MedStar Health, the largest healthcare provider in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region, and Cerner have signed a seven-year agreement to streamline operations, help improve the quality of patient care and develop technologies that align with MedStar's vision.

The deal calls for MedStar to have access to all Cerner solutions and services throughout the health system's 10 hospitals and more than 3,000 beds, as well as its ambulatory and post-acute network.

Cerner will provide MedStar with what the vendor calls an expanded enterprise electronic health record that will provide clinicians seamless access to patient information across the continuum of care.

"Our new partnership represents an opportunity to change the future of care delivery," said Kenneth A. Samet, president and CEO of MedStar, in a press statement. "With our mix of clinical and IT expertise, we can proactively develop innovative solutions that adapt to the ever changing healthcare landscape while meeting the needs of our patients and their families."

In addition, Cerner will provide an onsite, Maryland-based team to collaborate on the execution of MedStar's IT goals.

The deal seems akin to one Cerner forged with Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare in September 2013, which called for several key Cerner leaders and staff to relocate to Salt Lake City to join with Intermountain's executives in driving collaboration between the health system and the vendor.

[See also: Intermountain signs sweeping EHR deal.]

MedStar and Cerner have been partners since 1999. As part of the new long-term strategic agreement, they will focus on optimizing, extending and leveraging MedStar's IT footprint and work collaboratively to integrate data and process in order to deliver the highest quality and most cost-effective care possible.

[See also: MedStar takes one-vendor approach with Cerner IT and MedStar: Mother of invention.]

Cerner and MedStar will also work together on joint innovation and performance improvement initiatives.

"Our enhanced agreement will reinforce MedStar's position as one of the nation's top health systems," said Cerner Chariman and CEO Neal Patterson, in a news release. "We're proud to continue our relationship with MedStar and look forward to shared work that delivers an even higher standard of care for the communities that MedStar serves."

Through the new alliance with Cerner, MedStar plans to further the work of the MedStar Institute for Innovation by aligning more closely around technology innovation.