For More Information Contact:
Denise Reilly, Director
e-Health Network of Long Island
Phone: 631-444-4030

STONY BROOK & LONG ISLAND, NY, January 20, 2010 – The e-Health Network of Long Island, a Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) with participating partners throughout Long Island, is hosting its second set of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Vendor Fairs this week starting at Stony Brook University Medical Center (January 26), Southampton Hospital (January 27) and Winthrop-University Hospital (January 28). The EHR Vendor Fairs will provide area doctors with a venue to speak with various representatives and test their products. 

Physicians attending the events will be provided with information about how they can receive up to $44,000 in stimulus incentives from the Federal Government for the adoption and “meaningful use” of an EHR system. 

E-Health Network of Long Island is working with area physicians to meet Meaningful Use Criteria to be eligible for the first round of stimulus payments in 2011.

“We are utilizing these highly specialized vendor fairs as an outreach initiative to community physicians,” said Denise Reilly, Director of e-Health Network of Long Island. “At these fairs, we are educating providers about meaningful use and stimulus money that is available to them. We are also able to provide an environment where they are able to see and test some of the various electronic health record options that they can choose from for use in their individual practices.”

According to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, after 2015, physician practices that fail to implement and demonstrate meaningful use of an EHR system could face financial penalties from the Federal government.

Through the E-Health Network of Long Island, Long Island State Veterans Home (LISVH) at Stony Brook University has been live on the network since March 2009, successfully sharing patient data with Stony Brook University Medical Center. Physicians at LISVH have the ability to view demographic information, transcribed clinical notes along with discharge and transfer summaries for their patients who have been treated at the Medical Center.

Fred Sganga, Executive Director, explained how the e-Health Network of Long Island implementation at LISVH has benefited the facility. 

“E-Health Network has helped our frail, elderly population deal with the complexity of hospital care by better sharing secure data which helps to avoid duplication of services and better understand the wishes of our nursing homes residents and families,” he said.

Training, patient education and patient consent are currently being deployed at Southampton Hospital following the “Go Live” event at that facility that took place in December 2009. E-Health Network of Long Island expects to bring Eastern Long Island Hospital, Peconic Bay Medical Center, Gurwin Jewish Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and San Simeon by the Sound Nursing and Rehabilitation Center online by March 2010. Winthrop University Hospital is expected to be live by the summer of 2010.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law in February 2009 by President Obama, provides opportunities for both hospitals and physician practices to obtain stimulus dollars to support implementation of health information technology,” said Maureen Gaffney, RN, RPAC, Chief Medical Information Officer at Winthrop. “Winthrop’s participation in the e-Health Network of Long Island is an intricate step for the hospital to meet the eligibility criteria. We want our community physicians to be in a position to attain these funds so they can adopt the technology that will ultimately improve the care provided to our patients.”

“Interoperability of Health Information Technology systems is becoming a key component to delivering quality patient care through the sharing of information,” said Linda Shanley, Chief Information Officer at Stony Brook University Medical Center. “E-Health Network has given us the opportunity to exchange information for better patient care.”

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