ARLINGTON, Va. — Surescripts has activated its National Record Locator Service, an interoperable platform that enables health providers to locate and exchange patient records stored in any care location nationwide.

The health information network said Monday that the service — whose partners include CVS Health, Express Scripts, Epic and NextGen Healthcare — encompasses 140 million patients and nearly 2 billion interactions between those patients and their health care providers.

According to Surescripts, the National Record Locator Service integrates into the provider workflow via current electronic health record (EHR) software. In announcing the service last spring, Surescripts said the “first-of-its-kind capability” leverages its national network and master patient index to locate and exchange patient records, providing clinicians with a fast, easy way to get a more complete view of a patient’s health history.

“Surescripts has been committed to interoperability for more than a decade, and the National Record Locator Service is just another step on our continued journey to break through information silos, facilitate information-sharing and ultimately, improve patient care for the benefit of all who are connected,” Tom Skelton, chief executive officer of Surescripts, said in a statement. “We’ve proven that by bringing together the right partners, we can overcome legacy barriers and make true health information exchange a reality.”

The National Record Locator Service reflects a nationwide effort to standardize record-sharing practices that will help steer the health care sector toward a patient-centric, value-based system, Surescripts noted. The company said that Express Scripts and CVS Health, the nation’s two largest prescription benefit managers (PBMs), are key data suppliers of patient visit information to the service.

“By providing essential information to providers at the moment they need it, they have access to a patient-centric view to deliver the best patient care,” stated Heather Sundar, vice president of clinical, research and new solutions at Express Scripts. “This service has the potential to improve patient safety and health outcomes for all Americans.”

Through the National Record Locator Service, providers using Epic’s Care Everywhere and NextGen Share software will be able to quickly identify and share patient records across disparate systems and geographies. Operating under the Carequality framework, the service integrates seamlessly into EHR workflows to give providers more complete information about their patients, the companies said.

“By implementing Surescripts’ National Record Locator Service, we can offer our customers instant access to an enormous amount of patient data,” commented Michael Lovett, executive vice president and general manager at NextGen Healthcare. “We are excited to join the network and look forward to partnering with our industry peers to bring true nationwide interoperability to life.”

Arlington, Va.-based Surescripts processes more than 6 billion transactions each year, including nearly 700 million medication histories, more than 1 billion e-prescriptions and almost 10 million clinical messages. The network partners with over 700 EHR applications used by more 900,000 health professionals and 1,000 hospitals, affecting more than 270 million insured lives.