Interboro RHIO and NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation Join the Statewide Health Information Network of New York

NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY) today announces a partnership with New York City's Interboro Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO).  This alliance is the next step in unifying New York State's existing regional health records exchanges into a strong statewide network. The SHIN-NY will improve healthcare and reduce costs by making health records securely accessible by providers treating a patient anywhere in the state.  The SHIN-NY is run by the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC).

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Interboro RHIO's health records exchange is broad, and includes hospitals, trauma centers, long-term care facilities, diagnostic centers, and private practices.  Interboro's participants include the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation (NYCHHC) and its founding members include several HHC entities (Elmhurst Hospital Center, HHC Health & Home Care, MetroPlus, Queens Hospital Center, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center) along with New York Hospital Queens and Visiting Nurse Services of New York.

The NYCHHC is the nation's largest public healthcare network, serving 1.4 million New Yorkers annually. Its patients include some of the city's most underserved and chronically ill, many of whom lack health insurance. Once the Interboro exchange connects to the SHIN-NY's growing statewide network, its provider members will have better access to even more data. For example, if a patient has a test or procedure at a practice outside of the Interboro network, those medical records will soon be easily accessible by that patient's primary care provider via the SHIN-NY.

"We are excited about the opportunity to enable information sharing across a broader base of providers and further our goal of using health information exchange to improve quality, patient safety and efficiency," said Chris Constantino, Executive Director of Elmhurst Hospital Center and Chairman of the Interboro Board.

"The health information exchange goals of the Interboro RHIO and NYeC are well aligned with HHC's goals of building robust care management/care coordination capabilities across care settings both within the NYCHHC network and with external partners," said Alan Aviles, President and Chief Executive Officer of the NYCHHC.

In June, the SHIN-NY announced its first partnerships with three RHIOs in the New York City metropolitan area: BHIX (Brooklyn Health Information Exchange), eHealth Network of Long Island, and THINC (Taconic Health Information Network and Community), which serves the Hudson Valley Region. Once the SHIN-NY is able to connect the exchanges in the "downstate" region (New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley) it will have coordinated a network ready to serve that region's 13 million residents.

"Interboro RHIO is a strong partner and has already made great strides towards advancing health IT in New York," explained David Whitlinger, Executive Director of NYeC. "The goal is simply better healthcare through technology.  We all have stories about a loved one with a serious disease struggling to keep their test results, treatment plans, and records straight as they travel from hospital to specialist to family doctor and so on. Technology solves that problem. Providers can spend more time with the right information at their fingertips, which means more time working directly with their patients."

About The New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC): NYeC is a not-for-profit organization, working to improve healthcare for all New Yorkers through health information technology (health IT). Founded in 2006 by healthcare leaders, NYeC receives funding from state and federal grants to serve as the focal point for health IT in the State of New York. NYeC works to develop policies and standards, to assist healthcare providers in making the shift to electronic health records, and to coordinate the creation of a network to connect healthcare providers statewide. The goal of NYeC is that no patient, wherever they may need treatment within the State of New York, is ever without fast, secure, accurate, and accessible information.

About the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY): The SHIN-NY (pronounced "shiny") is coordinated by the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) and functions similarly to a public utility, making electronic health records secure and accessible to healthcare providers statewide while improving patient care and lowering costs. SHIN-NY is a network of information transmitted between users. Like the internet, as more users connect, it grows, evolves, and becomes more secure, efficient, and easy to use. As an increasing number of private practices, nursing homes, clinics and hospitals begin to digitize their records, they have the option to connect to information hubs (or RHIOs/QEs) in their region of the state. These Regional Health Information Organizations collect health record data from the healthcare providers in their area and, with patient consent, allow this information to be shared securely with other providers in the region. The SHIN-NY will connect these regional hubs to create a private and secure network spanning the entire State of New York. 

About Interboro RHIO: The Interboro Regional Health Information Organization is a clinical data exchange serving New York City and surrounding communities.  The Interboro RHIO facilitates the sharing of patient information between authorized healthcare providers at the point of care to improve quality, patient safety and efficiency.

SOURCE New York eHealth Collaborative