The Healthcare Information Xchange of New York has been awarded $4.6 million to continue its effort to create an all-digital patient records system in upstate New York.
The program, which is known as HIXNY, was given the grant — its second — from the state’s HEAL NY fund.
The grant to HIXNY is part of $105 million awarded by the state to community-based health information technology projects.
The state hopes to transform the current fragmented paper-based system to a system of electronic health records that follow patients to all doctor visits and allow their providers access to their medical information.
Backers hope electronic records will lead to greater efficiency and higher quality care, avoiding duplicate tests and prescriptions and preventing errors such as medication interactions.
HIXNY will conduct a phased roll-out of its health information exchange later this year, beginning with the availability of medication history, allergies and visit information, along with e-prescribing for physicians.
The new grant will be used to expand the health care exchange to include information from the Medicaid database and additional data elements including lab results, progress notes, and diagnostic images.
In addition, it will help patients gain greater control of their health information by providing them with access to their personal health record.