Health information exchange networks Missouri Health Connection and Kansas Health Information Network formed an agreement Aug. 12 that will allow the organizations to share EHR data of more than 20 million combined patients across the Midwest.
Considered to be two of the largest HIEs in the country, MHC and KHIN's partnership will allow healthcare providers connected to either network access to health records of patients across Kansas, Missouri and the Midwest. Expanding access to patients' EHR data will allow healthcare providers, health plans and other healthcare organizations to reduce treatment delays as well as duplicative testing and procedures.
"In the near future, patients who travel between Missouri and Kansas can rely on the fact that their electronic health information will be available to their healthcare providers," said Laura McCrary, KHIN executive director, according to a news release. "Patients' medical records will be electronically available to their physicians and other healthcare providers any time of day. This is critically important as there are times a patient may not be able to communicate all of their health history to their physician or hospitalist in an emergency."
MHC's network of participants provides more than half of the in-patient care delivered in Missouri. The network comprises more than 75 hospitals, hundreds of health clinics and 14 community health centers. KHIN also serves a significant portion of its state, including more than 125 hospitals, 75 percent of Kansas physician practices and all federally qualified health centers.