NY Picks Up Pace On SHIN-NY Path
Crain’s Health Pulse February 23, 2012
The goal of the Statewide Health Information Network of , known as SHIN-NY and pronounced as “shiny,” is to connect hospitals and doctors across the state electronically. And after nearly a half-billion dollars in state funds have been spent, some 10,000 doctors and primary-care practices are now connected through it. The network is expected to stretch from the Hudson Valley to the five boroughs to Montauk, L.I., by the end of this year, and to the whole state by the end of 2013. “I’m impatient, but we’re making real progress,” said David Whitlinger, head of the eHealth Collaborative.
That progress puts ’s health care providers in a good position to comply with a new round of federal requirements due to be released today. Known as rules for “meaningful use” of electronic records, the guidelines must be met to get funding to assist in making the full transition to electronic records.
Mr. Whitlinger said he has not yet seen the new federal demands, but the word is that there will be about 30 new requirements, covering the use of records to provide public health officials with immunization reports and the writing of electronic prescriptions. There are also new rules on “interoperability” so that people in one system can talk to peers in another. “From a patient perspective, this is very positive thing; from a provider perspective, not everyone likes it, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said.