One of the first fully operational, multi-state health information exchanges will be announced Tuesday in Kansas City.  Heartland Health officials, along with Cerner, will announce the expansion of the Lewis and Clark Health Information Exchange (LACIE).

Since 2008, Heartland has funded LACIE, but now is giving the exchange to a provider-led board of health care professionals.  The new Greater Kansas City LACIE Collaborative currently consists of 15 hospitals, independent providers and safety-net clinics in the Kansas City Metro, Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas.

Only doctors with established treatment relationships and the permission of patients will be allowed access to the exchange.  Patients will be allowed to opt out.

The exchange is accessible only by medical professionals in participating facilities.  Those professionals can only access a patient’s information if they have a treatment relationship established.  Patients can opt out of the electronic exchange of their information.  Otherwise, LACIE-connected providers can access a patient’s lagb results, reports, allergies, immunizations, and medications in seconds.