Maine's three largest health care systems on Thursday announced that they will collaborate to improve quality of care and reduce health care spending across the state, the Bangor Daily News reports. Officials from Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, MaineGeneral Health and MaineHealth have agreed to a "memorandum of understanding" regarding the collaboration to prevent illegal practices, such as price fixing (Haskell, Bangor Daily News, 3/2). Eastern Maine will head efforts to make patients' electronic health records accessible among participating hospitals, which could reduce duplication of high-cost diagnostic tests, according to the Portland Press Herald. The collaboration also will allow hospitals to share information about monitoring critically ill patients in rural hospitals at regional trauma centers. MaineHealth will focus on improving public health through preventive health programs for chronic diseases, obesity and substance abuse with the goal of reducing high-cost medical procedures. MaineGeneral will lead efforts to leverage the collaboration's purchasing power to reduce the cost of hospital supplies and equipment, according to MaineGeneral President Scott Bullard (Huang, Portland Press Herald, 3/2). According to the Daily News, the combined purchasing power could help reduce costs to patients and insurers (Bangor Daily News, 3/2). Gov. John Baldacci (D) in a statement said, "Collaboratives and partnerships like this are an integral part of achieving the goals of Dirigo Health reform and the state health plan" (Portland Press Herald, 3/2).

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