HealthlinkNY is Now Connecting the Region’s Providers to "SHIN-NY," New York State’s New "Health Information Highway"

This is a revolutionary step towards a long-awaited goal. Now medical records can electronically follow patients, with their consent, throughout the state if they need care away from home or from another provider. All Providers Are Encouraged to Connect to HealthlinkNY to Gain Statewide Access to Data.

Binghamton, NY, October 18, 2015 --(PR.com)-- After years of development and months of testing, HealthlinkNY announced today that clinicians in in the Hudson Valley and New York’s Southern Tier can use HealthlinkNY to access and share their patients’ medical records throughout New York State. HealthlinkNY CEO Christina Galanis said the organization has begun to successfully exchange data throughout New York State by linking the two regions to the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY), which officially launched this month. This real-time connection with the SHIN-NY means providers in HealthlinkNY’s 11-county service area can now, with patient consent, electronically access a patient’s medical history, missing records, and lab results from multiple sources. This will allow physicians, clinicians, and hospitals to provide better care, save time, reduce unnecessary testing, and avoid harmful medical errors.

“This is a giant step forward for providers and consumers,” said Ms. Galanis. “The vision of truly interoperable cross-regional data-sharing now becomes a reality for New York State. Medical records can electronically follow patients, with their consent, throughout the state if they need care away from home or from another provider. This is especially important for patients who require emergency care while traveling, or go away to college, or seek treatment at specialized facilities in New York City and in other areas of the state.”

HealthlinkNY is a designated New York State “Qualified Entity” (QE), which is locally responsible for exchange of data among providers in 11 counties: Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Tioga, Ulster, and Westchester. There are nine QEs in New York State, and HealthlinkNY was one of the first QEs to establish a successful connection with the SHIN-NY during the first wave of the three-phase rollout plan for the SHIN-NY. Since August 6th, HealthlinkNY has been exchanging data with two neighboring QEs—Hixny (serving the Albany area) and HEALTHeCONNECTIONS (serving the Syracuse area).

With both Phases 2 and 3 now completed, all nine QEs are connected and able to exchange data via this statewide network. For HealthlinkNY participants, this means medical information such as lab results, medication lists, previous diagnoses, procedures, vitals, immunizations, and other reports can be quickly and easily looked up via the SHIN-NY. This is far more efficient than requesting records to be faxed or waiting on phone lines for answers. Patients can expect to receive higher quality care as a result, as physicians can now make more informed treatment decisions. The SHIN-NY should also help reduce duplicate and unnecessary testing by allowing information already recorded to be more easily shared, which can reduce healthcare costs overall.

Providers Need Minimal Additional Training

Ms. Galanis noted that providers in the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Southern Tier of New York participating in HealthlinkNY can utilize this valuable new function to view their patients’ more complete medical history with minimal additional training. She urged providers not yet connected to HealthlinkNY to contact the organization at http://healthlinkny.com/providers-services-pg.html soon as possible to get started.

Information for each of the 9 New York Sate QEs and an interactive map displaying their coverage regions is available on the New York eHealth Collaborative’s website at: http://www.nyehealth.org/shin-ny/qualified-entities-qes/

Training materials and FAQs for HealthlinkNY Participating Providers can be found at: http://healthlinkny.com/resources-pg.html

About HealthlinkNY
HealthlinkNY is a Qualified Entity (QE), funded by the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH), which operates the health information exchange (HIE) as well as population health improvement programs (PHIP), supports healthcare delivery reform (DSRIP) and fosters collaboration among public and private health plans (CPC) for an 11 county region spanning the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Southern Tier of New York. The HealthlinkNY HIE offers electronic access to patients’ community-wide health records and serves as the region’s access point to the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY), supporting collaboration between healthcare providers across the state.
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