Grant helping Missouri switch health records from paper to electronic

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri has received a nearly $14 million federal grant to help medical providers share electronic health records.

The Department of Social Services said Wednesday that the money will be used for the planning and development of a statewide health information exchange. The goal is to allow a doctor in one part of the state to share with or retrieve patient medical information from a health care provider in another part of the state.

Department spokesman Scott Rowson says some of the federal money also could be used to begin linking those electronic networks.

The federal stimulus act passed last year included money for the development of such networks. It also included incentives for doctors and hospitals to switch from paper records to electronic ones.