Funds Are Limited and Offered On a First-Come, First-Served Basis To Qualify, Providers Need to Start Contributing Patient Data to the HIE by September 30, 2018
While business slows down for many companies in summer, HealthlinkNY (@HealthlinkNY) will be busier than ever because they are offering healthcare providers generous summer price incentives to fully connect and contribute data to the HealthlinkNY Health Information Exchange (HIE). Those discounts, combined with an additional incentive from the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), can amount to as much as $89,000 to eligible providers. But, they must respond by September 30, 2018.
“Our generous incentives encourage providers to act now rather than wait to connect their electronic health records to the HIE,” explains Staci Romeo, HealthlinkNY’s Executive Director. “If we want to improve care and avoid repeating tests, it is vitality important that providers contribute medical records to the HIE. Patients see many different healthcare providers, and they all should have access to their patients’ complete health history.”
The incentives are available to eligible healthcare providers and payers, social services programs, public health agencies, health homes, accountable care organizations, and disaster relief agencies, and similar entities. To be eligible, providers need to sign a participation agreement with HealthlinkNY and begin contributing records by September 30, 2018. The offer also is available to existing HealthlinkNY participants who are not yet fully connected to the HIE.
Although more than 300 provider organizations have signed HealthlinkNY participation agreements already, many have not been sending their own patient records to the HIE. The HealthlinkNY incentives are designed to encourage them to take that next step.
Mrs. Romeo says that of the $89,000 in possible provider incentives, HealthlinkNY is offering up to $76,000 and NYeC is offering up to $13,000. HealthlinkNY incentives will help providers offset the cost of connecting its EHR and contributing data to the HIE. She notes that in many cases, providers may find that their EHR vendor has already established a hub connection to HealthlinkNY, which would lower connection costs further.
Mrs. Romeo advises providers to act fast as funding for both the HealthlinkNY and NYeC incentives is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, the process of connecting an EHR system to the HIE and successfully contributing the required minimum data sets can take several weeks.
“The deadline is firm. You have to start contributing data by September 30, 2018,” Mrs. Romeo says. “After that, the incentives are gone.”
Providers are encouraged to learn more about the HealthlinkNY and NYeC incentives by visiting their website; emailing pr@healthlinkny.com; or calling 844.840.0050.
About HealthlinkNY
HealthlinkNY is a Qualified Entity (QE), funded by the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), which operates the Health Information Exchange (HIE) connecting providers and patients in 13 counties in 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. As the region’s hub of health information and improvement, HealthlinkNY supports healthcare delivery reform (DSRIP) and fosters collaboration among public and private health plans. Through the HealthlinkNY Community Network, the organization also operates population health improvement programs (PHIPs) in the Hudson Valley and the Southern Tier of New York.
The HealthlinkNY HIE allows all of a patient’s participating providers to safely and securely access the patient’s medical records with the patient’s consent throughout New York State. With HealthlinkNY, providers have a clearer picture of their patient’s health history, including primary care visits, hospital records, discharge orders, ER visits, specialist consultations, lab and imaging reports, behavioral health services, long-term care records, and home care visits.