New State Regulations Governing Health Information Exchange Under Discussion

At its July 24 meeting, the Codes Committee of the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC) discussed draft regulations that would:

• Establish the structure of the State Health Information Network of New York (the "SHIN-NY");
• Establish roles and responsibilities for:
  • The State designated entity that promotes health information exchange and develops policies to support the SHIN-NY (the New York eHealth Collaborative or "NYeC");
  • The qualified entities (called Regional Health Information Organizations or "RHIOs") that administer regional health information exchange; and
  • The participants (providers, health plans and public health agencies) in the SHIN-NY;
• Enumerate patient rights in relation to health information available through the SHIN-NY; 
• Create standards for health information exchange and use of data through the SHIN-NY to ensure uniformity of standards and privacy and security of information; and
• Require certain health care facilities utilizing certified electronic health record technology to connect to the SHIN-NY through a qualified entity and allow private and secure bi-directional access to health information within two years. 

Facilities subject to this bi-directional access requirement would include hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, hospice programs, home care agencies and health maintenance organizations. The draft regulations permit the Department of Health to waive this requirement based on criteria such as economic hardship, technological limitations beyond the control of the provider, or other exceptional circumstances.

Prior to adoption, this draft regulation will be published in the State Register for public comment. The draft regulations are available here on page 377. A webcast of the Codes Committee meeting is available here.

Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383, ext. 128