As part of its certificate of need process, New York state is requiring that hospitals investing in major clinical information technology systems enable those systems to communicate with the developing Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY).

The new requirement will have its first effect Dec. 11 when the State Hospital Review and Planning Council is expected to approve an application by Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City to spend more than $34 million on a new inpatient medical records system.

Lori Evans, deputy commissioner of the State Department of Health in charge of its Office of Health IT Transformation, said her staff, which is developing a SHIN-NY architecture, will meet after the approval with IT managers at Mount Sinai and representatives of the hospital's vendor, Epic Systems Corp., to begin fleshing out the details.

The certificate of need process enables the state to regulate hospital expansions, new facility construction and other capital improvements. Although many states require certificates of need for acquisitions of major medical equipment, New York may be the first to use the process to foster interoperability of health information systems.

The SHIN-NY will be the Empire State's internal version of the Nationwide Health Information Network. Evans said her office recently completed Version 1 of the SHIN-NY architecture.

Evans noted that, for the most part, commercial inpatient systems have been less likely than software for doctors' offices to use industry-standard software and interfaces that would allow them to communicate with one another. The certificate of need process can help to rectify that, she said.

Three more applications for certificates of need for medical records systems are pending at the Department of Health, she added.