Missouri Health Connection (MHC) announced Thursday that five of the Show Me State's best and biggest hospitals and health systems will be the first to participate in the state’s health information exchange.

The inaugural class includes:

• St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare organizations in the nation, with 13 hospitals including Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital;
• SSM Health Care, also in St. Louis, with 17 hospitals, a Malcolm Baldrige Award winner that provides almost 40 percent of inpatient care in Missouri; and
• Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy, with 31 acute care hospitals and 1,700 integrated physicians spanning the Midwest;

Together with Burrell Behavioral Health, in Columbia, Mo., a provider of behavioral health services since 1977, and Nevada, Mo.-based Nevada Medical Clinic, a rural multi-specialty clinic, these hospitals will connect thousands of physicians and caregivers in an effort to providing healthcare to Missourians.

"Missouri Health Connection is delighted to welcome these forward-thinking healthcare providers to the MHC network," said Mary Kasal, president and CEO of Missouri Health Connection. "MHC will empower physicians to provide care, whenever and wherever it’s needed, armed with secure, real-time patient information."

The MHC network, which is powered by the InterSystems HealthShare informatics platform, provides secure methods to share electronic patient records, referrals, discharge summaries and other clinical documents. Care providers in the MHC network can electronically communicate health-related information across all hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers.

“We are pleased to see the positive response from so many healthcare organizations that are becoming active participants in the MHC pilot project,” said Kim Day, incoming MHC board chair and regional president of Mercy Central Communities. “We look forward to the day when the entire state is connected through a secure and portable network for healthcare services that enhances patient care.”