New York's State Legislature last week gave SHIN-NY, the statewide health information network, a $45 million boost.

The money is part of the state's fiscal years 2015-16 budget. It is earmarked for SHIN-NY and its regional health information organizations, which will continue to build the public network.

The network has already drawn 50,000 healthcare providers and more than 7 million New Yorkers willing to share their medical records among their healthcare providers.

[See also: SHIN-NY goes big for statewide HIE.]

Dave Whitlinger, executive director of the New York e-Health Collaborative, which coordinates activities for SHIN-NY, the crucial funding authorized in the final budget would help improve the quality, efficiency and ease of treatment for patients.

"This year's funding will build on the strong foundation the RHIOs have already built to drive further adoption and usage of the network," Whitlinger said in a statement. "These services will allow doctors to look up individual patient records through a secure search engine, exchange direct messages with other doctors, and receive alerts when the patients have an important event such as entering an emergency room or being discharged from a hospital."

SHIN-NY will also be a key component in helping providers who are working together through programs such as the Delivery System Reform Incentive Program collaborate with each other to boost care while reducing costs.

New York has been a leader in health information exchange and is the first large state in the country to build a public network of interconnected electronic health records this kind.

[See also: New York HIE gets Direct messaging.]