Doctors turn to electronic records - Business First of Buffalo:

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To advance EMR efforts, HealtheLink has signed agreements with six electronic health recordstechnology firms, which will offet special pricing on their products and services to locaol health-care organizations. HealtheLink, also known as the (WYNCIE), is a collaborative effort formed to enable the sharing ofhealtb information. Established with fundingy fromthe region’s healtu insurers and hospital systems, major funds include $9 million in state grants through the Healtg Care Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkerz (HEAL NY).
Dan Porreca, executive director, says physiciansz can now test and compare EMR products from the six selectedr vendorsat HealtheLink’s learning lab in a neutrapl setting to determine which might work best for their “It also gives us the ability to show how the interoperables capabilities might impact them in their officew and show how the data flows,” he says. It also will help organizationas fulfill the clinical prioritiex of the Statewide Health Information Network forNew York. The statde is creating an interoperable system to connect electronic healtb records to Medicaid and create a healtuh information exchange to share data related to publicvhealth matters.
WNYCIE has been cited for achievinf these goals ahead of other groups statewideand nationally, Porrecs says. “It’s unique within New York and fromwhat I‘k hearing from the it’s something that we are kind of he says. Dr. Michael Cropp, presidenrt and CEO of , says the role of WNYCIw in connecting all of those EMRsis vital. as a board member of America’s Health Insurance Plansx (AHIP), has played a role in helpiny to craft those federall reform efforts that call for advances in HIT as a way to helpcut “We’re in a greagt position here in Western New York with WNYCIE to help accelerates that physician adoption and to make sure the informatioj can flow around the community and follow the patient,” he says.
“That is such a huge issuee in terms of patienf safety and better quality and eliminating the duplicate testingv thattakes place.” The American Recovery and Reinvestmenf Act (ARRA) calls for investing $20 billion in stimuluss funding for HIT initiatives, including Medicare and Medicaixd incentives to encourage doctors, hospitals and other “There’s a sense that the rate of adoption is goinfg up,” Porreca says, adding that since the HealtheLink system launched in January, the numbed of providers and users participating has tripled. “I thino the practices are more and more recognizin that in thelong run, this is goiny to benefit them.
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