CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. will leverage the Surescripts Network for Clinical Interoperability to electronically deliver patient immunization notifications directly to health care providers.

The partnership between Surescripts and the retail pharmacy operator should allow timely electronic delivery of immunization notifications from the pharmacies to health care providers, which should help to significantly improve coordination of care.

Executives at the companies note that as care is increasingly delivered across a wider range of providers — including pharmacies — maintaining up-to-date immunization records can be challenging.

The Surescripts Network for Clinical Interoperability, they say, can improve direct delivery of immunizations between pharmacy and care providers, with guaranteed delivery assurance through Surescripts’ Physician Notification Letter (PNL) for Immunizations.

Through the network, all of Rite Aid’s more than 4,600 pharmacies will be able to send a notification of a patient’s immunizations to the patient’s health care provider in whatever form the provider is able to best receive it, including electronically or via fax or mail.

Pharmacies and health care providers also will have a more coordinated way to share updates on delivered care and documentation related to ­immunization.

“Pharmacists continue to play a critical role on a patient’s health care team,” Surescripts president and chief executive officer Harry Totonis said. “We are committed to supporting and enhancing the delivery of clinical care information directly to care providers.

“By way of the Surescripts network,” he explained, “it will be easier for Rite Aid pharmacists to provide much needed care delivery information, such as immunizations, to other members of a patient’s health care team.”

Patients are taking on a greater role in their health and are putting more of a focus on preventative care than ever before, added Dan Miller, senior vice president of pharmacy operations at Rite Aid.

“Immunizations are an important part of preventative care, and that’s why we’ve trained all Rite Aid pharmacists to be able to provide immunizations as allowed by the state. By working with Surescripts, we can improve and enhance the way we communicate with other health care providers on our immunization services, ultimately leading to improved patient care and health outcomes,” he said.

Going forward Rite Aid pharmacies will be able to use the Surescripts network to send immunization reports to local and regional public health registries that have a mandatory or voluntary reporting requirement.