Erickson, Baltimore-area hospitals to create patient information exchange

In an attempt to improve treatment and reduce errors, Erickson Retirement Communities and three Baltimore-area hospital systems plan to create a health information exchange that would give emergency room physicians quick access to patients' medication histories. The Maryland Health Care Commission will provide Erickson, Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar Health and the University of Maryland Medical System with $250,000 in startup funding through the Health Services Cost Review Commission. The nonprofit venture hopes to start its exchange within six months in a couple of the partner hospitals' emergency rooms and eventually expand to all 47 emergency rooms in Maryland.