Electronic Medical Records in New York

New York's Regional Extension Centers (RECs) has enabled over 10,000 doctors to adopt electronic medical records by end year 2011. The main beneficiaries being primary care providers and small practices who struggle with the acquisition cost and implementation of the electronic system.

These professionals are required to undergo a program where they are taught how to implement and put the system in to meaningful use that qualifies them to get reimbursements by the federal and state as part of the stimulus reimbursements program operated under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

NYC REACH is a training program offered by New York City Health Department's Primary Care Information Project. The Primary Care Information Project helps doctors in New York City adopt Electronic Medical Records and meet the requirements for meaningful use in order to receive stimulus reimbursements.

This in return improves the quality and coordination of care for all patients across the state coupled with reduced operating costs. Most health care providers attest to Meaningful Use, regardless of their current EMR status. If all states and governments could adapt this kind of program then all patients world wide would benefit tremendously since these practitioners learn the art of time management, maximization of resources using the electronic records.

The Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY)

NY eHealth Collaborative's Executive Director David Whitlinger outlines the plans for healthcare interoperability in the state of New York. The SHIN-NY 2.0 system will provide electronic medical records integrated workflow and create a platform for sharing health information to the New York healthcare system. In order to accomplish this goal, NY eHealth has formed a coalition between several states and EHR vendors to develop the technical standards for EMR integration in a clinical setting and to solve platform issues related to EMR compliance with the record exchange specifications.

NY eHealth's SHIN-NY 2.0 Strategy - 2011 DHC Session