Establishing a Health Information Technology Infrastructure in New York State: The New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC)
Summary
There is an urgent need to improve health care quality, safety, and efficiency in New York State and broad use of Health Information Technology (HIT) will facilitate a secure and interoperable health information exchange. The activities planned under this grant were designed to further develop and implement the statewide collaboration process with the ultimate goal of advancing HIT adoption and use. Because HIT and the health information exchange infrastructure is intended as a public good, NYeC’s vision included engaging the public in understanding, using, and evaluating HIT and health information exchange capabilities, both as individual consumers and patients and as part of a community engaged in these activities.
Grant Goals:
NYeC hoped to achieve the following goals:
- Create a better understanding of the evolving statewide health information and quality improvement strategy in New York for key health care policy makers and stakeholder constituencies, including consumer advocacy organizations.
- Support and coordinate efforts across different HIT initiatives in New York to develop common specifications that result in measurable outcomes.
- Engage consumers in HIT and health information exchange policy and implementation activities at the State and community levels.
- Develop a State-level regulatory framework for Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) that will be designed to ensure consumer trust, stimulate further HIT investment and innovation, and support the State’s goals for improved quality and public health.
Grant Outcomes:
NYeC accomplished the following:
- Formally designated by the NYSDOH as the public-private partnership that operates the statewide collaboration process on HIT in an inclusive and transparent manner.
- Established and managed four policy/standards workgroups that included more than 300 representatives from various HIT projects that received HEAL-NY grant funds.
- Created an education and communication committee comprising representatives from statewide health care organizations to identify their needs and develop common tools for communication.
- Provided funding support and participated in a steering committee for a Consumer Advisory Council whose membership includes representatives from numerous consumer organizations (e.g., hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, employers, and health plans).
- Conducted research and published a report on accreditation as a potential regulatory model for RHIOs titled Interoperable Health Information Exchange Policy, Governance, and Accountability.
Grantee Information:
- Grantee Website: http://www.nyehealth.org/
- Grantee Amount: $399,740