HealthlinkNY, which operates one of New York state's health information exchanges, will offer $76,000 in discounts to encourage providers to fully connect and contribute data to the HIE, HealthlinkNY announced June 15.
To receive the discounts, healthcare organizations — including providers, payers, social services programs, public health agencies, health homes, ACOs and disaster relief agencies — must sign a participation agreement with HealthlinkNY and begin contributing records to the exchange by September 30. Incentives are also available for existing HealthlinkNY participants who have not yet fully connected to the HIE.
More than 300 provider organizations have already signed HealthlinkNY participation agreements. However, many of these organizations only access patient records and do not contribute data to the HIE.
HealthlinkNY noted the New York eHealth Collaborative, which integrates HIEs across the state, also has up to $13,000 in incentives available to eligible providers. Together, the organizations are offering up to $89,000 in potential incentives on a first come, first serve basis to help providers offset the cost of connecting its EHRs and contributing data to HealthlinkNY's HIE.
"If we want to improve care and avoid repeating tests, it is vitality important that providers contribute medical records to the HIE," HealthlinkNY Executive Director Staci Romeo said in a June 15 emailed statement to Becker's Hospital Review. "Patients see many different healthcare providers, and they all should have access to their patients' complete health history."