The New York State Department of Health announced on September 10 that $109 million will be awarded in two-year state grants to eleven distinguished organizations that will offer a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model capitalizing on health information technology to improve coordination and delivery of care for individuals with complex physical and behavioral health needs. The competitively selected grantees will access the Web-based Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY) through which they will securely store, retrieve, and share clinical data among the medical practitioners involved in the care of each patient.   The Department of Health notes that communication among providers and practitioners as a patient moves across different care settings, such as primary care, medical imaging, and specialty care, has been demonstrated to reduce medical errors, saving money as well as lives, and to prevent unnecessary, costly duplication of services. The New York State Office of Mental Health also strongly supports this effort. Organizations winning major grants include the Long Island Patient Information Exchange ($20 million), the New York-Presbyterian Hospital system ($10.8 million), and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation ($10 million).

About Tom Entrikin

A former policy specialist with the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (now Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)), Tom Entrikin has vast experience providing technical assistance to states on Medicaid eligibility, coverage, and reimbursement; provider certification and enrollment; program integrity; recovery of third party liabilities; Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) performance specifications and operations; interagency agreements; contracts with managed care organizations; and Medicaid waiver programs.

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