SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kinney Drugs has partnered with HealtheConnections in a collaboration to enable doctors and other health care providers to access and share patients’ prescription information.

According to HealtheConnections, the partnership will link medications prescribed with prescriptions picked up at more than 70 Kinney Drugs stores in New York. Overall, the regional drug chain operates 100 stores in upstate New York and ­Vermont.

A regional health information organization based here in Syracuse, HealtheConnections supports 11 counties in central and northern New York. The company said the ability of health providers to share patients’ information through its health information exchange (HIE) can save time spent filling out paperwork, briefing providers on their medical history and tracking prescriptions across caregivers.

“Pharmacists play an essential role in the treatment and prevention of chronic and acute illnesses,” Kinney Drugs president Jim Spencer said in a statement. “By partnering with HealtheConnections, our pharmacists will be more integrated within the health care system, which will allow them to better collaborate with other providers to help improve patient health outcomes. Over $290 billion is wasted annually due to the medical costs associated with poor medication adherence, and our pharmacists are best positioned to help address this issue.

“Kinney Drugs is excited to offer this service to our patients as a meaningful way to more effectively communicate prescription information to their providers, as we strive to deliver the highest level of care and make it easier for our patients to lead healthier lives.”

Separately, Kinney Drugs was recently recognized by CVS Health as the No. 1 pharmacy chain in the country for its 2015 patient medication adherence performance through such measures as medication synchronization, diabetes management programs and medication therapy management.

“Providing exceptional care for our patients is and always has been a hallmark of Kinney Drugs,” said Spencer. “Much of our success is due to strategic partnerships that we have developed within the health care system.”