The state of New York hopes to build the nation's largest health information exchange with $129 million in state and federal funding.

In a plan submitted to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology last week for federal approval, the New York State Department of Health and the public-private New York eHealth Collaborative detail their vision for a network connecting "hundreds of hospitals, thousands of medical practitioners and up to 20 million patients a year," according to a press release. When completed in 2014, the network is to provide immediate, secure, online access to medical records for every patient statewide. 

The so-called Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY) will pull together several existing HIEs in the Empire State and augment those networks with new service areas and capabilities every few months following the planned mid-2011 launch. State agencies will develop governance, implementation and maintenance policies for SHIN-NY.

"This statewide network will empower healthcare providers by giving them access to a wealth of patient data that they didn't always have at their fingertips," David Whitlinger, executive director of the New York eHealth Collaborative, says in a written statement.

"We feel it is our responsibility to help all patients and healthcare providers across the state have access to the same vital information that can help save lives," adds Rachel Block, deputy commissioner of health IT transformation for the state Department of Health.

For more information:
- peruse this Health Data Management story
- read this New York eHealth Collaborative press release (.pdf)

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