New Participation Agreements Due for Statewide Health Information Network
(Aug. 28, 2025) Health care providers, including nursing homes, home care agencies, and hospices, are required to sign the new participation agreement for the Statewide Health Information Network for NY (the SHIN-NY) by Sept. 30th, unless they obtain a waiver from the Department of Health (DOH). The agreement, known as the Statewide Common Participation Agreement (SCPA), is the contract between the regional health information networks (formerly known as "Qualified Entities" (QEs) or Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs)) and the participating providers.
The SHIN-NY is the statewide network of QEs which facilitates the electronic exchange of patient/resident-specific health information, to enable collaboration and coordination of care and improve outcomes, while reducing avoidable or unnecessary use of health care services. The agreement governing participation by providers in the SHIN-NY was updated earlier this year. Providers that are currently participating in the SHIN-NY are required to sign the updated agreement. Providers that are not currently participating are required to participate, unless they receive a waiver from DOH.
State regulations require licensed providers to allow bidirectional access to patient information by other authorized SHIN-NY participants. This means that a SHIN-NY participant must have the technical capacity to upload its patient information to the QE and to access the patient information of other SHIN-NY participants from the QE when authorized to do so.
The regulations also authorize DOH to waive the SHIN-NY participation requirement based on economic hardship, technological limitations or practical limitations to the full use of certified electronic health record technology that are not reasonably within control of the health care provider, or other exceptional circumstances.
The QEs are Bronx RHIO, HealtheConnections, Healthix, HEALTHeLINK, Hixny, and Rochester RHIO.
More information about the SHIN-NY is available here, and information about the SCPA is available here.
Contact: Karen Lipson, klipson@leadingageny.org