New York eHealth Collaborative is nothing if not encouraging of entrepreneurs. It has entrusted startup Mana Health with developing the patient portal for its statewide health information network, SHIN-NY. It has also given startups free rein to use its application programming interface sandbox to develop useful apps for the network. In a media briefing with reporters, Whitlinger outlined the progress he expected SHIN-NY to make in the next year. Here are a few points that emerged from that summary.
It will have a patient portal in the first quarter of 2014. He is hoping 1 million people will use it in the first year to access their health records, keep track of medical appointments, and manage their prescriptions and lab results. The goal is to help providers satisfy Meaningful Use requirements and boost patient engagement.
It will be a quasi public utility. In April, SHIN-NY is expected to be categorized as a quasi public utility by the state government. The total investment for the state to invest in the SHIN-NY would be the equivalent of $3.50 for each resident.
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Companies will use its API to develop new portals and apps for specialized patient populations. So far, 130 companies have registered to use the API and are starting to play in the sandbox. Whitlinger said it hopes these companies will produce dozens of new apps that are useful for its residents. It also hopes that other companies will develop portals for more specialized patient populations such as for diabetics and seniors.
One of the most interesting examples of innovative companies New York eHealth collaborative has worked with is health IT company Biodigital Human. It has developed an API of 3D human body illustrations and animations. Co-founder Frank Sculli said providers can use this API as an educational tool to improve patient engagement. The company is also providing the API to medical device and pharma companies as well as other entrepreneurs, for a price, as a building block for innovative applications.
More hackathons. As a way of stimulating the creative minds of its entrepreneur community for useful applications for the SHIN-NY, New York eHealth Collaborative did a diabetes hackathon earlier this year. Whitlinger said more hackathons are coming next year.
