Complex Pediatric Asthma), the Office of Minority Health (Serious Mental Illness), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Nursing Home COVID), and Americares (Behavioral Health Integration for Free and Charitable Clinics). The organization has no equity funding, no private investors, and no participant fees.

Name

ECHO-Chicago

Legal name

ECHO-Chicago

Website

https://echo-chicago.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ECHO-Chicago is a nonprofit telementoring program affiliated with University of Chicago Medicine that delivers free, case-based video learning to 5,000+ community-based healthcare providers across 30+ clinical specialty topics since 2010.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Telementoring Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) (62133)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Behavioral Health (Collaborative Care) Platforms (HLALAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Virtual Behavioral Health Integration Platforms (HLALABAE)

Keywords

• Telementoring services
• Healthcare professional training
• Case-based learning
• Primary care capacity building
• Community health education

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Telementoring Services: ECHO-Chicago provides free telementoring services to healthcare professionals. As a nonprofit affiliated with University of Chicago Medicine, the program operates primarily through grants and donations rather than participant fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ECHO-Chicago delivers free telementoring for community-based healthcare providers through case-based learning delivered via high-grade videoconferencing. The program offers 30+ topic-specific series covering chronic physical and mental health conditions, including Hepatitis C, Complex Pediatric Asthma, Behavioral Health Integration, Geriatrics, Serious Mental Illness, and Community Health Worker training. All sessions are free of charge, funded through grants, donations, and institutional support from University of Chicago Medicine.

Product overview

ECHO-Chicago is a healthcare telementoring platform that provides 'telementoring' for community-based healthcare professionals through case-based learning delivered via high-grade videoconferencing using the Zoom platform. The organization offers over 30 topic-specific ECHO series covering chronic physical and mental health conditions, including Hepatitis C (HepCCATT), Complex Pediatric Asthma, Community Health Worker training, Behavioral Health Integration, Geriatrics, and Serious Mental Illness. Additional offerings include the ECHO-Chicago Podcast for sharing program stories and impact. The platform operates on an 'All Teach, All Learn, All Support' model to build primary care capacity among community-based providers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ECHO-Chicago Telementoring Series Weekly telementoring sessions delivered via high-grade videoconferencing that connect community-based healthcare providers with expert specialists through case-based learning for managing chronic physical and mental health conditions.
• ECHO-Chicago Podcast Podcast series sharing stories and information from the ECHO-Chicago program, featuring conversations with facilitators, participants, and community partners about healthcare topics and program impact.
• HepCCATT (Hepatitis C Community Alliance to Test and Treat) A collaborative project focused on Hepatitis C testing, treatment, and community outreach, including media campaigns and screening events across Chicago.
• Complex Pediatric Asthma ECHO Series Series training providers in medical management and environmental/social facets of pediatric asthma care to address disparities on Chicago's South Side.
• Community Health Worker ECHO Series Training program for Community Health Workers providing interactive didactics and case-based learning on topics including self-care, patient engagement, motivational interviewing, and mental health resources.
• Behavioral Health Integration ECHO Series Series developed in partnership with Americares for Free and Charitable Clinics focusing on integrating behavioral health into primary care settings and managing serious mental illness.
• Geriatrics for Primary Care Providers ECHO Series Cornerstone series covering dementia diagnosis, polypharmacy, pain management, hospice care, and opioid use in older adults using the 4M's framework.
• Serious Mental Illness ECHO Series Series designed to address the shortage of mental health care in safety-net settings, training providers in treating serious mental illness in primary care.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5000 providers trained since 2010
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tongji University School of Medicine (TUSM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Historic partnership to establish the first ECHO Hub in China. Funded by the Cyrus Tang Foundation, this 3-year demonstration project aims to improve community health outcomes through the ECHO model. The partnership leverages Shanghai's primary care system to uptrain community-based clinicians, with potential for replication across China.
• AmericarescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership to develop and deliver behavioral health series for Free and Charitable Clinics (FCCs) across the country. Series focused on Behavioral Health Integration and Serious Mental Illness for FCCs, with Americares' Vice President of US Programs involved in program design.
• Community Clinic of Southwest MissouriminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated in Behavioral Health Integration & Serious Mental Illness for FCCs series. Clinic team members joined both series and made organizational changes as a result of the training.
• Heal the City Free ClinicminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExecutive Director Chelsea Stevens and clinic team participated in Americares partnership series for behavioral health integration and serious mental illness, resulting in team collaboration improvements.
• American Liver Foundation Great Lakes DivisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of Hepatitis C screening events around Chicago and Illinois. Co-presenter of healthcare professional management series on topics including HCC, transplant, and liver disease management.
• ACCESS Community Health NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerACCESS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jairo Mejia featured in HepCCATT podcast episode, representing partner organization in hepatitis C care improvement initiatives.
• UChicago Medicine Urban Health InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternal partnership providing Community Health Worker training. CHW team received specialized training through ECHO series covering self-care, patient engagement, community violence, motivational interviewing, and mental health resources.
• South Side Pediatric Asthma Center (SSPAC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced as resource partner for asthma management information including instructions for green cleaning products, inhaler technique videos, and asthma resource hotline.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NEJM Knowledge+: Adaptive learning platform for clinicians providing CME/MOC across specialties. Competes for physician engagement time and serves a similar audience of community-based providers seeking continuing education.
• Pri-Med: Large-scale CME provider offering live and virtual continuing education for primary care clinicians on chronic disease management, behavioral health, and population health. Competes for the same clinician learning hours and CME credit budget.
• University of Texas Southwestern ECHO Programs: Runs ECHO telementoring programs under the Texas Child Mental Healthcare Consortium, where ECHO-Chicago alumni previously coordinated series. Comparable academic-medical-center-delivered, case-based clinician training on behavioral health and pediatric topics.
• AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) National Coordinating Resource Center: HRSA-funded national network using ECHO and similar telementoring models to train HIV care providers. Comparable federally funded, case-based virtual training targeting community-based clinicians in underserved areas.
• Project ECHO (University of New Mexico): Originating institution of the ECHO telementoring model that ECHO-Chicago is built on. Operates a global Superhubs network using case-based videoconferencing to train community providers across 100+ conditions, with the same 'All Teach, All Learn' philosophy. Most directly comparable operating model.
• Moses/Weitzman Health System (Weitzman Institute ECHO): Designated ECHO Superhub operating primary care-focused telementoring series on complex care, geriatrics, and behavioral health integration. Serves FQHCs and community health centers nationally with a comparable CME-granting, case-based learning model.
• American Academy of Pediatrics ECHO Programs: Operates ECHO series including the Health Tomorrows program that funded ECHO-Chicago's pediatric asthma work. Comparable specialty-society-led telementoring for pediatric and adolescent health topics using the same methodology.
• University of Mississippi Medical Center ECHO Programs: Operates ECHO telementoring series including the Mississippi Thrive! Child Health Development Project, with prior ECHO-Chicago team members coordinating programs. Academic medical center model serving community providers on similar chronic disease and behavioral topics.

Broad incumbents

• American Medical Association (AMA Ed Hub): Largest U.S. physician membership organization operating a broad CME platform with content across all major specialties. Overlaps with ECHO-Chicago's audience but does not use case-based telementoring or focus exclusively on underserved community settings.

Others

• CDC TRAIN Learning Network: Public health learning management system used by CDC and partner organizations to deliver training to public health and healthcare professionals. Provides complementary infrastructure for federally funded workforce training rather than direct clinical telementoring.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ECHOChicago
• Facebookfacebook.com/Hepccatt-Info-742725719147647
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/echo-chicago

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ECHO-Chicago