The New York State Department of Health (DOH) SHIP/DSRIP Workforce Workgroup met last week to discuss mechanisms to improve health care workforce data collection. The Workforce Workgroup was created to address workforce challenges and meet the goals of the State Health Innovation Plan (SHIP) and the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. The Workgroup’s membership includes provider associations, unions, and representatives from higher education organizations, DOH, and the New York State Education Department.
A presentation detailed a National Governors Association initiative in which several states, including New York, are working to improve workforce data collection to drive Executive branch initiatives. The presentation highlighted examples of data collected by the participating states, the collection mechanisms, the legislative authority required for such data collection, and examples of how the data is used. New York currently collects data on nurse practitioners’ practice patterns and location as part of the license renewal process. The Senate Higher Education Committee approved a bill (A.7213/S.5093) last month to expand this mandatory data collection to other licensed professionals. The full Senate approved the same bill last year and could soon pass it again. The bill was introduced in the Assembly in January. The Workforce Workgroup also discussed potential uses for the data, including to identify health professional shortage areas and in health planning and other legislative and regulatory initiatives.
The Workforce Workgroup also discussed subcommittees’ accomplishments, including the development of care coordination training guidelines and core competencies. Finally, the Workgroup highlighted its efforts to develop a compendium of best practices for new workforce models for the academic and provider communities. DOH is now accepting submissions for inclusion in the compendium.