Establishes the clinical information resource access program to provide information to medical institutions and facilities

1 Co-sponsor

• William J. Larkin Jr.

BILL NUMBER:S4991B

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the clinical information resource access program

Purpose

Establishes the clinical information resource access program to provide information to medical institutions and facilities

Summary of provisions

Section 1. Amends subdivision 1 of section 201 of the public health law to add two new paragraphs to the duties of the Health Department to include the coordination of clinical information resources within New York State and to encourage education and training the area of clinical information resources.

Section 2. Amends the public health law to add a new section 207-a which provides for the clinical information resource information access program. Under the program, electing institutions and universities will participate in the program with the Health Department, who will, in conjunction with the board of regents and board of trustees of the state university, contract on behalf of the participating universities and institutions for electronic and print resources on medical information related to clinical practice. The information will be provided to the participating parties as well as designated health care practitioners and facilities. An advisory board will be established to designate eligible medical libraries and make recommendations on the selection and procurement of resources.

Section 3. Effective Date.

Justification

Patients and their families desire and deserve health care providers to be well educated in the best and most effective clinical practices available. The Clinical Information Resource Access (CIRA) program provides the mechanism for coordinated acquisition and dissemination of clinical medical information across New York.

The successful training of our health care professionals may begin at school - from a two-year college to a research university - but it continues throughout their career. Unfortunately the cost of maintaining a high level of proficiency is access to the most current and authoritative evidence possible.

Across New York there are 194 hospitals, 640 nursing homes, more than 200 colleges and universities training nurses or conducting research, 47 federally qualified health clinics, and scores of public health departments and agencies. These institutions and providers employ a total workforce of nearly 800,000. Yet many do not have access to up-to-date and reliable health care information. Of those institutions with in-house libraries (about 60 percent of hospitals) most are under-funded and lack adequate information access. The problem of access grows exponentially each year. In 2009, over

845,000 research articles were added to the National Library of Medicine's database of current literature. Limited access to this unending wave of information makes it impossible for a practitioner to keep up on their own.

It is also known that access to evidence-based clinical information directly impacts the quality, cost, and effectiveness of care. When health care professionals have access to the latest information they make more informed decisions, more wisely use limited resources, and provide better solutions to patients.

CIRA begins to remedy the problem of inadequate access to increasingly expensive information resources.

By allowing the Department of Health to aggregate the purchasing power of New York's colleges, universities and research centers, wider access can be obtained at lower prices. From community college nursing programs to elite medical centers, more professionals will have access to more information.

Legislative history

This is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Effective date

This shall take effect immediately.