Area hospitals set to begin sharing electronic patient medical records

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A new dimension in medical records has arrived in the Kansas City area.

In a ceremony at the Ambassador building near Kansas City International Airport Tuesday, Heartland Health gifted 15 Kansas City area hospitals and clinics with a $2 million secure electronic medical library system. It's called the Lewis and Clark Information Exchange, or LACIE.

In the past, electronic medical records were only shared within a hospital. The LACIE system gives doctors immediate access to electronic patient records in any of the participating hospitals and clinics.

Dr. Lancer Gates, internal medicine physician at North Kansas City Hospital, called LACIE good for patients and physicians.

"Patients don't have to spend time and money tracking down their medical records and doctors can access information faster and avoid ordering tests that have already been done," Gates said.

Each participating hospital has a representative on the LACIE board setting policy and privacy regulations.

Patients have the right to opt-out of LACIE at any time and only treating physicians have access to the electronic medical library.

LACIE is scheduled to be online in March of this year.