CRISP’s Horrocks to Lead New York eHealth Collaborative

The New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) has brought in one of the rock stars of the health information exchange world, hiring David Horrocks, president and CEO of CRISP, Maryland’s HIE, as its new CEO.

The nonprofit NYeC oversees the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY). Pronounced “shiny,” it facilitates the secure electronic exchange of patient health information statewide. In partnership with the New York State Department of Health, NYeC developed and manages the technology platform that connects New York’s Qualified Entities (QEs) and enables the sharing of data statewide. The SHIN-NY connects 100 percent of the hospitals in New York State, over 100,000 healthcare professionals, and represents millions of people living in or receiving care in New York.

Horrocks has been the president and CEO of CRISP since its formation in 2009. While at CRISP, he launched CRISP Shared Services, an iHIE affiliation by which five state-designated HIEs share a single technology operation to gain economies of scale and share best practices. In 2012, CRISP developed an ADT-based encounter notification system that became a model for the country’s HIEs.

Horrocks succeeds Valerie Grey, who departed at the end of 2021 after more than five years at the helm.

Horrocks has made the case for thinking of HIEs as valuable health data utility because they are able to combine and enhance data. “Think about a COVID case file and the vehicles that we've had for many years for public health to receive information. If you combine a COVID case file with chronic condition flags from Medicaid, Medicare and commercial claims, you enhance that file in a way that would be very difficult for public health to do by putting new reporting mandates in the field,” he said during a panel discussion last year.  “I think this role of combining data to enhance data is unique. And because we are trusted, and because we are regulated to have extra patient privacy protections, I think it's uniquely a role that we are able to play.”

NYeC Board Chair John D. Bennett, M.D., also serves as president and CEO of Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan. In a statement, he said, “David has the skills, smarts, and leadership abilities that make him the ideal person to guide NYeC and the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY) forward as we work to improve health care outcomes and reduce healthcare costs for New Yorkers.”

Prior to joining CRISP, Horrocks was senior vice president at Erickson Retirement Communities, serving in several startup ventures and also serving as chief information officer. During Horrocks’ time as CIO, Erickson was among the very first senior living organizations to deploy electronic medical records to facilities, which spread across eight states. He previously spent five years as a technologist and department manager for AbiliTech, a nonprofit that provided technology services to people with disabilities. 

“It is an honor to join the team at NYeC and all those who contribute to the work of the SHIN-NY.  New York has built a strong foundation from which to innovate and advance healthcare interoperability, in support of New York State’s healthcare stakeholders, including patients and public health agencies, that are served by the SHIN-NY,” Horrocks said in a statement.