Central New York Health Systems Agency, Inc., dba HealtheConnections Health Planning

Successful implementation of health reform in New York State requires expanding primary care access and capacity, but effective planning cannot be accomplished without first assessing where and how providers across the State are practicing.

Yet no single source of information exists to provide planners, policymakers, and other stakeholders with up-to-date, accurate information about health care workers in New York State. NYHealth awarded HealtheConnections a grant to assess the viability of creating an up-to-date, functional, accessible, and searchable database of all licensed physicians and mid-level providers (physician assistants, midwives, and nurse practitioners) in New York State.

Under this grant HealtheConnections assessed what information is most valuable and has the highest demand among potential users, which can help planners, regional health information organizations, recruiters, health departments, and others to understand the actual supply of medical providers on a statewide basis. HealtheConnections also assessed the ability of the database to pull data from a variety of sources, including the New York State Department of Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and professional association provider files. It developed strategies to market the database as a reliable, up-to-date resource to ensure it is used to its maximum capacity by many stakeholders statewide. In addition to planning the database, HealtheConnections developed a sustainability plan that will identify a potential home for hosting the file, explore alternative strategies for supporting the costs of maintaining such a file, and identify legal and regulatory changes that might be needed to make such a file a reality. Finally, HealtheConnections created a report with key recommendations, including strategies for improving access to State and other source files and improving stakeholder outreach and engagement.

Read the report, “The New York State Health Care Provider Database: A Framework for Action.”